Ron,
I respect
that you have little time to consider acoustics, given the
creative energy and intensity with which you perform your own
particular duties. I might better have said, "...perhaps you have
not considered how the music sounds
to the performers and to the audiences." It was wrong of
me to presume that you do not care. I sincerely apologize for that.
I am not
at liberty to quote one ESM faculty member's scathing remarks about the
present acoustics. That person's comments were every bit as passionately
disappointed as are mine. Please be assured that such feelings exist among
people better-credentialed than me, and closer to home than you may realize.
The dean
of American architectural acousticians, Leo Beranek, who measured the Theatre's
acoustics in 1959 and who has read Stirring
the Soup, has allowed me to quote him as,
“You have definitely laid the
problem out and have suggested a direction to consider. I am
interested in seeing how this develops.”
I am
sorry that you perceive my directness as insulting negativity. It is a waste of time to be overly deferential; I have tried
it in the past. As far back as 2005, when first I spoke with
Andy Green and with Christopher Blair of Akustiks, it was evident to me
that both the School and the Consultants were presenting a rosier picture than
in truth existed. Under such circumstance gentle inquiry and mild
remonstration is useless.
It was after being politely rebuffed once again in May 2008 by an
assistant in the Dean's Office that finally I bit the bullet and composed
a paper meant to sound a loud alarm.
I am far from the most qualified person to do so, but no one
else has stepped up. I lack credentials and clout, the two most highly-regarded
elements of academia. Of itself that does not make my input wrong; only
inconvenient and suspect, and properly so by the lights of academe.
My hope (although far from expectation) is that someone at the
University with credentials and clout may see enough light in
what I have written in Stirring the Soup
to motivate them to engage third-party acoustical expertise to vet
my paper and to provide further input. One such well-known Ph.D physicist and acoustician has privately shown
interest to me. His letter to me is linked at the end of Stirring the Soup.
The truth of the situation is that without ever consulting
with the performing musicians of the RPO or at Eastman a large
amount of money was spent to make the Theatre sound louder but worse,
both onstage and in the house. If you read the consulting firm
Akustiks' reports about their soliciting input from the musicians in Cleveland and Nashville,
you will see that 2004/2008 in Rochester has been atypical in
that regard. In fact, it is egregiously atypical, given
that here we have not only the potential resources of the
RPO musicians but also the potential resources of Eastman faculty and
student musicians. Did someone tell Akustiks
not to confer with them?
There are
simple fixes, mostly involving the shell and its angles, which would not
make the hall world-class, but which would improve it greatly even now and
even irrespective of Phase Two. They are presented in the paper, Stirring the Soup.
Of course
trying anything different will require at least a tacit admission of possible error. This
is particularly so when experimenting with altering or divesting the new
shell, which is acoustically problematic for musicians onstage as well as
for the audience.
Error is
immensely human, and forgivable. Stonewalling is also immensely human, and not
so forgivable if it is ongoing. I do not believe that the current
well-meaning humans at Eastman will be forever rigid, particularly given the
recent change at the top.
It must
be difficult to walk into a tricky situation not of one's own making, with
contracts essentially or actually in place. The juggernaut of
foreshortened Orchestra seating may be considered unstoppable at this
point. However the box seats need not
proceed, given cheaper and more effective means of variably tuning the hall via adjustable acoustical
panels mounted in the same wall area as is planned for the box seats, and for the same purpose: breaking up
huge reflections of sound off the widely separated walls.
The box
seats are not adjustable, and they will not even sound good. It makes perfect sense
to pay a penalty to the contractor (if even necessary), and in the end to gain
flexibility--thereby serving music
more than looks. However in the real world, alas, saving face may be
found more important than serving the music.
Musicians,
and administrators of music, tend to believe that the technicalities of
acoustics must be left to 'experts.' This is not entirely so. In fact, the
experts operate from a realm of theory which much of the time is largely
correct in the real world, but which gets fuzzy amidst complex
variables, or given unrecognized conditions never plugged in to their
formulae.
