PHILADELPHIA (September 1, 2010) - SpectiCast, a Philadelphia company that simulcasts beautifully directed and produced live events to Multi-Viewer VenuesTM worldwide, has announced the launch of it Private Digital Broadcast Service.

For over a year, SpectiCast has delivered live simulcasts as well as encore performances of arts and cultural content through its advanced Digital Distribution Network. The capabilities of that network are now being made available to content owners seeking to deliver private audiovisual content anywhere in the world there is a high speed Internet connection. Through its Digital Distribution Network, SpectiCast provides content owners a very cost effective turnkey private digital broadcast service (PDBS) that allows them to deliver their own live and pre-recorded content on both small and large format audiovisual displays (televisions, projectors, large screens, etc.), at any time, to multiple locations any place in the world, whether within and outside of their enterprise.

"We are excited to be able to offer this new service to content owners and distributors where we provide them with a turn-key solution for a private television network that allows them to deliver both live and pre-recorded content anywhere in the world" said Derek Pew, Chairman of SpectiCast. "."

Our PDBS can facilitate the scheduling and distribution of live and pre-recorded content to remote locations. Application samples include, continuing education content, distance learning, corporate communications, training, digital video advertising and promotions at point-of sale locations, religious services and many more.

For more information, contact SpectiCast at info@specticast.com or call toll free at 888.996.2842.

About SpectiCast
Based in Philadelphia, SpectiCast broadcasts live cultural arts and entertainment events, never before available, through its private digital network to Multi-Viewer Venues^TM including Assisted Living Facilities, Independent Care Facilities and Continuing Care Retirement Communities. The company delivers the highest quality audiovisual digital television experience via the Internet in the comfort, convenience and safety of private auditoriums, theatres, and living rooms.

PHILADELPHIA (August 15, 2010) - SpectiCast, a Philadelphia company that simulcasts beautifully directed and produced live events to Multi-Viewer VenuesTM worldwide, and Bryn Mawr Film Institute (BMFI), one of the nation's leading non-profit community film centers, have partnered to bring live cultural arts content to movie theaters across the United States and Canada.

Beginning this fall, viewers will be able to enjoy simulcasts and encore performances from world-renowned organizations and individuals, in select public movie theaters across North America like Bryn Mawr Film Institute. Included in this season's lineup are nine new concerts from The Philadelphia Orchestra featuring Chief Conductor Charles Dutoit as well as several guest conductors including Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who is set to become Philadelphia's eighth Music Director in 2012. Also featured this season will be guest soloists like Jeremy Denk, Leonidas Kavakos, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Richard Woodhams, Vadim Repin, Stephen Hough, and The Philadelphia Singers Chorale playing Liszt, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, Beethoven, Shostakovich, and Stravinsky. Each program will be enriched with exclusive behind-the-scenes segments and insights from musical experts and guests from around the globe.

"We are very excited to begin our relationship with Bryn Mawr Film Institute," said Mark Rupp, President of SpectiCast. "Demand for the type of content we provide has been growing as proved by organizations like La Scala Opera and The Metropolitan Opera and SpectiCast looks forward to bringing these world-class events to theaters around the country."

SpectiCast provides service using fully managed, low cost, and simple-to-install equipment that leverages its advanced technologies and uses theaters' existing Internet connections to deliver unique and exclusive events in beautiful High-Definition.

Under this partnership, BMFI will assist SpectiCast in marketing and promoting SpectiCast's services to theaters across North America.

"Communities all over the country will now share the experiences of audiences in Philadelphia in hearing this incredible orchestra. We know that the superb projection and sound in a movie theater and the unique warmth and convenience of a neighborhood experience will bring great music to larger audiences, never before reached. Viewers will be treated to cinematography that captures the fullness of The Philadelphia Orchestra with the intimacy of an on-stage experience, immersed in the performance, virtually seated with the performing musicians. BMFI is thrilled to be helping to make this possible," said Juliet Goodfriend, President of Bryn Mawr Film Institute.

For a full schedule of this and other exciting programming such as Live From Curtis and The Author Event Series, please call 866.996.2842 or visit us at www.specticast.com.

About SpectiCast
Based in Philadelphia, SpectiCast broadcasts live cultural arts and entertainment events, never before available, through its private digital network to Multi-Viewer Venues^TM including Assisted Living Facilities, Independent Care Facilities and Continuing Care Retirement Communities. The company delivers the highest quality audiovisual digital television experience via the Internet in the comfort, convenience and safety of private auditoriums, theatres, and living rooms.

About Bryn Mawr Film Institute
Bryn Mawr Film Institute is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization committed to restoring the historic Bryn Mawr Theater in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania and transforming it into the region's preeminent film entertainment and education center. Founded in 2002 by academic, business, and civic leaders, Bryn Mawr Film Institute presents a daily program of first-run and repertory art and independent films and provides a comprehensive film studies curriculum, including courses, workshops, discussions, guest lecturers, visual literacy programs, and student screening opportunities. For more information about Bryn Mawr Film Institute please visit www.brynmawrfilm.org.

PHILADELPHIA (August 10, 2010) - SpectiCast, a Philadelphia company that broadcasts beautifully directed and produced live events to Multi-Viewer VenuesTM worldwide, has announced additions to its Author Event Series lineup.

Expanding on its already impressive lineup of renowned authors such as Ken Burns, Richard Dawkins and Karen Armstrong, SpectiCast has made a number of impressive new additions to its Author Events Series, including Thomas Buergenthal "A Lucky Child: A Memoir of Surviving Auschwitz as a Young Boy", Mark Bittman "The Food Matters Cookbook: Lose Weight and Heal the Planet with More Than 500 Recipes", Joseph J. Ellis "First Family: Abigail and John Adams", Lady Antonia Fraser "Must You Go? My Life with Harold Pinter", Salman Rushdie "Luka and the Fire of Life: A Novel", and David Eisenhower "Going Home To Glory: A Memoir of Life with Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1961-1969".

"We are very excited to be able to add such diverse and unique programs to our schedule," said Mark Rupp, President of SpectiCast. "The Free Library of Philadelphia's extraordinary Author Event Series program has been a well received addition to our portfolio of arts and cultural events. We look forward to bringing additional events like these for many years to come."

