Internet2: 2004 and beyond
Internationally acclaimed violinist and conductor Pinchas Zukerman doesn't let a little thing like a few thousand miles stand in the way of reaching his students.
Using high-definition videoconferencing technology available through the Internet2 network, he can give individual instruction to students half a world away with CD-quality sound and DVD-like images.
Zukerman accesses the network as part of a program at the Manhattan School of Music. The school, an affiliate member of Internet2 through a relationship with Columbia University, has been using the network to do videoconferencing since 1999.
"I'll be the first to say that videoconferencing, even the high-quality technology available through Internet2, will never replace the live experience of teaching music," said Christianne Orto, director of recording and distance learning for the Manhattan School of Music. "But it has tremendously enhanced and revolutionized our ability to teach from a distance at a high level."
