Endangered Species
Donativo protegido
To survive and thrive, orchestras need audiences that are thrilled with the experience of being there. It is very difficult to reliably deliver that experience to the audience without a balanced, powerful, and beautiful string orchestra at the core of the ensemble. This threat to survival can be solved with new technology that does not harm the DNA of an orchestra's string sections.
Summary
$35,000 is requested to build and demonstrate an advanced product prototype of a new technology that enables a small orchestra to sound as powerful and rich as a large orchestra. The system enables symphony, ballet, opera, and musical theater companies that have budgetary, space, and acoustic limitations to credibly perform the great power works of the large orchestra repertoire without compromise. Unlike conventional sound reinforcement systems, the OSIRES™ (Orchestral String Instrument Reinforcement and Enhancement System) reinforced orchestra sounds absolutely natural without any electronic artifacts. Even professionals in the performing arts were not aware that technology was in use unless they had been advised in advance. Those that are well-versed in the sound of halls and various sized orchestras were incredulous that a small orchestra was somehow sounding like a very large orchestra.
The original prototype (shown in the photo above) had to be sold in 2011 during the Great Recession. It was configured as a proof of concept rather than a robust finished product. The new advanced prototype will be 50% smaller, lighter, more reliable, sound better, be less expensive to operate, and cost half of the original.
Articles in international audio technology magazines reviewing the first OSIRES prototype can be found here. (The Absolute Sound) (Stereophile) Here are two quotes from those articles.
"Admittedly, many orchestras are limited in expanding the number of strings by the physical dimensions of their stages or pits, their increasingly constrained budgets, and/or the available pool of local talent. The sad reality is that unless these smaller string sections are amplified, they are drowned out by the brass, the large choruses, and the percussion on larger, more dynamic works.. Gabriel's remarkable OSIRES, ... stays faithful to the acoustic properties of unamplified strings, maintains their rhythmic and spatial characteristics, and offers compelling sonic advantages over traditional mix-and-amplify systems."
– Jim Hannon of The Absolute Sound Magazine
"The most significant evidence, however, was the orchestra's sound. It soared through the program with the richness and power of, if not a 140 person orchestra, something a lot closer to that than the 75-person ensemble on the stage. The sound was completely natural and devoid of any electronic artifacts. Try as I might, I could hear no evidence of the sound reinforcement - other than a small orchestra sounding like a big one"
– Brian Damkroger of Stereophile Magazine
Who Will Benefit
At this time, all performing artists are out of work with no end in sight. The economic impact of the Covid 19 pandemic makes the future for performers and performing arts organizations very uncertain. Even so, the funds raised here will be used solely to build the advanced prototype and demonstrate the efficacy and transformational potential of the invention to the musical community. All other costs will be borne by Gabriel Sakakeeny, OSIRES inventor and organizer of this fund raising campaign.
Use Of Funds
Equipment for a 32 channel minimally viable prototype
• $12,000 - instrument microphones, wired
• $3,000 - cabling, stage boxes
• $7,500 - digital signal processing hardware/software
• $4,000 - power amplifiers
• $3,000 - loudspeaker drivers
• $2,500 - enclosures, shipping cases, power distribution
• $3,000 - sales tax
Once the system is performance ready (late Summer 2020,) and we are permitted to gather in concert halls again, Gabriel will engage under-employed orchestra musicians in California and eventually around the U.S. in concerts demonstrating OSIRES and its benefits. At that time, as an acknowledgment of their contribution and completion of the project, donors will receive a special music video played by an orchestra demonstrating the OSIRES technology in action.
The potential users of the invention who will benefit are;
• All pit orchestras - opera, ballet, and musical theater
• Educational orchestras that need to augment their string complement
• Recording orchestras in film production
• Smaller orchestras under $300K in annual budget
• Any orchestra that needs to ameliorate unsatisfactory acoustics or to remove the pressure on their string players to play loudly to balance the brass
Why OSIRES Will Increase Musician Employment
The first thought that comes to people's minds when they first hear about OSIRES is "This technology will enable companies to hire fewer musicians." In fact, the opposite happens.