About SpectiCast
Based in Philadelphia, SpectiCast broadcasts live cultural arts and entertainment events, never before available, through its private digital network to Multi-Viewer Venues^TM including Assisted Living Facilities, Independent Care Facilities and Continuing Care Retirement Communities. The company delivers the highest quality audiovisual digital television experience via the Internet in the comfort, convenience and safety of private auditoriums, theatres, and living rooms.

The Free Library of Philadelphia
The Free Library of Philadelphia system consists of 49 branches, three regional libraries, the Parkway Central Library, and the Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. With more than 6 million visits annually, the Free Library is one of the most widely used educational and cultural institutions in Philadelphia.

PHILADELPHIA (JUNE 4, 2010) - SpectiCast, a Philadelphia company that simulcasts professionally directed and produced live events to Multi-Viewer VenuesTM worldwide, has announced its 2010/2011 Philadelphia Orchestra Concert Series.

In its second season of presenting the Philadelphia Orchestra private theaters across the country, SpectiCast is pleased to announce nine new concerts for next season beginning this fall. Lead once again by the Music Director Charles Dutoit as well as several guest conductors, this seasons line up will includes pieces from Liszt, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, Beethoven, Shostakovich, and Stravinsky.

"We are very excited about the upcoming season," said Derek Pew, Chariman of SpectiCast. "This season marks a new and exciting era for the Philadelphia Orchestra, and Specticast is thrilled to participate in bringing these world class performances to viewers around the world. With the addition of Allison Vulgamore as its President and Chief Executive Officer and the naming of Yannick Nézet-Séguin as its new music director, the Philadelphia Orchestra has solidified its place among the elite orchestras of the world. We hope our remote viewers enjoy the world-class live events that we will deliver for their enjoyment."

For a full schedule of this and other exciting programming such as Live From Curtis and The Author Event Series, please visit us at www.specticast.com.

About SpectiCast - Based in Philadelphia, SpectiCast broadcasts live cultural arts and entertainment events, never before available, through its private digital network to Multi-Viewer VenuesTM including Assisted Living Facilities, Independent Care Facilities and Continuing Care Retirement Communities. The company delivers the highest quality audiovisual digital television experience via the Internet in the comfort, convenience and safety of private auditoriums, theatres, and living rooms.

The Philadelphia Orchestra - Founded in 1900, The Philadelphia Orchestra has distinguished itself as one of the leading orchestras in the world through a century of acclaimed performances, historic international tours, best-selling recordings, and its unprecedented record of innovation in recording technologies and outreach. The Orchestra has maintained an unparalleled unity in artistic leadership with only seven music directors throughout its history: Fritz Scheel (1900-07), Carl Pohlig (1907-12), Leopold Stokowski (1912-41), Eugene Ormandy (1936-80), Riccardo Muti (1980-92), Wolfgang Sawallisch (1993-2003), and Christoph Eschenbach (2003-08). This rich tradition is carried on by Charles Dutoit, who was appointed chief conductor and artistic adviser of The Philadelphia Orchestra from the 2008-09 season through the 2011-12 season. Mr. Dutoit has a long-standing relationship with the Orchestra, having made his debut with the ensemble in 1980.

The Philadelphia Orchestra annually touches the lives of more than one million music lovers worldwide through its performances, publications, recordings, and broadcasts. The Orchestra presents a subscription season in Philadelphia each year from September to May, in addition to education and community partnership programs, and appears annually at Carnegie Hall. Its summer schedule includes an outdoor series at Philadelphia's Mann Center for the Performing Arts, free Neighborhood Concerts, and residencies at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in upstate New York.

For more information about The Philadelphia Orchestra please visit www.philorch.org.

By Peter Dobrin INQUIRER MUSIC CRITIC

In a bold return to previous eras of youthful leadership, the Philadelphia Orchestra has chosen to be led by an emerging - though much sought-after - conductor.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin, a 35-year-old Canadian whose starry orchestra and opera career is much in the ascent of late, is set to become Philadelphia's eighth music director in 2012. At that time, chief conductor Charles Dutoit will take the title of conductor laureate. The orchestra's board was expected to approve the appointment Monday.

His contract runs through 2017, but board chairman Richard B. Worley says he expects the conductor to remain at the helm longer.

"I believe that we have attracted a rising star early in his career, and he will assume the post of music director at about the same age as Ormandy and Muti," said Worley. "And I believe that continuity is important to building audiences. It is certainly my hope that he will lead this orchestra for a very, very long period of time - I hope a decade or more."

The offer to the boyish, aerobic conductor - whose name is pronounced Yah-NEEK Neh-ZAY Say-GUN, but is commonly shorthanded to YNS - came after only two visits to Verizon Hall, in 2008 and 2009.

Opinions vary, as they do on most conductors, but Nézet-Séguin is considered something of a catch, and has been hailed as an important starter by even fastidious critics.

"Although he is not as flamboyant as the Venezuelan Gustavo Dudamel, the pair are increasingly mentioned in the same breath as leaders of their generation," wrote London critic Norman Lebrecht for Bloomberg recently.

The new partnership aims to satisfy critical objectives for both parties:

The orchestra captures a winsome, energetic chief and renewed institutional energy after a four-year search dogged by flagging ticket sales; and Nézet-Séguin wins a top job in a first-rank ensemble, which, despite his many prestigious guest appearances, he has not yet landed.

But the move does not come without risk.

What's not clear is whether the young conductor carries enough authority to manage backstage duties such as prickly personnel matters, or whether he has an ear for the ensemble-building workouts required to maintain quality.

Also unknown is whether he will cultivate the orchestra's blended, string-rich personality.

"Sometimes you have to take a risk, and it doesn't feel like a huge risk," said one orchestra player who counts himself a fan. "The risk is that it's only 75 percent of what is hoped for, and the best case is that it's 110 percent."

Offering the job after only two visits means that the orchestra will have made the appointment after less contact with Nézet-Séguin than any other conductor since Leopold Stokowski arrived in 1912, age 30, sight unseen.

