Collaboration often begins when a challenge stretches beyond the expertise of a single team creating a spark of curiosity to connect with another to create a solution.
That was the case when a group of classically trained musicians from the Conservatorio di Musica "Giuseppe Tartini" in Trieste, Italy, partnered with GARR, the Italian Research and Academic Network. Frustrated by the limits of distance and the high cost of travel, they needed a high-bandwidth solution that could bridge physical gaps without compromising performance quality. To achieve this, they turned to experts in connectivity, transforming a seemingly intractable problem into an innovative solution.
That’s what makes education institutions like GARR so great; they foster creativity, innovation, and unlikely collaborations. People who would have never met one another otherwise are given the opportunity to work together on life-changing projects, whether in labs, studios, or stages.
Behind many of these breakthroughs is an unsung hero: connectivity. Like the stage crew working behind the scenes, a reliable, high-performance network is often invisible, but essential.
At NYSERNet, we’re proud to be part of that backstage crew, helping campuses across our network turn creative visions into reality through fast, stable, and dedicated networks.
Collaboration has become especially evident in the growing field of performing arts. Network professionals and artists have been coming together to break down traditional barriers, reimagine performance, and open new creative possibilities.
The problem was simple to explain, but difficult to solve when musicians wanted to play together across distances as if they were in the same room. The delay in traditional video conferencing made that impossible. Enter LoLa (Low Latency Audio and Video Conferencing), a groundbreaking technology that lets performers connect in real time, without perceptible audio or visual lag using the Internet2 network. LOLA’s low latency, high-quality audio/video transmission system was specifically designed for network musical performances and interaction.
LoLa was founded by Conservatorio di Musica "Giuseppe Tartini" from Trieste, Italy, in collaboration with GARR, the Italian Research and Academic Network with the idea of pushing remote collaboration in the performing arts field.
LoLa was designed to help issues such as:
Performing arts professionals knew they would need high level networking experts and power to create this project. From a technical perspective, achieving high-fidelity, low-latency performance over a network is extremely demanding and requires precision.
The required technical capabilities for LoLa, such as "at least 1 Gigabit clean path between locations," are not typically offered by commercial providers. Only academic and research networks, like Internet2 and NYSERNet, can deliver the necessary "good and stable network connection".
Suddenly, the impossible became possible. Artists could rehearse together remotely. Teachers could run interactive master classes from across the ocean. Entire concerts could be performed live, with musicians and audiences thousands of miles apart.
(Source: LoLa) LoLa
As momentum for this kind of innovation grew, so did the need for more structured collaboration. That’s how the Network Performing Arts Production Workshop (NPAPW) came to be; a gathering of artists, technologists, and educators who believe that creativity and connectivity go hand in hand.
NPAPW, Network Performing Arts Production Workshop, is an annual event that brings together performing arts professionals and network technology professionals. A collaborative project involved with GEANT, Internet2, and European National Research and Education Networks (NRENs), NPAPW highlights the impact both groups have on one another, and how to collaborate for an innovative future.
These unlikely partners leave not only more informed but more inspired. NPAPW shows what’s possible when silos are broken and shared understanding is built. And as a proud supporter, Internet2 continues to amplify the story of LoLa, showcasing how something as technical as networking can empower something as human as art.
During the program NPAPW offers a single-track workshop that includes:
Through such collaborations, IT professionals learn the specific needs of musicians, and artists learn about the technical realities (e.g., why university firewalls, packet shaping, jitter, switches, and data streams are critical for musical experience).
It is truly a wonderful thing that technology has provided us with ways to connect a wide range of groups to create a project or solve a problem. Innovation and collaboration should always be prominent and fostered.
The collaboration between performers and network engineers is a model for the future. One that mirrors what happens on campuses every day, where diverse teams come together to explore, invent, and create. And it’s a reminder that sometimes, the most powerful art happens not despite our differences, but because of them.