America's Next Top Symphony Musician Might Live Next Door

In an age when holograms beam in to report for CNN and I attend staff meetings via Skype, I guess it's not so crazy that you can audition for a seat in a symphony orchestra without leaving your basement. Sure, you could MapQuest your way to Carnegie Hall, but why bother now that you can just upload your audition via YouTube and Tan Dun, MTT and Co. will listen at their leisure? Bonus: On-demand audition review mean no one risks missing the finale of Heroes or anything. Ah, the 21st century is a magical place.

It's not cutting edge technology at work here, but of course that's the point. So when you bring participation in that cultural beast we know and love as the Symphony and offer it to the People, what happens? I'll be watching the comments on this one.

UPDATE: The Detroit Symphony is also getting its geek on in order to connect with patrons from "the generation that has figured out how to use that Internet browser thingie on its cell phones. "