Riccardo Muti was already principal guest conductor with several multiple-week appearances by the time he, at age 39, officially succeeded Eugene Ormandy in 1980. The choice of Wolfgang Sawallisch was announced in 1990 after a guest conducting relationship that began in 1966. Though Christoph Eschenbach had not been a recent presence when he was named in 2001, he did have a track record beginning with his debut in 1989.

But the orchestra had few deep relationships to fall back on when Eschenbach and the orchestra announced a separation in 2006.

Simon Rattle was sounded out about the job, but, after signing a contract to take over the Berlin Philharmonic, his agent said that as far as Philadelphia was concerned, "all bets are off."

"He has accepted the invitation from the Berliner Philharmoniker to continue as their chief conductor and music director," said Martin Campbell-White in 2008. "Like any sensible person, he can only have one job at a time."

Vladimir Jurowski, 38, who drew sold-out houses and ardent support from the musicians, was asked early on in the search process whether he would be interested in the job. But he signaled that he was committed elsewhere through 2015. The orchestra has now proposed multiple-week visits and touring with the Russian-born maestro in future seasons, but nothing has been settled.

Nézet-Séguin follows Charles Dutoit, 73, the Swiss conductor who has held some music-director responsibilities but not others in an unusual "chief conductor" contract running through the 2011-12 season.

Though the quality of his performances and close rapport with the orchestra were never disputed, Dutoit divided musicians on the question of whether he should have been given the music director title.

It was a post he clearly would have savored after a three-decade relationship spanning several titles at Verizon Hall, and the orchestra's summers homes in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. and Fairmount Park.

"I was 10 years at the Mann and I will have conducted around 200 different programs at [Saratoga] in the 21 years I will have been there. (Ormandy was there for 19 years!)," Dutoit wrote in an e-mail last week. "But these recent years here in Philadelphia have been the most difficult ones of my entire professional life. The total vacuum in the administration when I started, the recession, the strange attitude of the press and the search committee have all created an unhealthy atmosphere which was often hard to work in.

"I just hope that some day, my tenure here as Chief Conductor will be perceived as more than just an 'interim' conductor.

"It was not easy steering straight in these hard times and I think an extremely high musical level was maintained despite the chaotic times."

After deciding to part ways with Eschenbach, the orchestra set up a search committee of board members, musicians and orchestra administrators in 2007. Rank-and-file musicians were periodically polled for reactions to visiting conductors.

Some musicians were hoping that an overwhelming mandate would gather around a particular aspirant, but others thought the search had gone on long enough.

"Waiting for something to happen" had ceased to be an option, said one musician, "because of the danger of creating an ideal so perfect that no one would ever meet it."

The choice of Nézet-Séguin comes amid unprecedented financial and organizational challenges for the 110-year-old orchestra, which is operating through the support of an emergency bridge fund and grappling with the question of how, and even whether, to maintain an international profile as one of the world's best orchestral ensembles.

The orchestra's latest projections estimate a $1.6 million deficit at the end of the season - perhaps lower if the orchestra can close the gap on raising money for the bridge fund. Worley says he expects the music-director announcement will stimulate generosity. "I certainly hope so and expect so," he said.

Orchestra president Allison B. Vulgamore declined to quantify Nézet-Séguin's compensation. The Orchestra Association paid $1.75 million to Eschenbach in the year ending Aug. 31, 2008, according to tax filings.

With his datebook already crowded, Nézet-Séguin's arrival in Philadelphia will come in phases. In 2010-11, as music-director-designate, he will conduct two weeks here. In 2011-12, the number of weeks will increase to five. In his first season as music director, 2012-2013, Nézet-Séguin will lead up to seven weeks of concerts. In his second and third seasons (2013-14 and 2014-15) he will conduct 15 weeks. He will conduct 16 weeks of concerts in his fourth and fifth seasons (2015-16 and 2016-17). His responsibilities will include subscription concerts, special events, tours and summer appearances.

The appointment of Nézet-Séguin is not necessarily a bellwether of any institutional direction. His career so far has struck a balance between local loyalties and global ambition.

After taking over the second-tier Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal in 2000, Nézet-Séguin's career accelerated in 2008, when he became music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

A quick series of prestigious debuts followed: the Philadelphia Orchestra (only his second U.S. orchestral debut, and his first with one of the traditional "Big Five"), the Salzburg Festival and the Metropolitan Opera.

"The singers benefited immensely from the work of the rising . . . Canadian conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, in his Met debut, who led a bracing, fleet and fresh account of the score, although he started the rousing prelude at a breakneck, frenetic tempo," wrote New York Times critic Anthony Tommasini of the conductor's Carmen on New Year's Eve 2009.

(The Met was rewarded for its debut of Nézet-Séguin: Jacqueline Desmarais, a managing director of the Met Opera Board and wife of Paul Desmarais, Sr., one of the 10 richest Canadians, decided to sponsor the new Carmen production upon learning that Nézet-Séguin would conduct it. Now he is signed up for one production in each of the next several seasons.)

"Now and then, as in his vibrant performance of Carmen at the Met, Mr. Nézet-Séguin let youthful enthusiasm get the better of him," wrote Tommasini in another review, this one of an appearance with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. "But who cared if he sometimes pushed the playing to extremes, when the music making was so in the moment and fresh?"

"If there's one gift I have from nature," the conductor told the Guardian, "it's a sort of limitless energy. I always find more - I don't know how."

Some music industry leaders privately posit that it's too much too soon, that by spreading himself so thin, Nézet-Séguin isn't giving himself adequate time to develop thoughtful interpretations.

But the pace shows no sign of slowing. He has debuts set for La Scala Milan and the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in 2010-11 and 2011-12, respectively.

He turned down a last-minute offer to debut with the Berlin Philharmonic when the date conflicted with his Montréal orchestra's Christmas concerts, but has a make-up debut with that ensemble set for October. He is scheduled for a first Chicago Symphony Orchestra outing in January.

Born March 6, 1975, in Montréal into a family of educators, the conductor was first named Yannick Séguin but at age 18 augmented his father's surname with his mother's.

