Free SoundAboutPhilly Podcast Tours Give Visitors An Insider’s Look At Philadelphia
Reading Terminal Market
Photo by R. Kennedy for GPTMC
Description:
SoundAboutPhilly is a new series of free, dynamically mapped and completely customizable sound-seeing tours of Philadelphia available at www.soundaboutphilly.com. The tours concentrate on lesser-known city experiences and combine interesting tales, fun facts and lively music to tell the area’s story.
Themes:
Seven tours are planned within the first phase of the project. Each tour is made up of ten segments. The first three tours, now available on www.soundaboutphilly.com, are:
“History Unplugged,” 300 years of non-textbook American history
“Flavorhoods,” a look at dining in different ethnic neighborhoods
“My Philly,” recommendations straight from the mouths of local Philadelphians
The next four tours, to be rolled out about once per month, will include:
The African American experience in Philadelphia
Once Upon A Nation, the undertold tales of the Historic District
“Vintage” Philly spots
Philadelphia’s religious history
Technology:
Soundaboutphilly.com integrates the audio segments of the tours with Google Maps to help people customize a map to match their selected tour, print it out and take it with them as they explore the city. To hear the tours:
Listen directly on soundaboutphilly.com.
Download a tour or specific segments to iTunes or other audio players.
Sign up for an RSS feed to receive a new tour each time one is uploaded to the Web site.
The Music:
Martin Trum, a member of the American Composers Forum’s Philadelphia Chapter composed a musical theme with five variations and six musical “stings” used to punctuate the final product. The five variations are in the following styles: pop rock, hip hop, jazz, cinematic and chamber ensemble. The “stings” are edited and incorporated at appropriate cues in the audio tours.
Creators:
SoundAboutPhilly is an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts and was created by the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC).
The American Composers Forum, Philadelphia Chapter, (est. 1997) is a leading service organization devoted to composers and creators of original music in our region. ACF Philadelphia’s commissioning programs have been responsible for dozens of new works by local composers. For more information, call (610) 896-1571 or visit www.composersforum.org.
The Pew Charitable Trusts serves the public interest by providing information, advancing policy solutions and supporting civic life. The Trusts will invest $248 million in fiscal year 2007 to provide organizations and citizens with fact-based research and practical solutions for challenging issues.
The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) makes Philadelphia and The Countryside™ a premier destination through marketing and image building that increases business and promotes the region’s vitality. For more information about travel to Philadelphia, visit www.gophila.com or call the Independence Visitor Center, located in Independence National Historical Park, at
(800) 537-7676.
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CONTACT:
Caroline Bean, GPTMC
(215) 599-7433, caroline@gptmc.com