ShareMusicLab with Jacktrip and Norrlandsoperan's Symphony Orchestra

In connection to the artistic lab that was carried out in two parts together with Norrlandsoperan's Symphony Orchestra in August 2021, we at ShareMusic got the opportunity to try the Jacktrip technology in a real-life situation for the first time. In the first part, the orchestra were on site in Umeå, but the other musicians and lab leader Nigel Osborne were at the West coast of Sweden and in Scotland respectively. We also had a technical team that was spread out from Umeå to Borås, Berlin and Malmö.

When the final part of the lab was performed, a whole week of investigative work at Norrlandsoperan, we had three artists on site together with the orchestra in Umeå and two musicians remotely from Västra Götaland, Sweden. This time Nigel Osborne was also present at the opera in Umeå. With the help of the excellent sound reproduction via the Jacktrip technology, all musicians were able to improvise and create together in real time even though they were 830 km apart.

The lab took place through a meeting at the online platform Zoom and the audio was connected via the Jacktrip technology. One camera filmed the conductor, another covered the entire room. The sound engineer was the administrator and handled the arrangement via computer and a mixing console. Musicians Peter Larsson and Joel Mansour participated via computers and technical equipment in their respective homes. The sound was reproduced almost exactly in the moment, but the image in Zoom had a slight delay. For the musicians, however, the sound reproduction was crucial to be able to listen to each other and get a sense of interaction even if they were many kilometers apart.

‍The most important and fun thing for me this week, has been to be able to be a resource for the soloists. That meeting. I was part of the group that collaborated with Ewe day two and I really felt like in the right place. To take a part in her ideas and we could meet there. And that was probably my thought today, to be able to play with Peter, and to create another meeting. That we despite the distance in miles could meet and see how it worked. It felt like it succeeded.

Andreas Karlsson Walleng, trumpet
Norrlandsoperan's Symphony Orchestra

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The greatness of it all is probably that we have made an invitation, created an understanding of what we can bring. I think that might be the biggest reason why this lab went so well. That we have been able to show that 'you can do it this way too.'

William Hedendahl, ShareMusic's Skåne-based ensemble

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