With Amazon receiving its first Golden Globe Award for their original series, "Transparent," attention is turning to another one of Amazon's new original comedies, "Mozart in the Jungle." Musicians from New Westchester Symphony Orchestra, an audition-free community ensemble based in White Plains, worked with the likes of Joshua Bell, Bernadette Peters, Malcolm McDowell, and Gael Garcia Bernal in this witty series about the off-stage lives of classical musicians.
PRLog - Jan. 21, 2015 - WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- Riding a wave of publicity following Amazon's recent win at the Golden Globes for its original comedy series, "Transparent," New Westchester Symphony Orchestra (NewWSO, www.newsymphony.org), a three-year old audition-free community orchestra based in White Plains, is finding itself in the current of a cutting-edge shift in the way people watch TV shows.
Emily Steel and Jonathan Mahler state in an article published in the New York Times, "As surprising as the company’s breakthrough success with “Transparent” may be, it is also consistent with its history and identity. Amazon is the first digital streaming service to win a Golden Globe for best TV series. In other words, the company that has changed the way consumers buy everything from diapers to high-definition TVs is trying to disrupt yet another industry." (NYT, Jan. 12, 2015)
NewWSO's unlikely participation in an Amazon series dates back to Fall 2013, when the shooting of the pilot for the recently-released "Mozart in the Jungle (MITJ)" took place at the SUNY Purchase Performing Arts Center. The premise of the series is loosely based on the 2005 memoir of the same name by oboist Blair Tindall. The memoir recalled Tindall's life as a freelance musician in NYC, and detailed the off-stage lives of musicians as well as the financial struggles of orchestras and musicians all over the country.
The MITJ production team was searching for local musicians, rather than regular extras, to realistically portray the fictionalized New York Symphony in the series, and they found NewWSO through an internet search. The pilot was shot in November 2013 and released online in February 2014, coincidentally in the same round of pilots in which the pilot for "Transparent" was released.
"When I first got the call from the MITJ music supervisor back in October 2013, I had no idea what an Amazon series was. I actually thought it sounded a little bit shady, or at least low-budget," states Belinda Kan, executive director and co-founder of the three-year old ensemble, which is open to musicians of all ages and abilties.
However, NewWSO ultimately decided to try something outside of their comfort-zone and signed up to be in the pilot episode. NewWSO players were joined by players from The Chelsea Symphony, a New York City-based orchestra, to make up the balance of players.
To the players' surprise and delight, Joshua Bell, a rock star of the classical music world, made a cameo appearance in the pilot. NewWSO musicians, comprised of professionals in disciplines other than music, retirees, full-time parents, and students, found themselves on stage not only with Bell, but with legendary actors such as Bernadette Peters and Malcolm McDowell. It was then that the players understood that they might be taking part in a project that was quite significant.
NewWSO Conductor Benjamin Niemczyk states, "A memorable takeaway was seeing my friends react to Joshua Bell and Bernadette Peters. That aspect alone made the 12 hour days disappear."
Overwhelmingly favorable reviews for MITJ, including a review in the New York Times published on January 19, 2015, made the many long days of filming worth it for the musicians, who were not used to the standard TV production hours. The reviews have also further validated Amazon's place in the entertainment industry.
Several NewWSO musicians were given featured roles in which they had speaking lines or additional scenes, for which they were paid SAG-AFTRA rates. NewWSO flutist Janet Moulton of Pleasantville states that she would "never in a million years" have thought that her hobby of playing the flute would land her in a popular and well-received TV series. "I'm not a 'spotlight' sort of person so being a part of [NewWSO] has been great. Seeing glimpses of myself on the screen has been a hoot," says Moulton.
####
"Mozart in the Jungle" can be viewed on Amazon.com. An Amazon Prime membership is required to watch the series. NewWSO musicians can be seen in Episodes 1, 2, 3, 6 and 10. All orchestra scenes except the scenes in Episode 6 were filmed in the concert hall of the SUNY Purchase Performing Arts Center.
New Westchester Symphony Orchestra rehearses weekly on Wednesday evenings at the Music Conservatory of Westchester, 216 Central Ave, White Plains, NY, and performs at least once per month at hospitals, libraries and schools throughout Westchester County. There are no auditions to join the orchestra as a player, provided there is room in your instrument section. Email info@newsymphony.org or call (914) 623-8075 for more information about joining, and visit www.newsymphony.org for a complete listing of concerts and events.
Read Full Story - Westchester Orchestra Featured in Amazon Comedy Series about Classical Music | More news from this source
Press release distribution by PRLog
Westchester Orchestra Featured in Amazon Comedy Series about Classical Music
January 21, 2015 at 15:27 PM EST
