"Blow from the lips, like this..." says Dan Perantoni as he models the most efficient way to blow the air into the tuba. The student simply imitates what he sees and the results are immediately audible; the resulting sound is more solid, full and flexible. Perantoni then instructs him to play again as a great singer would perform it. The student plays the example again and the surrounding class nods in approval. This freshman from the tuba studio at the University of Manitoba has clearly impressed Mr. P with his performance of a movement from the Hindemith Sonate and a low-register etude by Phil Snedecor. At the end of their 20-minute lesson in front of the class, the student returns to his seat amid applause from the audience. The student has just learned from one of the masters and will use what he learned to take him to the next level.

This scene is typical of any masterclass. What is not typical is that the class is not being held at Indiana University, but at a grade K-12 school in Winnipeg, Manitoba...

and Mr. Perantoni is not even physically present. Mr. P is visible and audible though on a big screen, and he can see and hear the students. This class is being conducted via internet, using Macintosh's iChat computer program.

Stewart Smith, Instructor of Euphonium and Coordinator for Distance Learning at the University of Manitoba, and his high school friend, percussionist Allan Molnar, with the help of a grant from the University of Manitoba, have started a remarkable masterclass series: The ALIVE (Accessible Live Internet Video Education) Project.

The idea of having a masterclass via internet was hatched in 2004 when Molnar, who was then teaching at Brooklyn College in New York, was filling in as teacher for a secondary education methods class. It was a way for Molnar's students to gain real experience teaching Smith's class, who could benefit from the expertise of Molnar's more experienced students in New York.

Smith: "We had done all these things together since high school days, playing and various things. When he was filling in and doing this class on educational methods, in order to make it as real and as relevant as possible, we were looking at ways to get his students in Brooklyn involved with my students here in Winnipeg. We started tossing around all kinds of possibilities. Around this time, iChat software and Apple came out with the iSight camera and then it just kind of evolved from that."

The very first online project was a jazz improvisation lesson from New York to Winnipeg on February 19, 2004. After that first lesson, Smith and Molnar talked up the idea to professionals they knew would be interested. Smith talked a lot with John Griffiths in Regina and Rex Martin at Northwestern University, who he had studied with as a grad student. Molnar spoke with his large variety of jazz connections.

In September of 2005, the University of Manitoba approached Smith because they wanted to get New York musician Andy Farber to teach a jazz arranging class. According to Smith, this was the first real use of iSight at the University of Manitoba. In November of 2005, Smith, with the help of other faculty at the University of Manitoba, applied for and received a grant for this project. In March of 2006, the first online masterclass was held with John Griffiths from the University of Regina and things "just kind of went from there."

Smith: "There's really high-end systems that universities have (for video-conferencing), like the Manhattan School, New World Symphony and some of those locations which is great but the cost is prohibitive. We're taking a different approach where, basically, if you have a laptop computer and a high speed internet connection you're good to go. That gave it incredible flexibility."

Smith and Molnar have experimented with various types of software including Skype and oPhoneX (which allows a Mac to interface with a higher-end system), but have determined that the iChat platform has been the most successful because it's readily available and because Macintosh is largely the computer of choice for most musicians.

Smith: "Even if a teacher doesn't own a Mac, there's a good chance one of his or her students will have one."

In choosing artists to present classes, Smith points out that the ideal teacher is someone who is receptive to the idea and computer literate. Some artists are able to do everything on their own while others have opted to have an IT person or some other kind of assistant to handle the technical side of things so the teacher can focus on teaching. So far, there has been nearly 100% acceptance among teachers approached and widespread agreement about the benefits of the class.

The ALIVE Project is all about accessibility. The receptiveness of the teachers has been overwhelmingly positive. Rex Martin: "The biggest advantage of these classes is cost and time effectiveness. It is MUCH cheaper to have somebody give a video master class than to schedule the day, or days, when someone can come to your school, to pay for the travel, accommodation and expenses of it all. It amounts to an hour or two out of my normal day at home, instead of a minimum of two days travel to a distant location. It has a tremendous amount of potential, and I assume there will be more of these in the near future."

Smith adds: "It brings people to the students that they otherwise might not get to. In the case of my euphonium students at the U of M, they each got a half-hour to forty-minute private lesson with Brian Bowman. Another subtext of this is the whole musical community; regardless of whether you're an undergrad at the University of Manitoba or a teacher at one of the premier music schools, we're still part of the same community and we all have similar hopes and aspirations for the musical future of our instruments. I think it's good for our students to get in contact with these people. I was fortunate when I was an undergrad, working at a summer music camp in Saskatchewan, to meet professional musicians and had the opportunity to play in the faculty ensembles with them. I learned so much just sitting beside John (Griffiths) in concert band and playing with Ashley Alexander in jazz band. There's no way you can put a value on that kind of an education. I know how valuable it was for me; I should try and create those kinds of experiences for my students if I can. The ALIVE Project has allowed that."

All teachers asked feel that they are able to be quite effective over the internet in this masterclass format. Brian Bowman: "It was very interesting and seemed to be effective in many aspects. There were plenty of topics that could be addressed and I got everything I could into the time period."

