Carnegie Hall Releases 'Dear Carnegie Hall' App

Carnegie Hall invites fans across the globe to experience the Hall's fabled history and share their own stories through a new app that puts a 21st century spin on postcards. The traditional postcard is often a scribbled hello on the back of a dog-eared photo from a friend at a far corner of the globe. It's a story, a memento of travels and experiences, and for the recipient it's a treasured reminder of friendship and perhaps inspiration to step out onto the road themselves.

In celebration of the Hall's 125th anniversary this season, the newly launched "Dear Carnegie Hall" app-free for both android and iOS devices-presents twelve stories from the Carnegie Hall family collected on digital postcards and also invites fans to create and send digital Carnegie Hall postcards of their own.

Employing new augmented reality and image recognition technology in partnership with the company Stand + Stare and artist Ruth Farrar, images on the app come to life when users hover a tablet or smartphone over one of twelve special digital or printed postcards. The postcard triggers an animated video on the user's device, which combines historic photos, graphics, sound effects, and stories by Carnegie Hall artists, behind-the-scenes personnel, audience members, and others. You can also use the app to send digital postcards to friends, sharing your own experiences of Carnegie Hall.

Specially printed postcards will be distributed to Carnegie Hall concertgoers and the public throughout the season, and visitors to the Hall can also view these animations by holding up their smartphones or tablets to concert Playbills and special posters displayed outside the building. They are also available digitally at carnegiehall.org/dearcarnegiehall.

Other recent digital initiatives launched in celebration of Carnegie Hall's 125th anniversary include:

- Our History: Your Stories, a web portal where the public can share their own meaningful experiences by uploading written, photographic, video, or audio stories tocarnegiehall.org/stories. Also accessible via the new "Dear Carnegie Hall" app, the website acts as a digital collage, displaying how Carnegie Hall has shaped the lives of people of all different ages, cultures, and musical backgrounds and in turn, how those people have contributed to Carnegie Hall's legacy. With each story, Carnegie Hall adds another piece to its colorful history and in the process generates a social meeting space for all concertgoers, musicians, and fans who love Carnegie Hall.

- New interactive Carnegie Hall content available via the Google Cultural Institute's new global performing arts exhibition, inviting online audiences to step on to Carnegie Hall's stage alongside internationally renowned performers via new 360 degree video, take a behind-the-scenes tour of the iconic landmark building through new Photo Spheres and a panoramic Google Street View, or browse a variety of engaging multimedia exhibits. These new digital exhibitions are free to explore and are available for desktop computers and mobile devices.

- A new online Digital Hall of Fame, which recognizes individuals who have made a significant contribution to Carnegie Hall's 125-year history. Each inductee is displayed with a new, commissioned portrait illustrated by artist Stanley Chow and accompanied with a short bio, a brief history of the inductee's relationship to the Hall, and complementary historical photos and videos from Carnegie Hall's archives. The 12 inaugural inductees to Carnegie Hall's Digital Hall of Fame are: Andrew Carnegie, Louise Carnegie, Walter Damrosch, William Burnet Tuthill, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Marian Anderson, Vladimir Horowitz, Benny Goodman, Isaac Stern, Duke Ellington, Leonard Bernstein, and Ella Fitzgerald. The online platform will welcome a new class of inductees at the beginning of each season. To browse the current Hall of Fame, please visit carnegiehall.org/halloffame.

- A variety of specially created commemorative videos released via social media platforms, including "The Audience of the Future" in collaboration with Ensemble ACJW in which a class of 40 New York City second grade students experience a surprise classical music concert at Carnegie Hall, and "Carnegie Hall Supercut: 125 Years," which showcases nearly 70 years of pop culture references to the Hall from 1947's Carnegie Hall: The Movie to 2014's Oscar-winning film Whiplash.

"Carnegie Hall's 125th anniversary is an opportunity to reflect not only on the Hall's wonderfully rich history, but also the many ways we are positioned today to engage with new and diverse audiences around the globe," said Carnegie Hall's Executive and Artistic Director Clive Gillinson. "Digital technology provides us with a multitude of extraordinary possibilities to connect with audiences. We're excited to embrace continued innovation as we envision Carnegie Hall's next 125 years."

Since 1891, Carnegie Hall has set the international standard for excellence in performance as the aspirational destination for the world's finest musicians. Now celebrating its 125th anniversary season, the Hall today presents a wide range of performances each season on its three stages-the renowned Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, intimate Weill Recital Hall, and innovative Zankel Hall-including concert series curated by acclaimed artists and composers; citywide festivals featuring collaborations with leading New York City cultural institutions; orchestral performances, chamber music, new music concerts, and recitals; and the best in jazz, world, and popular music. Many Carnegie Hall concerts are heard by listeners worldwide each season via the Carnegie Hall Live radio and digital broadcast series, created in partnership with WQXR. Select performances have also been webcast live to global audiences via medici.tv.

Complementing these performance activities, Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute creates extensive music education and community programs that annually serve close to 500,000 people in the New York City area, nationally, and internationally, playing a central role in Carnegie Hall's commitment to making great music accessible to as many people as possible. As part of this work, WMI has long been a leader in utilizing technology to share Carnegie Hall programs, educational materials, and professional development resources with teachers, students, and partner organizations around the world. For more information, visit carnegiehall.org.