His mother, Claudine - who still manages many of her son's affairs, and who sings under his baton in the chorus of his Montréal orchestra - told a Dutch newspaper that he announced his decision to be a conductor at 10.

After taking up piano, he expanded his studies into conducting, chamber music and composition at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal, and later attended rehearsals and performances of the revered Carlo Maria Giulini. He spent two summers at Westminster College of the Arts in Princeton studying choral conducting, and cites Giulini and Dutoit (music director of the Montréal Symphony from 1977 to 2002) as his chief inspirations.

"Dutoit would introduce pieces and be very accessible, and that had a big impact on me as a little boy," the conductor told Toronto's Globe and Mail. "If it had not been for this, I would maybe never have been a conductor."

With grand gestures and a jovial mien - in rehearsal he likes to sing instrumental parts out loud, in falsetto - Nézet-Séguin inspires some musicians and strikes others as limited.

"He's got a youthful personality and is trying to be too funny or clever too much of the time," said one Metropolitan Opera orchestra player who did not want to be identified. "Like many young conductors, he seems to take faster tempi too fast. He is not a conductor I would like as a steady diet."

Alain Cazes, a tuba player and founding member of the Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal, says Nézet-Séguin "has this ability to communicate his perspective to the orchestra, and his perspective becomes ours. He creates unity of artistic perspective - tonal unity, unity of phrasing. He's extremely clear."

Cazes, who has played with Nézet-Séguin for 11 years, says he has great humility and a non-authoritarian demeanor.

"What's so nice is, each time he makes a small mistake, he says, 'sorry, it's my mistake,' and he starts over again. He gets his authority from who he is and the clarity of what he wants. You know, he's very close to his parents, and it's almost like, 'if you don't like me, I don't care - my mother does.' He doesn't work in a way to get praise or to get love from people. He's just true."

Philadelphia Orchestra bass trombonist and search committee member Blair Bollinger said that it was the young conductor's "energy" and "enthusiasm" that distinguished him.

"It just kept coming back to chemistry," he said. "It's so hard to describe in words."

Off the podium, Nézet-Séguin is fan of Belgian beer, Champagne (Laurent-Perrier demi-sec), Björk, tennis (particularly Rafael Nadal) and Prada.

His repertoire is bound by no particular specialty. On his last visit to Philadelphia, he took the suggestion of Dutoit and led a rare account of Claude Vivier's modern and somewhat wild Orion, with the Franck D Minor Symphony and Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 1.

In 2008 he paired the Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 with a Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 that threatened to bigfoot piano soloist André Watts.

Next season he returns with Haydn's Symphony No. 100 and Mahler 5 in October, and then, in January, the Mozart Requiem and Debussy's Nocturnes.

As a podium presence, Nézet-Séguin's gestures tend to be so expansively physical they belie his stature; he says he is 5-foot-5.

If it is a drawback, he has found a silencing retort.

"Toscanini," he once pointed out, "was short too."

By David Patrick Stearns Inquirer Classical Music Critic

The search for young classical-music audiences reaches a gratifying conclusion when the young have grown old enough to have time for symphonies - and in places that have up-to-date technology.

The Philadelphia Orchestra may have been at home in the Kimmel Center one recent Sunday when young guest violinist Janine Jansen put her stamp on the Brahms Violin Concerto, but the performance was especially appreciated by a cultivated audience 25 miles away at the Hill at Whitemarsh, a retirement community in the scenic suburbs just outside Northwest Philadelphia.

"Range. Strength. Musicality," said resident Nancy Hess, who coordinates the Hill's music programs. Discussions on the fugue in Shostakovich's Symphony No. 11 followed.

The 100 or so Hill residents who heard the Sunday concert live in one of three dozen retirement communities that are pioneering Philadelphia Orchestra and Curtis Institute of Music simulcasts for a fraction of the money that New York's Metropolitan Opera lavishes on its movie-theater presentations. At the Hill - where simulcasts are seen in a lecture hall with a better-than-decent sound system - ticket sales, at $10 per concert, cover the cost of the subscription. Other subscribers are said to make a small profit.

Why this music? This audience? The numbers are straightforward: 30,000 U.S. retirement communities with 50 million baby boomers closing in on them - a potentially huge market, said Mark Rupp, cofounder of SpectiCast, which produces the simulcasts.

"It's an older, more educated market," he said, one whose members don't necessarily want the pop music of their youth, instead preferring the classical music of their maturity.

Performing-arts organizations wring their hands over their failure to attract the under-40 crowd, and perhaps they always have. A memo in the Marlboro Music archives fretted about the Vermont festival's future amid a graying audience. It was dated 1958.

"As people age, they seek out an art form that's more intimate, personal, and enduring - and less subject to the winds of fashion," said Philip Maneval, director of the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, who discovered the Marlboro memo. "And when people embrace it . . . they tend to love classical music for the rest of their lives."

That bond is the backbone of one of Philadelphia's strongest and most sophisticated cultural communities. The 70-somethings are one of several contingents who create enough demand for a 65-event Philadelphia Chamber Music Society season.

It's a loyal bunch. Though the Philadelphia Orchestra's evening concerts may drop into the range of 60 percent attendance, the senior-heavy Friday-afternoon concerts often approach or surpass 90 percent. About 30 percent of Friday subscribers have maintained their commitment for 15 years or more. Besides attending concerts, this is a crowd that makes annual contributions.

"I miss James Levine," groused Muriel Petkun, a relatively recent transplant to the Hill from Boston, where Levine is music director, "but I pledge to the [Philadelphia Orchestra] fund. We want to see these organizations stay."

Most of those in the Hill's auditorium feel that way. Though fixed income often means people trying to live on salaries more viable 30 years ago, it can also refer to those who didn't lose their money in the recent economic debacle.

The regulars at the Kimmel's Verizon Hall are hardly ostentatious - they dress and listen quietly - and the most conspicuous evidence of their presence are the shuttle buses that line Broad Street at the center during concerts.

