The YouTube Symphony Orchestra 2011 arrives in Sydney

This weekend, 101 musicians from more than 30 countries descended upon Sydney to form the YouTube Symphony Orchestra 2011. After a process of online auditions, public voting, and decisions by our orchestra partners and conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, the 97 orchestral musicians and four winning soloists are now hard at work to ensure their finale performance in Sydney on March 20 is nothing short of extraordinary.

This week marks the final phase of their journey: A seven-day festival of music, creativity and technology in and around one of the world’s most iconic symbol of the arts, Sydney Opera House. They’ve arrived from all over the world, speak multiple languages, and bring with them diverse musical and cultural insights from around the globe. And their days have been filled with experiences they’re sure to carry with them beyond Sydney — from the first rehearsal inside Sydney Opera House under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas, to a trip to the zoo to pet the marsupials and feed the giraffes.

Here’s a peek at how the week is shaping up:

We’ll be following the orchestra all week to find out how the collaborative work of these musicians, who met in person for the first time just days ago, translates into a single finale performance, brought to life through real time projections on the sails of Sydney Opera House. The grand finale on March 20 will be live streamed around the globe on youtube.com/symphony.

A sneak peek of what’s to come at the Grand Finale

Want to know what the orchestra is up to this week? Follow us on twitter (@googledownunder, #ytso) and be sure to tune into youtube.com/symphony for daily highlights from around Sydney!

Ernesto Soriano, YouTube Australia product marketing, recently watched “Vloggin Day 1 Sydney.”

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This week's Trends: ballet, Rihanna, and 'winning'

Each weekday, we at YouTube Trends take a look at the most interesting videos and cultural phenomena on YouTube as they develop. We want take a moment to highlight some of what we came across this past week:

• We highlighted the most popular videos in Minnesota as the labor dispute continued at the start of the week, and we tracked the influx of videos as protesters reacted to a vote in the Senate in the middle of the week.
  
  
• We measured which TED Talks have become the most popular.
  
  
• We studied how Rihanna and Eminem were able to top one billion views each to their music video channel.
  
  
• We saw how the latest iteration of the flash mob involves classical ballet and is from Germany.
  
  
• We noticed that NFL-fan song parodies are still happening in the off-season.
  
  
• We examined the popularity of just one word and asked, "Is Charlie Sheen Winning YouTube?"

Check back every day for the latest about what's trending on YouTube at: www.YouTube.com/Trends

Kevin Allocca, YouTube Trends Manager, recently watched "Dog Trainer Saves Dog with CPR."

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YouTube @ SXSW 2011

It’s that time of year again. Austin BBQs are prepping their short ribs while a vast array of musicians, filmmakers, and the tech-obsessed head down to the Lone Star State for SXSW’s Music, Film and Interactive Festival. And YouTube, of course, will be there!

YouTube has been a home for independent artists of all stripes since its inception. Recently, we put independent and aspiring film-makers on the world stage with “Life in a Day,” an historic cinematic experiment to document a single day on earth. The film, directed by Kevin Macdonald, produced by Ridley Scott and filmed by YouTube users around the world, had its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January and is now part of the official line-up at SXSW. For those of you in Austin next week, you can catch screenings of the film Wired Magazine called “provocative, gorgeous and...deeply moving” on Tuesday, March 15, at 11:30am at The Paramount; Wednesday, March 16, at 9pm at Regal Westgate Stadium; and Saturday, March 19, at 7:30pm at The Alamo Lamar 6.

But our presence at SXSW isn’t limited to film - our commitment to providing support for the globe’s vast array of musical talent will be highlighted in three different events over the course of the week. We invite those of you attending the festival to join us:

YouTube’s closing night of film/opening night of music party
9 p.m. Tuesday March 15 @ Maggie Mae’s
The bands are amazing, and if you’re a 21+ badge-holder, the price is right. Beatboxing wizard Beardyman, the crazily talented (and yes, funny) British artist who’s used YouTube in pretty creative ways opens the night. Then it’s on to Playing for Change, the heartwarming and mostly virtual collective of musicians from around the world; be prepared to sing along. Next up is budding Danish electro-pop sensation Oh Land, whose inventive compositions hide a solid pop sensibility in their dreamy folds. The night closes with Das Racist, a comic rap group who have landed on so many critics’ lists recently, you might be forgiven for thinking they’re actually serious artists. (Okay, they actually are.) They’ve also had a strong YouTube presence since their start. You’ll be able to check out all these musicians on the YouTube homepage this Tuesday.

NPR Music's live From The Parish
12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, March 17
YouTube is supporting NPR’s showcase event, which is headlined by Brooklyn “nightmare shoegaze” act The Antlers, a group who won attention for its 2009 cycle of absorbing and intensely felt songs. Also on the bill are Welsh indie band The Joy Formidable and indie supergroup Wild Flag, which includes members of Sleater Kinney among many others. Mali’s diva Khaira Arby is a live singer of stunning power who recently collaborated with Brooklyn group The Sway Machinery; watch out for an incantatory set. Oakland’s brilliant sonic tinkerer tUnE-yArDs will make an appearance, and get there early to see Colin Stetson, the Arcade Fire saxophonist whose new solo album is a remarkable piece of avant-garde composition. (Rarely has a sax sounded so little like a sax!) The show is free and open to the 21+ public.

Other Music/Dig for Fire’s lawn party
1 p.m. - 6 p.m. Thursday, March 17 and Friday, March 18
When the iconic, taste-making New York record store Other Music and video-making wunderkinds Dig for Fire join forces to produce a two-day event with four sets, watch out. You could be entering music heaven in the form of a lawn party. Headliners include dance-punk darlings !!!, buzzworthy indie rocker Ted Leo, Scotland’s guitar-pop guru Edwyn Collins and the afore-mentioned tUnE-yArDs. Our money’s on James Blake’s 5 p.m. Friday set to bring down the, uh, lawn with his soulful, minimalist meditations -- and there are a slew of other wonderful musicians rocking the two stages both days.

Sarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched “Best Coast - Noise Pop 2011.”

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Hollywood comes to YouTube with "Girl Walks Into A Bar"

Combine some tinseltown stardust with a forward-thinking director and what do you get? Hollywood's first feature-length film created specifically for the internet.



Presented by Lexus and now playing in the YouTube Screening Room, Girl Walks Into A Bar is a comedy about a seemingly unrelated group of characters spending a single night at ten different bars throughout Los Angeles. Directed by Sebastian Gutiérrez, the film stars (among others) Carla Gugino, Zachary Quinto, Danny DeVito, Rosario Dawson, Josh Hartnett and Emmanuelle Chriqui as a desperate dentist, an undercover private detective, a pickpocket, a gangster, and an exotic dancer.

Since the movie is chaptered, you can either watch it in its entirety or in installments via the playlist below.



Enjoy!

Nate Weinstein, Entertainment Marketing Manager, just watched "Girl Walks Into A Bar."

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