When Gabriel first invented OSIRES in early 2000, he presented the idea to the leadership of the American Federation of Musicians Local 6 in San Francisco for their feedback and to hear their concerns. They immediately understood how making it possible for small low-budget orchestras to play the larger works of the repertoire in local opera, dance, and symphony performances would grow audiences, increase the number of concerts given, and the number of musicians employed.
Encouraged by their feedback, Gabriel proceeded to build the initial proof-of-concept prototype. When his orchestra, the American Philharmonic of Sonoma County, CA first deployed OSIRES at a subscription concert in late 2000, the per capita donations doubled and audience size increased at double-digit rates for the next ten years. By the 2009-2010 season, the APO were playing twelve concerts per year to audiences of 800 to 1,200 on the average. The system and the sound it allowed them to produce were clearly major success factors for the orchestra during that period.
OSIRES won't cost jobs because most orchestras with budgets greater than $300,000 per year operate within the jurisdictions of the American Federation of Musicians. The AFM have Collective Bargaining Agreements with professional orchestras that specify the number of players in their orchestra, the number of tenured members, and many other terms that effect the work conditions and well being of the musicians. No misguided orchestra management could ever use OSIRES to cut headcount without breeching their agreement with the AFM and thereby initiating a major labor dispute. They may choose to use OSIRES to enhance the sound of their orchestra, but it's not in their interest to go up against the Musicians' Union.
Why OSIRES? – Because Orchestras Matter
Orchestral music is the sonic foundation of opera, ballet, symphonic concerts, musical theater, and epic film. These arts of stage and screen, and the companies who produce them, depend on the rich oceanic sound of large orchestras for their audience impact and financial well-being. The 90,000 people employed in the performing arts in the U.S. and the $9 billion their work contributes to the economy depend upon the artistic and financial success of orchestras. (Link )
More than two million Americans play orchestral instruments. (ref. National Endowment for the Arts) As of 2015, there were 1,224 orchestras in the United States. (ref. League of American Orchestras) and over two thirds of them have annual budgets less than $300,000. These smaller orchestras are often semi-professional or completely volunteer groups that keep the spirit of great music alive in our rural communities and smaller cities. They are the backbone of American musical culture and source the talent and audience interest that keeps our professional performing arts sector healthy.
All orchestras share two key limitations - space and budget. In opera, ballet, and musical theater productions, the orchestra is constrained in size to the dimensions of the orchestra pit. It is impossible to perform a grand Romantic opera or ballet in its full glory without a minimum of seventy string players to balance the winds and percussion. Most venues in the country cannot accommodate ninety to one hundred total players in their orchestra pits. This space constraint often results in ballets being performed to recorded music, grand operas being performed by chamber orchestras, and Broadway musicals being performed by five people playing computers. The loss of emotional impact and sonic depth is devastating to the artistic and financial results of the production, and by extension to repeat business.
Even on the symphonic stage, where space is usually not a problem, the large majority of companies can’t afford to field a symphonic orchestra of sufficient size due to budget constraints or, in smaller communities, the lack of qualified players in their area. For small struggling orchestras, the inability to convincingly perform the great power works of the repertoire inhibits their ability to grow their audience and increase their earned revenue. For the better funded professional groups, trying to play the grand repertoire with insufficient numbers of string players often results in repetitive stress injuries and poor workplace morale.
The bottom line is that for orchestras to thrive, they need audiences that are thrilled with the experience of being there. It is very difficult to reliably deliver that experience to the audience without a balanced, powerful and beautiful string orchestra at the core of the ensemble. Until now, only a tiny minority of very wealthy organizations could create the conditions that make that possible. Until the invention of OSIRES, there has been no way for the vast majority of orchestral communities in the world to solve the space and budget problem.
Why Contribute Now?
Orchestras are a threatened species. When we come out of this pandemic, small orchestras will have new technology to enable them to survive and thrive.