Musicians, on
the other hand, operate pragmatically in a realm of
moment-to-moment actuality of sound, and they trust their ears. It may not
be theirs to know why;
theirs is to deal with what is,
and if asked they can report accurately about what is, irrespective
of formulae and measurements.
Every
musician hears a little differently and holds individualized preferences, but
there is usually consensus about to what extent the acoustic of the space
in which they play provides or inhibits clear discernment of
rhythmic ensemble, of inner voices, of tonal balance, and of dynamics. I would
suggest you consider polling RPO musicians and your ESM musician
colleagues about just how these matters are going in the real
world since 2004 in the Theatre. Their answers may concern you, as
they have me. It continues to be quite wrong for Akustiks not to undertake in
depth interviewing of the musicians who rehearse and perform on
the Eastman Theatre stage.
The purpose
of George Eastman's Theatre was and is "For the Enrichment of
Community Life." It is the solemn responsibility of the Theatre's present
day curator and beneficiary, the
At a
recent band concert amplified by the house sound system, I ran into an
acquaintance and asked him what he thought of the speakers. "Speakers?
What speakers? he responded, implying, 'Isn't this
just how music sounds?' And darned if he wasn't right: 99% of the
professionally-played music John Q. Modern-Public ever hears is rendered
through loudspeakers. The new louder, in-your-face Eastman Theatre
emulates amplified sound through mechanical means (the shell, the coated
walls)--including some of its worst-case poor dispersion and harmonic and
intermodulation distortion, even when the sound system is not
also in use.
It is the
responsibility of the University as well to call forth
renewed honesty, academic freedom, and open discourse toward
correcting error wherever it occurs. Error is normal; it is to be expected.
It takes ongoing honesty and directness to produce greatness,
whether represented by a graduating musician or by the best possible
conversion of a fan-shaped movie theatre into a halfway-decent concert
hall.
I may be
naive, but I think acoustical stonewalling is not forever to be expected
from so highly esteemed a musical institution as the
Eastman School of Music.
Yours in
agreeable disagreement,
Bob Laird
http://sirhute.com/eastman-acoustics.htm
-----
Original Message -----
From: Stackman, Ron
To: Bob Laird ; Magee, Terry ; Mahoney, John ; Malavet, Olga ; Manasse, Jon ; Marcellus, John ; Marvin, William ; Marvin, Betsy ; Massicot, Joshua ; McCallum, Rebecca ; McCamman, Cindy ; McCormick, Gaelen ; McHugh, Ernestine ; McIver, Robert ; McRae, Rick ; Mero, Donna ; Meteyer, Jeff ; Miller, Russell ; Miller, Marylynn ; Milnes, Janet ; Moore, Mitchell ; Moriwaki, Nobuko ; Morris, Robert ; Muise, Linda ; Nance, Wes ; Netsky, Cynthia ; Nguyen, Alexandra (ESM) ; Ni, Pi-Lin ; Nugent, Mary Ellen ; O'Dette, Paul ; Oleksyn, Liz ; Pape, Johnathon ; Parkes, Marcia Bornhurst ; Parulski, Sara ; Pedersen, Jean ; Penneys, Rebecca ; Peters, Mary ; Phillips, Deanna ; Podvin, John ; Porter, William ; Posato, Sandy ; Potter, Howard ; sr005i@mail.rochester.edu ; Raymond, David ; Remmel, Rachel ; Richmond, Nan ; Ricker, Ramon ; Robey, Matthew ; Rolf, Marie ; Rossi, Jamal ; Ruddy, Sandy ; Rus, Marvin ; Saine, Cecile ; Sanchez-Gutierrez, Carlos ; Santiago, Mary ; Scarbrough, Russell ; Scatterday, Leslie ; Scatterday, Mark ; Scheie, Timothy ; Dilg, Kristen ; Scherzinger, Martin ; Schindler, Allan ; Schumacher, Thomas ; Schweibacher, Laura ; Scotto, Ciro ; Shane, Rita ; Shewan, Joy ; Siskind, Jeremy ; Smith, Derrick ; Smith, Herb ; Smith, Helen ; Smith, Jason ; Sneider, Bob ; Snihur, Helene ; Snyder, Barry ; Spindler, Howard
Cc: Fox, Donna Brink ; Gibson, Michele ; Green, Andrew ; Hong, Serin Kim ; Lowry, Douglas ; sschwab@rpo.org ; cowens@rpo.org ; ebeck@rpo.org ; sniemeyer@rpo.org ; kwahl@rpo.org ; ablum@rpo.org ; acassano@rpo.org ; nstotz@rpo.org ; rsteinmiller@rpo.org ; tposavac@rpo.org ; dmeyer@rpo.org ; bpiazza@rpo.org ; btremblay@wxxi.org ; dangus@rochester.rr.com ; Leo Beranek
Sent: Friday, June 27, 2008 2:33 PM
Subject: RE: World-class music school;
third-class concert hall.
