Temple of Tone-Deaf?

Spanish Harlem Orchestra

When the new concert venue of the Royal Musical Conservatory opened, everyone agreed that Koerner Hall was beautifully built and had wonderful acoustics. I have yet to attend a concert there and so was excited to see the Spanish Harlem Orchestra Friday night. It is a beautiful venue but the verdict on that acoustics is mixed for me based on this one show.

The glass enclosure that left exposed the brick walls of the adjacent older buildings is a better meld than the ROM's Crystal monstrosity. I enjoyed looking at the antique instruments on display along the walls and the concert hall itself is beautiful and quite cozy; I had expected something of Massey Hall proportions. My seat was in a balcony row that wrapped around behind the stage itself. This generally would not be ideal at most venues but here afforded a great close-up view of the performers.

The Spanish Harlem Orchestra played toe-tapping Latin music all night. Although both the venue's director during the introduction and the singers throughout most of the evening exhorted the crowd to get up and dance (in the aisle), most people stayed seated though they did clap along and cheered every song. The orchestra's director claimed that they are trying to show that it wasn't just about music you can dance too. Although I admire their musicianship, especially the poly-rhythmic percussions, that was a hard sell. Every song had that infectious salsa, cha-cha-cha, and other Latin rhythms. Efforts at more classical arrangements such as Joy To the World and Winter Wonderland were awkward fusion that were less effusively received.

Heavyweights Brass Band

My main issue was the sound. The amps seemed underpowered, perhaps the sound guys were relying on the room's natural acoustics to amplify more. The singers' voices were muffled as well as some of the instruments. So a lesson learned: for amplified performances in this hall, with speakers facing the main audience, don't buy seats behind the stage. However, during the second half, I moved to the left-side of the balcony section in front of the speakers and things didn't improve much. The singers sounded much better. But the trombones and saxes were still barely audible, even during solos, and the piano was non-existent except for very quiet passages. Perhaps I need to get my hearing checked. Or given that the singers had mic troubles all night, perhaps tthe sound engineers at this vaunted concert hall got the mix wrong or had equipment issues all night.

After the concert, The Heavyweights Brass Band entertained in the main lobby.