They also are a cultivated audience: The "keyboard side" of Verizon Hall (from where pianists are best viewed) has a higher silver-haired population than other parts of the hall. Far from fitting the stereotype of marginalized retirees, some of the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society's most loyal listeners are community and industry leaders who still wield plenty of influence.

Commonly, the retirees had some casual musical indoctrination in previous decades - an elective music-appreciation class in college or trumpet lessons as a kid - that comes back to roost when their minds are no longer cluttered by their work lives. Retired surgeon John Roberts always went to some concerts, but they're a rather different experience now that his beeper doesn't come along, he said. He also has time to prepare for unusual items like the Shostakovich Eleventh. And Hill resident Phyllis Carter, who moved from Florida to be near family, took to music simply because it's here.

Some of the upscale retirement homes behave much like small-scale performing-arts centers. At Cathedral Village, the Quadrangle, the Fountains, Martin's Run, the Hill, and other places, concerts are played on the premises, sometimes with orchestra musicians but most often with young artists. Many less-than-ambulatory retirees were among the first to hear now-celebrated violinist Hilary Hahn play Bach, so active was she on the senior community circuit.

The more passionate among these young players - Hahn included - bristle at the suggestion that they're merely trying out repertoire for a captive, aging audience. These are real concerts, they say, and often more gratifying than more formal ones in concert halls. So uncontained was the enthusiasm for Hahn, at times, that she received a bouquet between Bach sonata movements rather than afterward. Other musicians walk away with gifts of needlepoint.

"Their energy was palpable today. Somebody shouted out, 'Oh, my god! Wow!' That happens in this setting - and doesn't in typical concerts," said Gwendolyn Krosnick, cellist of the Biava Quartet, one afternoon at Stapeley in Germantown, a community frequented by Astral Artists. The service agency for young artists has a strong bent toward populist music-making that includes 86 senior concerts this year - ones that are also a key part of its artists' development.

"These outreach concerts really humanize the musicians. When they're enclosed in a small space practicing for a particular recital, they don't get the opportunity to be in touch with the greater world," said Astral founder Vera Wilson. But with outreach opportunities, "by the time they come to Carnegie Hall, it's much more informed performance or interpretation."

Also, musicians can learn certain kinds of communication imperatives only by digging into their psyches while projecting with extra intensity to an audience that might have various barriers to musical appreciation. In fact, the Biava Quartet has confronted the ultimate: deafness. Part of the therapy for those with hearing loss is to attend concerts holding balloons to feel vibrations from Beethoven.

No surprise that Biava members talk about breakthroughs in tough works that might not have happened without an audience of seniors. One was in the Brahms String Quartet in C minor, which often feels symphonic in scope but has content that shouldn't be writ large.

"We'd been struggling to get to the intimacy of it. It's subtle. It's not heart-on-the-sleeve, but we didn't want to be too pale, either," recalled violist Mary Persin. "But in playing for them, we found something that day."

PHILADELPHIA (February 1, 2010) - SpectiCast, a Philadelphia company that broadcasts professionally directed and produced live events to Multi-Viewer VenuesTM worldwide, has announced additions to its winter 2010 lineup.

Expanding on its already impressive winter lineup of renowned authors such as Ken Burns, Richard Dawkins and Karen Armstrong, SpectiCast has made a number of exciting new additions to its Author Events Series, including Francine Prose "Anne Frank: The Book, The Life, The Afterlife"; Garry Wills "Bomb Power: The Modern Presidency and the National Security State"; Gordon S. Wood "Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815"; Michael Lewis "The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine"; and Tim O'Brien "The Things They Carried (20th Anniversary Edition)".

"We are thrilled to add such diverse and exciting programs to our schedule," said Mark Rupp, President of SpectiCast. The Free Library of Philadelphia's extraordinary Author Events program has been a tremendous addition to our portfolio of arts and cultural events, and we look forward to bringing continued simulcasts of these events to our growing audience for many years to come."

About SpectiCast
Based in Philadelphia, SpectiCast broadcasts live cultural arts and entertainment events, never before available, through its private digital network to Multi-Viewer Venues^TM including Assisted Living Facilities, Independent Care Facilities and Continuing Care Retirement Communities. The company delivers the highest quality audiovisual digital television experience via the Internet in the comfort, convenience and safety of private auditoriums, theatres, and living rooms.

The Philadelphia Orchestra
Founded in 1900, The Philadelphia Orchestra has distinguished itself as one of the leading orchestras in the world through a century of acclaimed performances, historic international tours, best-selling recordings, and its unprecedented record of innovation in recording technologies and outreach. The Orchestra has maintained an unparalleled unity in artistic leadership with only seven music directors throughout its history: Fritz Scheel (1900-07), Carl Pohlig (1907-12), Leopold Stokowski (1912-41), Eugene Ormandy (1936-80), Riccardo Muti (1980-92), Wolfgang Sawallisch (1993-2003), and Christoph Eschenbach (2003-08). This rich tradition is carried on by Charles Dutoit, who was appointed chief conductor and artistic adviser of The Philadelphia Orchestra from the 2008-09 season through the 2011-12 season. Mr. Dutoit has a long-standing relationship with the Orchestra, having made his debut with the ensemble in 1980.

The Philadelphia Orchestra annually touches the lives of more than one million music lovers worldwide through its performances, publications, recordings, and broadcasts. The Orchestra presents a subscription season in Philadelphia each year from September to May, in addition to education and community partnership programs, and appears annually at Carnegie Hall. Its summer schedule includes an outdoor series at Philadelphia's Mann Center for the Performing Arts, free Neighborhood Concerts, and residencies at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in upstate New York.

For more information about The Philadelphia Orchestra please visit www.philorch.org.

by KYW's Lauren Lipton

Say you want to hear a concert or lecture but you have no way of getting to where it's going on.

Enter Specticast, a Philadelphia-based company that is starting something new.

(Rupp:) "Specticast is a private digital broadcast company. We're focused on televising live, cultural, performing arts and entertainment events to senior communities, colleges, universities, and community centers for their use in private theatres."

Specticast's Mark Rupp (right) says first up, the Philadelphia Orchestra!

