The other evening I went to see some orchestral auditions for the Southbank Sinfonia in London. There were would-be orchestral members from Glasgow, Madrid, New York and Auckland playing - and those cities were exactly where they were playing, because the auditions were held using TelePresence technology.

The 'picture' was just the same as you might expect if you were going into a TelePresence suite for a Board meeting - except on the other 'side' was a talented musician trumpeting some high class notes, to my barely trained ear, flawlessly and nervelessly.

The 'concert hall' was BT Centre in Central London, with the players dotted in their nearest TelePresence suite in their home country. The collaborative experience of playing 'at home' meant there was an egalitarian aspect to the auditions. As not everyone auditioning can afford to fly thousands of miles for a 15 minute performance, the use of the collaborative technology means no one is limited from applying to join the Sinfonia. And not flying those thousands of miles is good for the carbon footprint too.

It wouldn't work for the orchestra if the quality of the medium didn't match the expertise of the players. But in this case, the wideband spatial audio and ultra high definition video meant that the judges were able to clearly distinguish between the quality of the musical performances on show.

Simon Over, music director of Southbank Sinfonia put it like this, "As an organisation revolving around and driven by young people, we must reflect their values and aspirations. Cutting carbon emissions and becoming a more sustainable group is at the heart of everything we do, as is a commitment to being as open and egalitarian as possible. We are delighted to be able to use new technology in such a creative way to enhance the principles we all hold."