Interlochen Arts Academy and FreeHand Systems Announce Pilot Program to Test the World's First Sheet Music Computer Tablet

Business Wire, April 19, 2004

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

LOS ALTOS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 19, 2004

FreeHand Systems, Inc., a world leader in the development, manufacture and marketing of electronic accessories to the music industry, and Interlochen Arts Academy, the nation's premier fine arts boarding high school, have announced a pilot program that will put the world's first sheet music computer tablet into the hands of the most talented and motivated high school musicians.

FreeHand Systems, a privately held Silicon Valley company with the mission of reinventing music for musicians worldwide, has created MusicPad Pro(R), a revolutionary electronic device that changes the way musicians compose, arrange and perform their art.

Interlochen Arts Academy, which each year enrolls 450 students from the United States and 20 other countries, will become the first school to test the MusicPad Pro, as part of Interlochen's music, theory and composition programs.

The MusicPad Pro fits neatly on a music stand, solving the age-old problem of turning music pages by letting musicians simply touch the screen. It also creates a paperless environment by providing storage capacity for an entire music library of more than 5,000 pages of sheet music. And FreeHand's proprietary annotation technology lets musicians mark up or compose new music while saving the original score.

"The potential for this technology is tremendous," said Michael Albaugh, Interlochen's Director of Music. "Our students are the best and the brightest, and I'm sure we will develop many uses for the MusicPad Pro that have yet to be considered. We plan to explore uses from the classroom to the stage."

"The Interlochen Arts Academy is widely-recognized as the nation's foremost music school for high school students, with an outstanding curriculum and a stellar faculty," said Kim Lorz, chief executive officer of FreeHand Systems. "We are privileged to be collaborating on this pilot project with Interlochen, and excited about working with them in furthering their mission of excellence in music education."

The MusicPad Pro sheet music computer tablet is housed in a charcoal grey ABS polymer enclosure not much larger than a sheet of paper. Weighing just under five pounds, it is lightweight and easy to carry. The MusicPad Pro Plus, which comes with a rechargeable battery, weighs a little more.

Both models have an easy-to-read, low glare, backlit 12.1-inch TFT LCD display. Key features include zoom in and zoom out capabilities and on-screen color highlighters and pens to add or erase rehearsal marks and notations. Digital music files in pdf, jpg and other popular graphics formats can be directly imported into the MusicPad Pro using the software provided with the device. Printed music can be scanned into a computer and then imported.

As part of the FreeHand Music Management System, FreeHand's website (www.freehandsystems.com) provides over 35,000 music compositions and digital files. Customer support and access to an on-line store to buy FreeHand products are also on the website.

Pricing & Availability

The new MusicPad Pro and MusicPad Pro Plus are available on FreeHand System's website (www.freehandsystems.com) and through FreeHand Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $999 (US). The MusicPad Pro Plus, which includes a 3-hour rechargeable battery, is $1,199.

About FreeHand Systems

FreeHand Systems, Inc. is a privately held company headquartered in Los Altos, Calif., with the mission of reinventing music for 60 million American musicians and their counterparts worldwide. The company is a world leader in the development, manufacture, and marketing of electronic accessories to the music industry, as well as the leading Internet-based provider of sheet music and digital files through its acquisition of Sunhawk Digital Music LLC.

Its flagship product, the MusicPad Pro, provides innovative technology and productivity benefits to arrangers, composers, conductors and performers within the orchestral, choral, studio musician markets, as well as music educators and amateur musicians. FreeHand Systems has been funded and mentored by KAL Equity Capital Fund II, LLC.

About Interlochen Arts Academy

Established in 1962 as the nation's first independent high school dedicated to the arts, Interlochen Arts Academy is the nation's top fine arts boarding high school. Students come to study Music, Visual Arts, Dance, Creative Writing, Theatre Arts and college-preparatory academics, with an extraordinarily distinguished faculty and staff. Students also benefit from frequent visits from guest artists, many of whom are distinguished alumni of Interlochen's programs.

The Academy is part of Interlochen Center for the Arts, whose 1,200-acre campus in northwest lower Michigan also is home to Interlochen Arts Camp, the nation's oldest and largest summer arts camp. More than 10 percent of the members of the nation's major orchestras attended Interlochen. Alumni include Jessye Norman, Josh Groban, Norah Jones, Jewel, Chris Brubeck, Chip Davis and Lorin Maazel, Music Director of the New York Philharmonic.