(Rupp:) "We have an agreement with the Philadelphia Orchestra Association, and we're scheduled, starting this fall, to broadcast five live Philadelphia Orchestra events. We will be sending those events live to senior communities and some colleges and universities."

So how does it work?

(Rupp:) "It would be like any other live event. In this case, instead of live performers on stage, on their large screen in their primary auditorium, they would be able to view a live event right out of Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center."

Joan May lives at the Quadrangle, a continuing care facility in Haverford, Pa., and was part of a test run of the orchestra.

(May:) "It was wonderful -- very exciting."

And this is just the beginning.

(Rupp:) "We have an agreement with the Free Library of Philadelphia to broadcast live their author event series."

(May:) "It's the closest you could possibly get to being there."

And that's Positively Philadelphia!

For more information on SpectiCast, please visit www.specticast.com.

PHILADELPHIA (September 4, 2009) - Specticast has announced a new content partnership with the Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia's world-renowned conservatory on Rittenhouse Square. SpectiCast, a Philadelphia company broadcasting live, professionally directed and produced events to Multi-Viewer Venues^TM using a proprietary digital video technology, will add several Live from Curtis programs to its Music Collection in the 2009-10 season.

"We are thrilled to welcome the Curtis Institute of Music as a new content partner," said Derek Pew, Chairman of SpectiCast. "Curtis offers our viewers a wide range of virtuosic performances by some of the finest young talent in the world." Live from Curtis will capture the unique and intimate atmosphere of Curtis, where a distinctive "learn by doing" educational approach prompts more than 130 public performances each season. Since the school's founding in 1924, this philosophy has produced an impressive number of notable artists, from such legends as Leonard Bernstein and Samuel Barber to current stars Juan Diego Flórez, Alan Gilbert, Jennifer Higdon, Hilary Hahn, Lang Lang, and Time for Three. The Live from Curtis series will include a mix of Curtis performances, including chamber music, opera excerpts, and orchestral selections.

"Curtis welcomes this unique opportunity to offer its music to new venues nationwide through SpectiCast's state-of-the-art video technology," said Roberto Díaz, President and CEO of Curtis. "We're proud of our superb student performers, and delighted to bring their enthusiasm for music-making to a broader audience."

SpectiCast broadcasts cultural arts and entertainment content to Multi-Viewer Venues^TM: locations with a standard broadband Internet connection, a television, a sound system, and seating for multiple spectators. SpectiCast offers programming in Enhanced Definition and high Definition format. The company's goal is not to replicate the in-person experience of going to see a live performance, but to offer a new experience for audiences who are not able to travel to see live cultural events such as orchestra and opera performances, musicals, theater productions, and celebrity and author speaking engagements.

To showcase its new life-enrichment concept, SpectiCast broadcast its first nationwide event on Friday, June 5: a live performance of Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances by The Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Charles Dutoit. Several thousand viewers in over two dozen locations throughout the country participated in such venues as assisted living facilities, independent care facilities, and continuing care retirement communities. SpectiCast recently announced its first offering under the Speaker Collection, which will showcase the highly successful Author Event Series from the Free Library of Philadelphia. In addition to senior care facilities, SpectiCast will also broadcast events this fall to universities and community theaters.

About SpectiCast
Based in Philadelphia, SpectiCast broadcasts live cultural arts and entertainment events, never before available, through its private digital network to Multi-Viewer Venues^TM including Assisted Living Facilities, Independent Care Facilities and Continuing Care Retirement Communities. The company delivers the highest quality audiovisual digital television experience via the Internet in the comfort, convenience and safety of private auditoriums, theatres, and living rooms.

About the Curtis Institute of Music
The Curtis Institute of Music educates and trains exceptionally gifted young musicians for careers at the highest professional level. One of the world's leading music schools, Curtis provides full-tuition scholarships to all of its 160 students, ensuring that admissions are based solely on artistic promise, A Curtis education is tailored to the individual student, with personalized attention from a celebrated faculty and unusually frequent performance opportunities. For more information on the Curtis Institute of Music, please visit www.curtis.edu.

For more information on SpectiCast, please visit www.specticast.com.

Illinois and Wisconsin Venues to Screen Live Philadelphia Orchestra Concerts for their Residents

PHILADELPHIA (August 19, 2009) - This fall, residents of several CRL Senior Living Communities will enjoy concerts from the acclaimed Philadelphia Orchestra through a new service offered by SpectiCast, a Philadelphia-based company that broadcasts live, professionally-directed and produced events to venues throughout the country using a proprietary digital video technology. The classical music industry has been increasingly using technology to reach vaster audiences and win over new fans. Through SpectiCast's services, the Philadelphia Orchestra can significantly expand a concert's audience, bringing its world-renowned performances to private theaters throughout the country and internationally.

CRL Senior Living Communities, based in Chicago, will offer SpectiCast's services in three of its independent and assisted living facilities: Island Shores in Neenah, Wis.; Bellevue in Green Bay, Wis.; and Fox Point in McHenry, Ill. The season kicks off on October 2, 2009, with a performance by The Philadelphia Orchestra of Bartók's The Miraculous Mandarin and Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 live from the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia.

On June 5, 2009, SpectiCast broadcast their first nationwide event, a live performance by The Philadelphia Orchestra featuring Charles Dutoit conducting Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances, to venues throughout the country to showcase their new life enrichment concept. CRL Senior Living Communities participated in the June 5 event, as well other facilities in the mid-West and on both the East and West coasts.

"Our residents gave us rave reviews of the June 5 broadcast," said Ari Weinberger, president of CRL Senior Living Communities. "We are thrilled to bring SpectiCast's Music Collection and The Philadelphia Orchestra to three of our communities this fall, with the thought of expanding in the near future to the rest."

"SpectiCast allows residents who may find it difficult to see live performances or attend the theater a chance to watch live performances as they unfold in real time," said Mark Rupp, founder of SpectiCast. "Our goal is not to replicate the in-person experience of going to a cultural event, but to bring a new experience to viewers through close-ups, interviews and amplification. We are thrilled that CRL Senior Living Communities has signed on for SpectiCast's fall concert series."

