Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony - Hack The Orchestra

Prizes have total cash value of $5,000

The Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony has partnered with Communitech to organize “Hack the Orchestra” - the first hackathon in the world to give hackers a full professional orchestra and superb concert hall to work with.

This 36-hour hackathon is being held in the heart of Canada's tech mecca and is open to young and less young - students and seasoned software developers. Hackers get to work with the full Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Music Director Edwin Outwater, guest conductor Carlos Izcaray, Centre In The Square tech crew and others. The KWS plans to demo the winning solutions during a set of KWS concerts in September, 2015.

Hackers do not need a music background. The software and/or hardware solutions could potentially be used to enhance the experience of any type of live performance in venues everywhere!

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES: 

Get your brand in front of the tech mecca of Canada. Become a sponsor today! Limited sponsorship available. Visit https://kwsymphony.ca/hackathon/ 

 VOLUNTEERS NEEDED 

Please contact [email protected] to help out for any length of time. 

SCHEDULE

May 22 Centre In The Square (CITS)

5:00 pm registration and orientation dinner at Centre In The Square (CITS);

6:00 pm keynote address

• select sponsors address hackers


• competition organizers give an overview of the evening’s concert and the weekend’s competition;


• presentation of what the KWS has tried technically before (what worked, what didn’t)


• competition rules are reviewed


• the problem to be resolved is announced

7:00 pm pre-concert lecture (Theatre, CITS)

8:00 pm concert “Beethoven’s Eroica” (details: https://tickets.kwsymphony.ca/single/EventDetail.aspx?p=1552 )

10:30 pm pre-formed teams are assigned workstations, independent hackers record his/her proposed solution on a stickie and posts it under the appropriate general category;  teams of 4 hackers each are formed based on similar interests in a particular solution; newly-formed teams are assigned to specific work areas and assemble there; 11:00 pm Competition begins and continues overnight

May 23

9:00 am Breakfast

10:30 am KWS demo/Q&A session with full orchestra and guest conductor, starts with a brief demonstration, then the orchestra and conductor are available for questions, requested demonstrations, etc.; CITS lighting and audio crew available for consultation. KWS Music Director, Edwin Outwater, available for consultation via Internet video call (from Milwaukee)

11:30 - 12:15 pm Orchestra break; social time for hackers with musicians

12:15 - 1:00 pm orchestra demos / prototype testing as requested by hackers

1:00 pm orchestra dismissed

1:00 pm Kik lunch

1:00 pm - 5 pm Various workshops and sponsor presentations scheduled through the afternoon

6:00 pm Dinner

  Competition continues through the night

May 24   

9:00 am Breakfast

10:30 - 11:30 am Brief presentations by each team to the judges;

11:30 - 12:00 pm 3 finalists selected; awards distributed

12:00 pm Final speeches; Hack the Orchestra  closes

September 25/26, 2015

Demonstration of winning projects during KWS “Beethoven Marathon” concert at Centre In The Square

HARDWARE

Hack the Orchestra will supply basic hardware: 

-  24 Myo armbands that developers (on loan) with some on-site engineering support

- Arduino microcontoller

- solderless breadboard and wires

- an assortment of LEDs

- small assortment of buttons and switches

- small 3.5mm cable to take apart to use to plug into a speaker

- small microphone ( a sound sensor not an actual mic)

- small servo motors

Participants may bring their own hardware to work with, but it may not be assembled prior to the official start of the hackathon. 

May 22, 2015 - May 24, 2015

36 King Street West, Kitchener, ON N2G 1A3, Canada

$5,000