Sincerely yours in music,
Gabriel Sakakeeny
Summary
$35,000 is requested to build and demonstrate an advanced product prototype of a new technology that enables a small orchestra to sound as powerful and rich as a large orchestra. The system enables symphony, ballet, opera, and musical theater companies that have budgetary, space, and acoustic limitations to credibly perform the great power works of the large orchestra repertoire without compromise. Unlike conventional sound reinforcement systems, the OSIRES™ (Orchestral String Instrument Reinforcement and Enhancement System) reinforced orchestra sounds absolutely natural without any electronic artifacts. Even professionals in the performing arts were not aware that technology was in use unless they had been advised in advance. Those that are well-versed in the sound of halls and various sized orchestras were incredulous that a small orchestra was somehow sounding like a very large orchestra.
The original prototype (shown in the photo above) had to be sold in 2011 during the Great Recession. It was configured as a proof of concept rather than a robust finished product. The new advanced prototype will be 50% smaller, lighter, more reliable, sound better, be less expensive to operate, and cost half of the original.
Articles in international audio technology magazines reviewing the first OSIRES prototype can be found here. (The Absolute Sound) (Stereophile) Here are two quotes from those articles.
"Admittedly, many orchestras are limited in expanding the number of strings by the physical dimensions of their stages or pits, their increasingly constrained budgets, and/or the available pool of local talent. The sad reality is that unless these smaller string sections are amplified, they are drowned out by the brass, the large choruses, and the percussion on larger, more dynamic works.. Gabriel's remarkable OSIRES, ... stays faithful to the acoustic properties of unamplified strings, maintains their rhythmic and spatial characteristics, and offers compelling sonic advantages over traditional mix-and-amplify systems."
– Jim Hannon of The Absolute Sound Magazine
"The most significant evidence, however, was the orchestra's sound. It soared through the program with the richness and power of, if not a 140 person orchestra, something a lot closer to that than the 75-person ensemble on the stage. The sound was completely natural and devoid of any electronic artifacts. Try as I might, I could hear no evidence of the sound reinforcement - other than a small orchestra sounding like a big one"
– Brian Damkroger of Stereophile Magazine
Who Will Benefit
At this time, all performing artists are out of work with no end in sight. The economic impact of the Covid 19 pandemic makes the future for performers and performing arts organizations very uncertain. Even so, the funds raised here will be used solely to build the advanced prototype and demonstrate the efficacy and transformational potential of the invention to the musical community. All other costs will be borne by Gabriel Sakakeeny, OSIRES inventor and organizer of this fund raising campaign.
Use Of Funds
Equipment for a 32 channel minimally viable prototype
• $12,000 - instrument microphones, wired
• $3,000 - cabling, stage boxes
• $7,500 - digital signal processing hardware/software
• $4,000 - power amplifiers
• $3,000 - loudspeaker drivers
• $2,500 - enclosures, shipping cases, power distribution
• $3,000 - sales tax
Once the system is performance ready (late Summer 2020,) and we are permitted to gather in concert halls again, Gabriel will engage under-employed orchestra musicians in California and eventually around the U.S. in concerts demonstrating OSIRES and its benefits. At that time, as an acknowledgment of their contribution and completion of the project, donors will receive a special music video played by an orchestra demonstrating the OSIRES technology in action.
The potential users of the invention who will benefit are;
• All pit orchestras - opera, ballet, and musical theater
• Educational orchestras that need to augment their string complement
• Recording orchestras in film production
• Smaller orchestras under $300K in annual budget
• Any orchestra that needs to ameliorate unsatisfactory acoustics or to remove the pressure on their string players to play loudly to balance the brass
Why OSIRES Will Increase Musician Employment
The first thought that comes to people's minds when they first hear about OSIRES is "This technology will enable companies to hire fewer musicians." In fact, the opposite happens.