SpectiCast broadcasts live cultural arts and entertainment content to Multi-Viewer Venues^TM, which are sites that include retirement communities, independent living and assisted living facilities, community centers, playhouses, movie theatres, school auditoriums and other similar venues.

In addition to the Philadelphia Orchestra performance package, Specticast also offers a Speaker Series through a partnership with the Free Library of Philadelphia. Their author events will be available through SpectiCast starting this fall; past speakers at the Library included Malcolm Gladwell, Ruth Reichl, Elie Wiesel, P.J. O'Rourke and President Barack Obama.

About SpectiCast
Based in Philadelphia, SpectiCast broadcasts live cultural arts and entertainment events, never before available, through its private digital network to Multi-Viewer Venues^TM including Assisted Living Facilities, Independent Care Facilities and Continuing Care Retirement Communities. The company delivers the highest quality audiovisual digital television experience via the Internet in the comfort, convenience and safety of private auditoriums, theatres, and living rooms.

About CRL Senior Living Communities
Based in Chicago, CRL specializes in operating and managing state-of-the-art senior care residences that deliver the highest standard of care in specially designed therapeutic environments. The company meets the needs of seniors with independent living, assisted living and Alzheimer's/memory impairment care communities. CRL operates communities in six Wisconsin cities and is expanding throughout the state and the Midwest. For more information, visit www.crlcares.com.

For more information on SpectiCast, please visit www.specticast.com.

Philadelphia Business Journal - by Peter Key Staff Writer

Two local telecommunications entrepreneurs have started a company that uses new technology to bring cultural events to mature audience.

Derek Pew and Mark Rupp are principals in SpectiCast, which last Friday broadcast a Philadelphia Orchestra performance over the Internet to more than two dozen retirement, assisted-living and independent-care communities across the country.

The company has a deal to broadcast five performances during the orchestra's upcoming season and today announced a deal to broadcast speaking appearances by authors at the Free Library of Philadelphia.

Pew and Rupp are the founders of Network Acquisition Co. LLC, which last June took over the network built by EarthLink Inc. to provide wireless, high-speed Internet access throughout Philadelphia.

The two have been working together on various telecommunications and technology startups since 1995 and in 2001 formed Boathouse Communications Partners LLC to be a holding company for their ventures.

In testing various digital transmission technologies for a phone company owned by Boathouse, Pew and Rupp came across one they liked so much that they decided to start SpectiCast around it.

SpectiCast's digital video technology allows it to, in effect, create a channel over the Internet through which it can transmit enough data fast enough to broadcast live events.

Receiving the broadcasts requires a special box in addition to an Internet connection. The box can be connected to one television or to a network of televisions, so that an assisted-living community, for example, can make a broadcast available to residents in its community center and in their rooms.

SpectiCast broadcasts events in regular and high definition. In both cases, the broadcasts are of sufficient quality to be viewed on large format screens.

Pew and Rupp did two test broadcasts of the Philadelphia Orchestra - Pew is a member of the orchestra's board of directors - to a half-dozen or so retirement communities in the Philadelphia suburbs last winter and this spring.

When they got a positive response, they brought on some additional investors and officially launched SpectiCast last month.

The broadcast Friday was to demonstrate SpectiCast's capabilities on both the presentation and technology fronts. WHYY-TV and radio announcer Ed Cunningham hosted it and conducted interviews with orchestra members prior to the concert and at intermission.

Most of the retirement communities that received the broadcast were in the area, but there were several in the Midwest and two in California.

SpectiCast decided to target retirement communities, as well as independent-care and assisted-living communities, because of the sheer number of them.

"There's about 30,000-plus retirement communities in the United States alone and there's about 50 million people that are about to retire, so it's one segment of the population that's definitely going to grow in the next five to 10 years," Rupp said.

SpectiCast also intends to make its broadcasts available to community centers, playhouses, movie theaters and school auditoriums. Rupp said universities in Japan and Romania have inquired about its service.

The trail that SpectiCast is trying to blaze isn't completely uncharted.

The Metropolitan Opera Association of New York City makes high-definition broadcasts of its performances available in movie theaters throughout the world and the Berlin Philharmonic has begun making high-definition versions of its concerts available over its Web site.

But SpectiCast is going after a distinct audience and tailoring the choice and production of its events to them.

"We don't think there's any other companies doing exactly what we're doing," Rupp said.

For more information on SpectiCast, please visit www.specticast.com.

New Speaker Collection Set to Begin this Fall

PHILADELPHIA (June 12, 2009) - SpectiCast, a Philadelphia company that broadcasts live, professionally-directed and produced events to Multi-Viewer Venues^TM throughout the Philadelphia region and other markets using a proprietary digital video technology, has announced a new content partner - The Free Library of Philadelphia. In addition to their Music Collection, which currently offers live concerts from The Philadelphia Orchestra, SpectiCast will now offer its Speaker Collection initially through the Library's Author Event series.

"We are thrilled to announce The Free Library of Philadelphia as a new content partner," said Derek Pew, Chairman of SpectiCast. "The Library is an outstanding organization with a history of providing to the public a meaningful dialogue with today's most celebrated voices in the humanities and sciences through their Author Events."

SpectiCast broadcasts cultural arts and entertainment content to Multi-Viewer Venues^TM, locations that have a standard broadband Internet connection, a television, sound system, and seating for multiple spectators. SpectiCast offers programming in Enhanced Definition and High Defination format.

The events in the Speaker Collection will typically run 60-90 minutes in length: the first part will be the talk given by the author, followed by a question and answer session with the live audience. Past speakers at the Library's Author Events included Malcolm Gladwell, Ruth Reichl, Elie Wiesel, P.J. O'Rourke and President Barrack Obama.

"We are delighted to be in partnership with SpectiCast and have the opportunity to share our extraordinary author programs with a wider audience. The Free Library of Philadelphia presents the best authors writing today from the writers of great American novels to the hottest graphic novelists to the best cook book authors. I know this new audience will enjoy great conversations with these great authors," commented Siobhan Reardon, President and Director of the Free Library of Philadelphia.

