Metropolitan Opera Orchestra’s Players Turn to Social Media

From Michael Cooper, at The New York Times:

Sometimes the musicians post behind-the-scenes tidbits, like some decades-old advice a viola player found penciled into her part for “Andrea Chénier” by one of her predecessors: “whatcha da mice!” — meaning watch the maestro in one tricky passage. But the recently revamped website by the musicians of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra — imagine a cross between Opera News and BuzzFeed — also has info-graphics

(“Reeds by the Numbers” explains the hours it takes woodwind players to make reeds for their mouthpieces); offers a look at how the audition process recently chose one player from the 208 who had applied; and has an interactive quiz to help newcomers decide “What should your first opera be?”

Read the full article.