Outdoor acoustics

[n-pencilton]

I’m graduating from my university in May, and giving a recital about a week before I don my cap and gown. The music building at my school has a wonderful amphitheater, and I’m considering giving the recital there. Assuming the weather is cooperative (rain is an eternal possibility here in the Pacific Northwest), what do you think? I have the choir room booked as a back up, and it has harp-friendly acoustics. The amphitheater would be fun, though, I think, because the atmosphere would complement my repertoire really well. (I’m playing a diverse variety of dances – from Debussy, to the Latin rhythms of Andres’ Les Ilets, to Marson’s contemporary Waltzes & Promenades for Two Harps, to a jazz/bossa nova piece or two.)

[lyn-boundy]

As long as you have bad weather backup I think there’s always something special about any outdoor performance. You can never really know about the acoustics of any arena until you’ve tried it – is the amphitheatre available for you to rehearse a couple of pieces with some friends setaed in various areas of the auditorium to give you feedback on what they are hearing? Classical amphitheatres usually have wonderful acoustics and more more modern ones should have been built with performance in mind so you should be in with a great chance of success. Good luck with your performance – it sounds like a wonderful event for everyone concerned!

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