"The Free Library of Philadelphia and The Philadelphia Orchestra are the perfect content partners to launch SpectiCast," said Mr. Pew. "We have a phenomenal group of events to offer our customers through the Library's dynamic Author Event Series and the Orchestra's distinguished concerts."

On Friday, June 5, SpectiCast broadcast their first nationwide event, a live performance by The Philadelphia Orchestra featuring Charles Dutoit conducting Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances, to over two dozen venues throughout the country to showcase their new life enrichment concept. The venues included Assisted Living Facilities, Independent Care Facilities and Continuing Care Retirement Communities, including some as far away as California and Wisconsin, in addition to those in the greater Philadelphia area. The target market for the Speaker Collection will be complementary to the Music Collection, reaching out to universities and other venues in addition to retirement communities and assisted living facilities.

About SpectiCast
Based in Philadelphia, SpectiCast broadcasts live cultural arts and entertainment events, never before available, through its private digital network to Multi-Viewer Venues^TM including Assisted Living Facilities, Independent Care Facilities and Continuing Care Retirement Communities. The company delivers the highest quality audiovisual digital television experience via the Internet in the comfort, convenience and safety of private auditoriums, theatres, and living rooms.

For more information on SpectiCast, please visit www.specticast.com.

by Peter Van Allen Staff Writer

A Philadelphia company will broadcast Philadelphia Orchestra concerts and other events to a niche audience.

SpectiCast has set up arrangements with assisted living and retirement communities to deliver the new service. It will launch broadcasts of the Orchestra on June 5.

The broadcasts will be shown locally and in other markets through proprietary digital video technology, conveyed through broadband Internet connections.

Thus far, 20 locations have signed up for the service, including retirement homes as far away as Wisconsin and California.

"This is a unique opportunity to experience cultural events in an entirely new way in the comfort of your own community," said Derek Pew, chairman of SpectiCast.

"The Philadelphia Orchestra is committed to finding alternative ways for listeners to hear its music, and our new partnership with SpectiCast provides us with an excellent opportunity to reach those who might not otherwise be able to attend concerts at the Kimmel Center," Frank Slattery, executive director of the Philadelphia Orchestra Association, said.

SpectiCast broadcasts cultural arts-and-entertainment, including orchestra and opera performances, musicals, theater productions and speaker series.

For more information on SpectiCast, please visit www.specticast.com.

June 5 Marks Inaugural Event: A Live Performance by The Philadelphia Orchestra

PHILADELPHIA (May 5, 2009) - A new company today announced that it will broadcast live, professionally-directed and produced, orchestral and other cultural events to Multi-Viewer Venues^TM throughout the Philadelphia region and other markets using a proprietary digital video technology. These live events offer remote viewing to individuals unable or unwilling to go to the concert hall or auditorium, and provide a different life experience through close-ups, interviews and amplification.

"Responses to our test broadcasts have been overwhelming because our goal is not to replicate the in-person experience of going to a cultural event, but to bring an entirely new experience to viewers," said Derek Pew, Chairman of SpectiCast. "This is a unique opportunity to experience cultural events in an entirely new way in the comfort of your own community." SpectiCast broadcasts cultural arts and entertainment content, including live orchestra and opera performances, musicals, theater productions, and celebrity and author speaker series to Multi-Viewer Venues^TM.

A Multi-Viewer Venue^TM is a location that has a standard broadband Internet connection, a television, sound system, and seating for multiple spectators. Typically, the Multi-Viewer Venues that SpectiCast targets seat 50 or more persons and include retirement communities, independent living and assisted living facilities, community centers, playhouses, movie theatres, school auditoriums and other similar venues.

"We are pleased to announce that our marquee content partner is the world-renowned Philadelphia Orchestra," said Mr. Pew. "On June 5, we will broadcast our first event, a live performance by The Philadelphia Orchestra, featuring Charles Dutoit conducting Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances to a limited number of venues throughout the country to showcase this new life enrichment concept. We will announce additional content partners in the near future and are extremely excited about our content lineup."

"The Philadelphia Orchestra is committed to finding alternative ways for listeners to hear its music, and our new partnership with SpectiCast provides us with an excellent opportunity to reach those who might not otherwise be able to attend concerts at the Kimmel Center," said Executive Director of The Philadelphia Orchestra Association Frank Slattery. "It's exciting for all of us to participate in a venture that takes advantage of cutting-edge technology and we look forward to working with SpectiCast as the project unfolds."

About SpectiCast
Based in Philadelphia, SpectiCast broadcasts live cultural arts and entertainment events, never before available, through its private digital network to Multi-Viewer Venues^TM including Assisted Living Facilities, Independent Care Facilities and Continuing Care Retirement Communities. The company delivers the highest quality audiovisual digital television experience via the Internet in the comfort, convenience and safety of private auditoriums, theatres, and living rooms.

The Philadelphia Orchestra
Founded in 1900, The Philadelphia Orchestra has distinguished itself as one of the leading orchestras in the world through a century of acclaimed performances, historic international tours, best-selling recordings, and its unprecedented record of innovation in recording technologies and outreach. The Orchestra has maintained an unparalleled unity in artistic leadership with only seven music directors throughout its history: Fritz Scheel (1900-07), Carl Pohlig (1907-12), Leopold Stokowski (1912-41), Eugene Ormandy (1936-80), Riccardo Muti (1980-92), Wolfgang Sawallisch (1993-2003), and Christoph Eschenbach (2003-08). This rich tradition is carried on by Charles Dutoit, who was appointed chief conductor and artistic adviser of The Philadelphia Orchestra from the 2008-09 season through the 2011-12 season. Mr. Dutoit has a long-standing relationship with the Orchestra, having made his debut with the ensemble in 1980.

The Philadelphia Orchestra annually touches the lives of more than one million music lovers worldwide through its performances, publications, recordings, and broadcasts. The Orchestra presents a subscription season in Philadelphia each year from September to May, in addition to education and community partnership programs, and appears annually at Carnegie Hall. Its summer schedule includes an outdoor series at Philadelphia's Mann Center for the Performing Arts, free Neighborhood Concerts, and residencies at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in upstate New York.

For more information about The Philadelphia Orchestra please visit www.philorch.org.