Bob –
I don’t care ‘one whit’?
I might be insulted but probably not.
The negativity I was referring to is not your negativity toward
the sound in ET, everyone is entitled to their
opinion, but the negativity in
the body and tone of your e-mails and letters
to the editor.
It is insulting to everyone involved in the project.
As far as I can tell from what little I know about you, you are
no expert in the field, just a guy with a lot of opinions and a longing for the
past.
Let’s agree to disagree
Peace >>> Ron
From: Bob Laird
[mailto:boblaird@rochester.rr.com]
Sent: Friday, June 27, 2008 1:42 PM
To: Stackman, Ron; Magee, Terry; Mahoney,
John; Malavet, Olga; Manasse,
Jon; Marcellus, John; Marvin, William; Marvin, Betsy; Massicot,
Joshua; McCallum, Rebecca; McCamman, Cindy;
McCormick, Gaelen; McHugh, Ernestine; McIver, Robert;
McRae, Rick; Mero, Donna; Meteyer,
Jeff; Miller, Russell; Miller, Marylynn; Milnes, Janet; Moore, Mitchell; Moriwaki,
Nobuko; Morris, Robert; Muise, Linda; Nance, Wes; Netsky, Cynthia; Nguyen, Alexandra (ESM); Ni, Pi-Lin;
Nugent, Mary Ellen; O'Dette, Paul; Oleksyn, Liz; Pape, Johnathon; Parkes, Marcia Bornhurst; Parulski, Sara;
Pedersen, Jean; Penneys, Rebecca; Peters, Mary;
Phillips, Deanna; Podvin, John; Porter, William; Posato, Sandy; Potter, Howard; sr005i@mail.rochester.edu;
Raymond, David; Remmel, Rachel; Richmond, Nan;
Ricker, Ramon; Robey, Matthew; Rolf, Marie; Rossi,
Jamal; Ruddy, Sandy; Rus, Marvin; Saine,
Cecile; Sanchez-Gutierrez, Carlos; Santiago, Mary; Scarbrough, Russell; Scatterday, Leslie; Scatterday,
Mark; Scheie, Timothy; Dilg,
Kristen; Scherzinger, Martin; Schindler, Allan;
Schumacher, Thomas; Schweibacher, Laura; Scotto, Ciro; Shane, Rita; Shewan, Joy; Siskind, Jeremy; Smith, Derrick; Smith, Herb; Smith, Helen;
Smith, Jason; Sneider, Bob; Snihur,
Helene; Snyder, Barry; Spindler, Howard
Cc: Seligman, Joel; Fox, Donna Brink; Gibson, Michele; Green, Andrew;
Hong, Serin Kim; Lowry, Douglas; sschwab@rpo.org;
cowens@rpo.org;
ebeck@rpo.org;
sniemeyer@rpo.org;
kwahl@rpo.org;
ablum@rpo.org;
acassano@rpo.org;
nstotz@rpo.org;
rsteinmiller@rpo.org;
tposavac@rpo.org;
dmeyer@rpo.org;
bpiazza@rpo.org;
btremblay@wxxi.org;
dangus@rochester.rr.com;
Leo Beranek
Subject: Re: World-class music school; third-class concert hall.
