Atlanta Symphony Launches Kickstarter Campaign to Digitize Archives

Today, Wednesday, July 3, 2013, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) launched its first Kickstarter campaign, which aims to raise $5,000 to catalog, research, and digitize video and audio tapes, photos, and print materials from the ASO Archives.

The ASO Archives will begin the "digitization" process of more than 300 linear feet of materials by converting three videos of famed and nationally-recognized former Music Director Robert Shaw leading the ASO in concert. The videos, and many others currently in analog form, will require $5,000 in technology to convert to digital form. The technology acquired through donation funds will also be used to convert numerous archival elements into digital form, including more than one thousand photos. Once these photos are digitized, they will be available in the ASO Archives and featured on the ASO's website.

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Archives was established in anticipation of the 70th Anniversary Season (2014-15) of the Orchestra. The ASO Archives exists to identify, collect, and make available records of enduring value to the Orchestra's staff and the public at large. The Archives serves as the central repository for information and records created by the ASO and all of its affiliated groups and programs, including the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus, Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Associates, Chastain Park Amphitheater, Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park, Education and Community Concerts, and other notable events. Material in the Archives includes manuscripts, scrapbooks, press clippings, concert programs, photographs, sound recordings, and videos.

Donors to the ASO's Kickstarter campaign will be eligible for rewards on a tiered basis as follows:

- $25 or more: Special recognition on the ASO Archives website for one year and an acknowledgment letter.
- $50 or more: All items aforementioned and five free ASO song downloads.
- $100 or more: All items aforementioned and an ASO compact disc recording.
- $250 or more: All items aforementioned and special recognition in the 2013-14 season program book, as well as a photo of the Orchestra signed by an ASO musician.
- $500 or more: All items aforementioned and special recognition on the ASO donor wall for the entirety of the 2013-14 season, as well as an invitation to visit the ASO Archives and meet Archives Manager Bob Scarr.
- $1,000 or more: All items aforementioned and a 2013-14 concert season program book signed by Music Director Robert Spano.

For more details, visit aso.org/kickstarter.