Orchestral Acoustics 102: Orchestra vs. Hall

In a recent blog post, Washington Post music critic, Ann Midgette, posed questions concerning:

1. what influence a hall’s acoustic response has on orchestral performance technique, and
2. what effect the 1997 renovation of the Kennedy Center Concert Hall had in improving acoustics onstage and in the audience.

In response to the first, I can report conclusively that orchestras have great flexibility in adapting their playing to different environments. I offer a few anecdotal observations here supporting this contention and also comment on the effect of recent acoustical adjustments at Kennedy Center Concert Hall… (more…)

Free = Good. Free + Big Screens = Better.

From out of the gloomy mist that has characterized business news the past few weeks, a bright and shiny silver lining is threading its way across several cities this weekend in the form of free simulcast concerts. For the past few years, operas have dominated this niche but this season, the Nashville Symphony jumps on the bandwagon with their opening night concert on 09/11/2009 featuring pianist Lang Lang and the debut of new music director, Giancarlo Guerrero… (more…)

All About The Schermerhorn Symphony Center Part 6

The final article in this series examining Nashville’s new Schermerhorn Symphony Center (SSC) will explore the donor’s lounge, board room, green room, and inside the concert hall… (more…)

All About The Schermerhorn Symphony Center Part 5

Although we spent an entire week during the month of September taking a virtual tour around Nashville Symphony’s new $123.5 million Schermerhorn Symphony Center, we didn’t quite get all the way through. As such, it is high time to resume the final two articles in this series. This installment will continue by examining the SSC’s multitude of lobby and patron facilities… (more…)

All About The Schermerhorn Symphony Center Part 4

Picking up where we left off in Part 3, this installment in the series examining the new Schermerhorn Symphony Center (SSC) in Nashville, TN will examine the musician facilities, back stage facilities, box office, and dressing rooms… (more…)

All About The Schermerhorn Symphony Center Part 2

Part 1 in this series examining the new Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville, TN focused attention on the music library facilities. This installment will continue by examining the SSC’s recording facilities… (more…)

All About The Schermerhorn Symphony Center Part 1

Regular Adaptistration readers know that the Nashville Symphony’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center (SSC) project has been the focus of several articles here since 2003. Those articles have examined just about everything there is to know behind how and why their new facility’s evolution. Now that the SSC is a reality it is time to take a detailed look into as many nooks and crannies as we can to see exactly what those labors have produced…

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Cutting the Ribbon In Nashville

The Nashville Symphony officially opened the Schermerhorn Symphony Center yesterday with a ribbon cutting ceremony. All things being equal, I’m not a big fan of heavily scripted events but I was pleasantly surprised at how this one turned out…

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