Ron,
From what
little I know of your strongly supportive contribution to the performing
groups at Eastman, it surprises me that you apparently don't care one whit
about how the music sounds,
acoustically, to their audiences.
The better the music sounds,
the greater the public enjoyment of their efforts, and of yours.
At
present in the Eastman Theatre music sounds third-rate. Many faculty at Eastman are
not directly impacted, because they rarely go to concerts at the Eastman
Theatre themselves. Some are more likely to find themselves onstage
than in the audience. But if you happen to scan my Chapter 5, Some Informal Interviews, you will
quickly see that the "negativity" is not mine alone, but is broadly
spread among performers, professors, and public.
Thank you
for your opinion; I have removed you from any possible future mailings.
There is
about a .01% chance that this thing might take off in some form, within staid
academia. I have evidence that even tenured professors are reluctant to
rock the boat. But should that miracle begin to occur,
and if then you wish to be back in the loop, feel free to request
re-inclusion.
Best
Regards,
Bob Laird
-----
Original Message -----
From: Stackman, Ron
Sent:
Friday, June 27, 2008 7:38 AM
Subject:
RE: World-class music school; third-class concert hall.
Why such negativity?
Your diatribes are ill-mannered.
Enough already.
Please remove me from your e-mail list.
>>> Ron Stackman
To: Magee, Terry ; Mahoney, John ; Malavet, Olga ; Manasse, Jon ; Marcellus, John ; Marvin, William ; Marvin, Betsy ; Massicot, Joshua ; McCallum, Rebecca ; McCamman, Cindy ; McCormick, Gaelen ; McHugh, Ernestine ; McIver, Robert ; McRae, Rick ; Mero, Donna ; Meteyer, Jeff ; Miller, Russell ; Miller, Marylynn ; Milnes, Janet ; Moore, Mitchell ; Moriwaki, Nobuko ; Morris, Robert ; Muise, Linda ; Nance, Wes ; Netsky, Cynthia ; Nguyen, Alexandra (ESM) ; Ni, Pi-Lin ; Nugent, Mary Ellen ; O'Dette, Paul ; Oleksyn, Liz ; Pape, Johnathon ; Parkes, Marcia Bornhurst ; Parulski, Sara ; Pedersen, Jean ; Penneys, Rebecca ; Peters, Mary ; Phillips, Deanna ; Podvin, John ; Porter, William ; Posato, Sandy ; Potter, Howard ; sr005i@mail.rochester.edu ; Raymond, David ; Remmel, Rachel ; Richmond, Nan ; Ricker, Ramon ; Robey, Matthew ; Rolf, Marie ; Rossi, Jamal ; Ruddy, Sandy ; Rus, Marvin ; Saine, Cecile ; Sanchez-Gutierrez, Carlos ; Santiago, Mary ; Scarbrough, Russell ; Scatterday, Leslie ; Scatterday, Mark ; Scheie, Timothy ; Dilg, Kristen ; Scherzinger, Martin ; Schindler, Allan ; Schumacher, Thomas ; Schweibacher, Laura ; Scotto, Ciro ; Shane, Rita ; Shewan, Joy ; Siskind, Jeremy ; Smith, Derrick ; Smith, Herb ; Smith, Helen ; Smith, Jason ; Sneider, Bob ; Snihur, Helene ; Snyder, Barry ; Spindler, Howard
Eastman Theatre Acoustics:
A letter to City Newspaper, published on Wednesday June 25, 2008:
http://www.rochestercitynewspaper.com/news/letters/EASTMAN+THEATRE%3A+Renovations+won+t+fix+the+acoustics/
There's a webpage address provided at the end of the letter; please trim off
the final period of the sentence.
The webpage counter shows 150 hits, but so far it's all voyeurs. Who will
emerge from the bland and politic woodwork, and stand up for music? Maybe nobody. This is
Oh well, it'll look nice. That's what classical music is all about,
right? Looks.
Bob Laird
315-483-0523 landline
585-738-2320 cell
"Hindsight is an exact science."