When Gabriel first invented OSIRES in early 2000, he presented the idea to the leadership of the American Federation of Musicians Local 6 in San Francisco for their feedback and to hear their concerns. They immediately understood how making it possible for small low-budget orchestras to play the larger works of the repertoire in local opera, dance, and symphony performances would grow audiences, increase the number of concerts given, and the number of musicians employed.
Encouraged by their feedback, Gabriel proceeded to build the initial proof-of-concept prototype. When his orchestra, the American Philharmonic of Sonoma County, CA first deployed OSIRES at a subscription concert in late 2000, the per capita donations doubled and audience size increased at double-digit rates for the next ten years. By the 2009-2010 season, the APO were playing twelve concerts per year to audiences of 800 to 1,200 on the average. The system and the sound it allowed them to produce were clearly major success factors for the orchestra during that period.
OSIRES won't cost jobs because most orchestras with budgets greater than $300,000 per year operate within the jurisdictions of the American Federation of Musicians. The AFM have Collective Bargaining Agreements with professional orchestras that specify the number of players in their orchestra, the number of tenured members, and many other terms that effect the work conditions and well being of the musicians. No misguided orchestra management could ever use OSIRES to cut headcount without breeching their agreement with the AFM and thereby initiating a major labor dispute. They may choose to use OSIRES to enhance the sound of their orchestra, but it's not in their interest to go up against the Musicians' Union.
Why OSIRES? – Because Orchestras Matter
Orchestral music is the sonic foundation of opera, ballet, symphonic concerts, musical theater, and epic film. These arts of stage and screen, and the companies who produce them, depend on the rich oceanic sound of large orchestras for their audience impact and financial well-being. The 90,000 people employed in the performing arts in the U.S. and the $9 billion their work contributes to the economy depend upon the artistic and financial success of orchestras. (Link )
More than two million Americans play orchestral instruments. (ref. National Endowment for the Arts) As of 2015, there were 1,224 orchestras in the United States. (ref. League of American Orchestras) and over two thirds of them have annual budgets less than $300,000. These smaller orchestras are often semi-professional or completely volunteer groups that keep the spirit of great music alive in our rural communities and smaller cities. They are the backbone of American musical culture and source the talent and audience interest that keeps our professional performing arts sector healthy.
All orchestras share two key limitations - space and budget. In opera, ballet, and musical theater productions, the orchestra is constrained in size to the dimensions of the orchestra pit. It is impossible to perform a grand Romantic opera or ballet in its full glory without a minimum of seventy string players to balance the winds and percussion. Most venues in the country cannot accommodate ninety to one hundred total players in their orchestra pits. This space constraint often results in ballets being performed to recorded music, grand operas being performed by chamber orchestras, and Broadway musicals being performed by five people playing computers. The loss of emotional impact and sonic depth is devastating to the artistic and financial results of the production, and by extension to repeat business.
Even on the symphonic stage, where space is usually not a problem, the large majority of companies can’t afford to field a symphonic orchestra of sufficient size due to budget constraints or, in smaller communities, the lack of qualified players in their area. For small struggling orchestras, the inability to convincingly perform the great power works of the repertoire inhibits their ability to grow their audience and increase their earned revenue. For the better funded professional groups, trying to play the grand repertoire with insufficient numbers of string players often results in repetitive stress injuries and poor workplace morale.
The bottom line is that for orchestras to thrive, they need audiences that are thrilled with the experience of being there. It is very difficult to reliably deliver that experience to the audience without a balanced, powerful and beautiful string orchestra at the core of the ensemble. Until now, only a tiny minority of very wealthy organizations could create the conditions that make that possible. Until the invention of OSIRES, there has been no way for the vast majority of orchestral communities in the world to solve the space and budget problem.
Why Contribute Now?
Orchestras are a threatened species. When we come out of this pandemic, small orchestras will have new technology to enable them to survive and thrive.
Sincerely yours in music,
Gabriel Sakakeeny
Organizador y beneficiario
Gabriel Sakakeeny
Organizador
Nevada City, CA
Gabriel Sakakeeny
Beneficiario
