You Can Hear A Pin Drop

I wish I had taken my digital camera. These photos are from the web. As with most photos, it’s just not the same as in person.

Went to the Mozart concert at the NC Symphony Sunday afternoon (Mozart’s 250th birthday this weekend). The music selection was geared toward a well versed audience. Showcased violin pieces for the guest violinist, Joseph Silverstein. Not a rousing ‘greatest hits’ concert, but a subtle versatile program.

The Meymandi Concert Hall opened in 2001. I went over there and poked around a couple of times during construction, but this was my first ever concert in the new symphony hall.

Beautiful hall. But the most astounding feature is the acoustics. When the hall first opened, there were a flurry of news reports about how great the hall is, and that it features design and construction that allows the hall to be ‘tuned’ as time goes on.

I’m no music expert. But I have been to my fair share of concerts in many venues. And, I think I’ve got a pretty good ear. The Meymandi Hall acoustics are World Class.

We sat on the third level, right, middle box. Not the best location for music clarity. It was awesome. The concert was open (non-reserved) matinee seating and we got there just in time. All the orchestra and balcony seats were taken. The box seats along the side were all that was left. Which shows that the Triangle music audience has matured. People know to go for the seats with the best location for music, not the ‘perceived’ better ‘box seats’.

The sound clarity was phenomenal. Absolutely no mechanical noise (such as HVAC) – damped closers on doors (with double entries to help further isolate the hall) – no ambient noise (however faint) whatsoever. The reflection of the music off the surfaces is perfect. Meymandi Hall really is a World Class symphony hall.

The Rest of the Orchestra was Strings

I had noted the orchestra was mostly strings. I counted 10 horns / winds plus bass drums. The rest, 30+, were strings.

JN informed me as follows:

The oboe player was getting red faced. JN’s assessment was the oboe player was struggling to compete with the strings.

Per JN there were 10 non-strings: 2 French horns, 2 clarinets, 1 oboe, 1 horn, and 4 other winds that I cannot recall plus kettle drums.

The rest (30+/-) were strings.

A Lot of strings!

Other Weekend Stuff

Not much went on this weekend.

I took the truck to the Ford Dealer Saturday morning for an alignment, oil change, tire rotation and balance. Afterwards, went by nephew and niece’s to borrow their, correction – MIH’s, telescope (Mead ETX 70).

I’ve been thinking about getting a scope, but I want to use theirs for a while first to see if I’ll really use a scope enough to spend the money on one. My plan is to spend this week familiarizing myself with how to operate the scope, tracking mechanisms, tripod, etc. With a little luck, I might be ready to try it out next Friday or Saturday night.

Nephew and niece said they’d call me if they decided to go to the NC Museum of Natural Sciences for Astronomy Days – which was this weekend. I could meet them there if they went. They never called so I guess they didn’t go.

JN came out from Durham and hung around for the weekend – which was nice to have the company. We grilled steaks Saturday evening. JN and I went to the Mozart Concert, a last minute decision. Got there about 10 minutes before the start and were fortunate to get tickets – there were very few empty seats.

Listened to the first half of the State at Clemson game on the way to the concert. State won in double overtime. We needed the win – especially after the Seton Hall debacle on Wednesday.

I also did the usual cleaning, laundry and some household chores. For some reason, it seemed like I didn’t do a lot, but looking back, it was a pretty full weekend.