JCSS Tour Canned Orchestra?! — Page 2

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#26

re: JCSS Tour Canned Orchestra?!

Posted: 4/14/08 at 1:52pm

"I felt totally ripped off when I saw that the pit was basically a guitar, bass, drum set, and computer/keyboard. Most of the orchestra was either pre-recorded segments or MIDI renditions played by the conductor pressing a note on the keyboard."

Considering The Phantom of the Opera uses "canned" singing in ALL of its productions, count yourself lucky there was even an orchestra present!

#27

re: JCSS Tour Canned Orchestra?!

Posted: 4/14/08 at 3:04pm

There are still instruments playing though....

it's something new MTI has been doing, to save costs for regional and touring productions.

I forget what the software is called but it's pre-recorded orchestrations (every single instrument in the score) and you can order them and they are programmed by the Conductor.

Sometimes they will hire someone to actually run the program or the MD/Conductor can do it. It's all real time. It's just pre-recorded.

#28

re: JCSS Tour Canned Orchestra?!

Posted: 4/14/08 at 3:08pm

MTI isn't doing it. They've payed the company that makes it to do the programming for some of their shows, as has R&H. MTI calls it OrchExtra and RnH calls it InstrumentEase. It's by a company called Realtime Music Solutions and the product you're talking about is called Sinfonia.

I wish orchestras would come back. It's one of the saddest things about Broadway/tours right now, in my opinion.

#29

re: JCSS Tour Canned Orchestra?!

Posted: 4/18/08 at 9:09am

You look at the price of maintaining a live orchestra for some of these extravagantly orchestrated shows, especially for months on the road, and then tell me it's for the best to have a live orchestra. Maybe it's a better sound, but it's not a better price tag, and that's the bottom line.

"There is no problem so big that it cannot be run away from." ~ Charles M. Schulz

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