LONGMEADOW – Living in a technology–driven world, for those of us who may be less tech–savvy, it can be hard to keep up. Reminder Publishing conducted an interview with Longmeadow locals Ali Fazaeli and Alexander Hulbert about their publishing platform, also referred to as an app called Xxglen, which is currently being utilized by the Springfield Symphony Orchestra.

Fazaeli, 63, was born in Iran and grew up in the United Kingdom until his job forced him to relocate to American Express Headquarters in New York City in 1986. In 2002, he moved to Longmeadow. Fazaeli worked on software engineering on applications ranging from chip manufacturing, baking, investment and finance. He studied Electronics at University of Kent at Canterbury, UK, and Computer Science at De Monfort University, Leicester, UK. Over the years, Fazaeli has worked for Intel Corporation, Xerox Corporation, American Express and was Vice President for Technology at Bankers Trust, now Deutsche Bank.

Hulbert on the other hand is 19, and is a current University of Massachusetts Amherst student. He’s pursuing a bachelor of science degree in Computer Science. In the past, Hulbert has worked on the development of open-source, community-driven programming projects in areas such as mobile security and music intelligence, and has done freelance WebApp and web design work.

Hulbert is the friend of Fazaeli’s son since their days at Williams Middle School in Longmeadow.

Fazaeli describes Xxglen, “Though it is referred to as an app, it is in fact a publishing platform with a unique aspect: its ability to release information to an end-user’s mobile device at an instant chosen by the publisher. An athletic league can use the app to put up-to-the-moment score and player biographies directly into the spectators’ smartphones right when that player scores a touchdown. The app can be used by a tour guide, presenter at a conference, teacher, or anyone who wants to communicate something to a group of people contemporaneously to enhance their experience or knowledge of what they are engaged in.”

The following is a lightly edited question and answer interview.

Reminder Publishing: Where did the idea for the app come from?

Fazaeli: I was briefly engaged in identifying a better way than the cumbersome “bulk texting” which had been done in 2016 and 2017 seasons at the SSO under the banner of Real–Time Concert Notes. My involvement ended with identifying potential apps already on the market that could do the job. But, as a trained engineer thinking in the abstract, I looked into solving a general case of contemporaneous publication for any purpose. I designed the system architecture for such an all-purpose engine. I’m in the process of obtaining a final utility patent for the idea and I’ve founded the company, XXGLEN LLC. Alex is an independent contractor working for XXGLEN LLC.

Reminder Publishing: How long have you both been developing it?

Fazaeli: On the technical side, six months of part-time work for Alex and I, 10 or so hours per week. On design and documentation, legal, financial, marketing aspects, it has been a full-time occupation for me.

Reminder Publishing: How is the Springfield Symphony Orchestra using the app?

Fazaeli: “SSO [Springfield Symphony Orchestra] uses the app to share with their patrons enlightening information about what they are listening to at the precise moment the orchestra is playing that part of the music. They also use the app to publish the program notes, event and concert calendars, sponsor information, the orchestra's musician roster, and more. One also could think of it as an echo-friendly paperless endeavor. The music notes for Real-Time Concert Notes now powered by XXGLEN are written by the orchestra's musicians. Their commentary delivered in real-time, therefore, is laden with the emotion they feel as they play, as well as tidbits on handwritten notes by the composer on the original score. Hats off to the SSO for putting this innovative tool to such imaginative uses.

Reminder Publishing: What is your greatest hope for the app in the future? Is there a plan for expansion?

Fazaeli: We hope to serve the arts, culture, nature, academia and sports in a new, revolutionizing way. We hope that whoever experiences a familiar event, e.g. a Beethoven 5th concert with our app, would prefer all their future concerts also to be XXglenned.

XXGLEN LLC is in the process of contacting vineyards of Napa Valley, schools, conference halls, and of course other orchestras, and music venues, jazz festivals, etc. XXGLEN is multi-lingual and we hope to introduce the idea far and wide.

Fazaeli and his wife, Giovanna Crisi, gifted the use of the software to the Springfield Symphony Orchestra. For more information on Xxglen, go to xxglen.com.

Fazaeli’s son Benji Fazaeli, a sophomore studying Aerospace Engineering at Delft University in the Netherlands is the webmaster.