Chris Lee, principal tuba of the Winnipeg Symphony and instructor of tuba at the University of Manitoba, sat in on the class presented by Dan Perantoni. Lee, a student and former TA of Mr. Perantoni, had this to say: "I was surprised at how much came through in the online masterclass. He (Perantoni) wasn´t able to go into 100% of what he does but I would say somewhere around 80%, which was great for my students. I felt like you could get a good sense of his sound and his concept of sound production. And his main teaching tool - imitation - seemed to be very sucessful over the internet. I think it could be an extremely valuable resource."

The only negatives mentioned by any of the teachers are a few of the specific things that one can only perceive or do in a live environment. Martin: "When I am with a student, I am able to help them with physiological issues of playing. I generally avoid those topics via the internet, since it is impossible to be absolutely certain of what is going on with the student without me being there to see, to hear, to feel what is going on."

According to Smith, the biggest difficulty has been the scheduling aspect. Coordinating a time when the desired venue for the class is open along with free time that the artist has can be a challenge.

Smith: "When you have a world-class artist, they're in demand." Technical glitches have been minimal. Sometimes there's heavy traffic on the internet connection or issues with firewalls when connecting from an institution. But largely, as long as there's a fast connection with lots of bandwidth, once things are set, audio and video run very clearly. There can be audio feedback or echo at times, but that can be dealt with by placing the microphone away from the speakers and knowing how to use the mute function when necessary.

Payment so far has been good for both sides. Smith: "I took what these kind of artists would normally charge for a private lesson (for the duration of the class) and doubled it." There also is a provision made for an IT person or other technical assistant on the teacher's end if an assistant is needed. For those attending the class, who would be paying for it, payment between a group of 10-20 people is easily divisible and affordable by most people.

So what kind of quality of teacher can be afforded? Here's a list of ALIVE Project participants so far:

Bobby Shew – renowned jazz trumpet player; alumnus of the bands Buddy Rich, Tommy Dorsey, Toshiko Akiyoshi and others; several years in the LA studios; active worldwide as performer and clinician

Rex Martin – professor of Tuba/Euphonium at Northwestern University; performer with Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, St. Louis Symphony and others; active clinician in Europe and Japan

Michael Mulcahy – 2nd Trombone, Chicago Symphony; Professor of Trombone at Northwestern University

Gail Williams –Associate Principal Horn, Chicago Symphony (retired); Professor of Horn at Northwestern University

Larry Combs – Principal Clarinet, Chicago Symphony; Professor of Clarinet at DePaul University

Morris "Arnie" Lang – Percussionist Emeritus, NY Philharmonic

Jay Friedman – Principal Trombone, Chicago Symphony; Professor of Trombone at Roosevelt University

John Hagstrom – 2nd Trumpet, Chicago Symphony; Professor of Trumpet at DePaul University

Brian Bowman – renowned Euphonium soloist and teacher; Proferssory of Euphonium - University of North Texas

Dan Perantoni – renowned Tuba soloist and teacher; Professor of Tuba - Indiana University

Dan Haerle – renowned jazz pianist, author and educator; Professor Emeritus - University of North Texas

Ruben Alvarez – Chicago–based Latin percussionist; member of IAJE Resource team; teaches at Roosevelt University and Northwestern

Dr. Kurt Gartner – Professor of Percussion at Kansas State University, directs the Latin Jazz Ensemble at KSU

Jack Mouse – Chicago-based jazz drummer; alumnus of the USAF Falconnaires, Stan Kenton Orchestra, Glenn Miller Orchestra; seven years with Clark Terry; performed with Joe Williams, Randy Brecker and others; Director of the Jazz Program at North Central College in Naperville, IL

Janice Borla – Chicago-based jazz vocalist; BluJazz recording artist; most recent album garnered four-star rating in DownBeat Magazine; teaches at North Central College and directs the Janice Borla Vocal Jazz Camp

John Corigliano – world renowned American composer and winner of Pulitzer Prize; Academy Award and Grammy Awards

Oscar Stagnaro - bassist for Paquito D'Rivera, Berklee College of Music

Jim Seeley - Lincoln Centre Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, New York freelance

Justin DiCiocio - Director, Manhattan School of Music Jazz Orchestra

Mike Mainieri - jazz vibraphonist

Terry Silverlight - NYC-based drummer, played with Phil Woods, Manhattan Jazz Orchestra, numerous recordings and hit records

Student response to the ALIVE Project has also been positive. Chad Reimer, tuba student at the University of Manitoba, says: "I was very excited to have the opportunity to play for Mr. P, I had heard so much about his teaching and playing. At first I was nervous but once I started to play I didn't think about anything but the music. Mr. P was very kind to me which made me feel very comfortable playing for him."

Rex Martin adds: "A great positive surprise was how engaged both the performers and the audience were. They were paying very close attention to what was going on, with seemingly excellent concentration and focus. I suppose that the novelty of it all is such that it is easy to stay engaged for an hour or ninety minutes. I was also very pleasantly surprised that there were so many questions both from the performers and from the audience. Sometimes audiences are a little timid, or intimidated, when someone is teaching a class live, and they sometimes take a while before they feel comfortable asking questions."

A masterclass series that can be presented in any location from any location; bringing world-class musicians face-to-face with people anywhere. That's what the ALIVE Project has proven is possible.