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Britt, SOPT turn Mahler into multimedia star Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Jay Newman of Ashland prepares one of the cameras which will be aimed at the Britt Festival Orchestra for its "In Context" presentation of the work of Gustav Mahler. The concert and a pre-music presentation, which will include slides shown on the screen above the stage, will be filmed for airing later on Southern Oregon Public Television. Festival, public TV team up to bring music into homes By Jessica Smith Mahler�s Fifth Symphony has its own voice, but it won�t speak alone to the audience tonight in Jacksonville. Britt Festivals concert-goers will get an earful and an eyeful of Gustav Mahler�s opus with a multimedia presentation by the festival and Southern Oregon Public Television. "We are producing an event that will allow people to get inside the music and the composer," said Ron McUne, Britt�s general manager. "This is an opportunity to personalize the experience." For the first portion of Britt�s "Who�s Afraid of Gustav Mahler?" production, orchestra director and conductor Peter Bay will take audience members on a tour of Mahler�s music, talking about the composer�s life while photographs and messages about Mahler are projected onto a screen hanging on the Britt Pavilion stage. The 28-minute presentation is the first in Britt�s three-year "In Context" series, a classical music appreciation and education program for festival-goers. After an intermission, the Britt Festival Orchestra will perform the complete 70-minute symphony. "We have a deep commitment to present this art form," said McUne. Britt concerts began with classical music, a genre widely overlooked by modern audiences, he added. "It�s in dire straits for an audience worldwide." Grants from Harry and David and the Carpenter Foundation helped bring more than $750,000 worth of rented projection and filming equipment to the Britt grounds Saturday, where crews were busy preparing the pavilion for tonight�s concert. The production will be filmed by public television, which plans to broadcast the concert by the end of the year. "We�re waging a very wonderful experiment," said Greg Frederick, KSYS production director. Southern Oregon�s public television station is committed to providing arts and education programs for viewers and saw Britt�s Mahler concert as a "match made in heaven," he said. Five cameras � two on stage, two in the audience and one suspended over the pavilion grounds � will capture the concert. As the orchestra plays, live images will be projected to the hanging screen. Close-ups on musicians, soloists and the conductor are intended to strengthen the bond between the audience and the music. KSYS will later edit the tapes into a two- to two-and-a-half hour program. The concert, which may be eventually broadcast statewide, could be the first of many joint productions between Britt and KSYS, festival and station directors said. "We see this, we hope, as the beginning of a long partnership," said Bill Campbell, KSYS general manager. The popularity of shows like "Austin City Limits" and "Live from Lincoln Center" prove there is a market for live music programming, he added. But with no idea yet on the success of tonight�s experiment, Britt officials have yet to commit to tapings for future "In Context" shows or concerts with contemporary artists. "We don�t know if this is going to bring a lot of bodies in next year," McUne said of the project. "It�s the kind of thing you do because you think it�s the right thing to do." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA