Acoustics Testing in The Church of the Nazarene

Performers from the Music Department played music to test the acoustics in the Church on Wed 28th Oct 2009. One of them is Charlie Hardwick who played a small piece for cello.

Eastgate Theatre & Arts Centre by Richard Murphy

Source: http://www.richardmurphyarchitects.com/projects/269/

This building could be one of the precedents exploring the possibility of a side entrance of the new performance space.

A church in Peebles was converted into an arts centre with a 250 seat auditorium.

The main entrance of the arts centre was opened at the side of the building while the entrance façade of the church remains virtually the same.

As the architect described, ‘The design has been developed on the strong belief that the presence of the theatre should be evident from the exterior rather than simply discovered on the inside of an otherwise unchanged church exterior.’

A different orientation of an entrance may highlight the new functionality of the architecture.

A night at City Hall, Sheffield

Last night I went to see the Buena Vista Social Club perform live at Sheffield City Hall. The concert was FABULOUS - brilliant Latin American performers - all singing, all dancing and playing their instruments superbly. The hall, which I'd never been into in concert conditions, was rather spectacular visually: a large oval room with an impressive decorative ceiling...but it was the first time I've been conscious of really annoying acoustics! It may have been just where we were sitting (third row from the front on the side, so a brilliant intimate position with the musicians; it would have been a vastly different experience to be in the 'miles-away' seats of the balcony) but the buzz of the percussion reflected back so that it was as if someone was just playing a fraction of a second out of time, or a clock was ticking really loudly, out of sync with the music...and being latin music, there was a lot of percussion! Once I'd figured out what it was, it was sadly really quite distracting! Fortunately, it didn't however detract from what was otherwise a great night...but I think I preferred the acoustic condition in the much more intimate surroundings of Cubana, where we all went, with the musicians, to dance after...though I admit you'd be hard pressed to get 2271 people in the small club! It was a great night in the name of 'research'!

Lunchtime Concert

Today we experienced a performance from the Mick Beck Stephen Grew Duo, who kicked off the first in the season of University Luchtime Concerts. Stephen Grew was on the piano and Mick Beck played a mixture of the tenor sax, bassoon and whistles. The two created a series of interesting, experimental and improvised pieces within the intimate location of the drama studio.

Audience participation

These are the precedent venue preferences from the audience at the Dante Quartet performance last night (picture size is proportional to the number of votes recieved).

Personal reflections on the Dante Quartet concert

To broaden our appreciation of classical music performance, last night we went along to the first evening concert in the University's Autumn Concert Season. A string quartet - the Dante Quartet - gave us three delightful and very different pieces: one by Mozart, the second, a lesser known Faure work and the third a Smetana piece. We went with a view to engaging the audience's opinion about their ideal performance spaces, which we did during the interval and afterwards, but what follows are my own thoughts about the performance; about the music, the players and the space.

I was surprised how easy it was to get 'lost' in the music, and caught up in it; but to find its purity spoilt by visual clutter in the room ( I think I now understand better the meaning of 'a space with clarity') and disrupted by the slightest interuption of noise behind me...the keys of a phone tapping, the turn of a programme page, a murmured whisper, a cough.... I wanted people to be hardly breathing, to be 'in' the music with me and the performers. Perhaps it comes from my rooting in dance that I sort-of 'see' music. I don't mean in the synesthesia sense, but rather I visualise the music as shapes, and choreograph in my head as I hear music - not just with dancers, but with the music itself.

For me, it was as if Mozart was 'playing' with the music: as if it was a physical thing like a ball, tossed between the players and you could, watching the musicians, see it pass between instruments. There were times when the musicians sort of 'became' the music - their whole bodies physically responding to the sounds which ran up and down their instruments. Though the players were moving in order to play more expressively, and engage with the music and each other, it was as if they themselves were dancers of choreographed movement.

The Faure, by contrast, was a purer, elemental kind of music. All the voices were equal and combined to form an overall shape in space. Rather than watch the music (or players), like I wanted to with the Mozart, I wanted to shut everything out, close my eyes and let the sound envelop me, so I could 'see' it grow and morph in the darkness. Rather than the musicians dancing, it was the music itself that did.

The final piece was different again - this time a narrative form of music. A biography of Smetana's life; a soundtrack, or musical memory of his life, with motifs signifying certain elements. We had been read a letter describing some of the memorable moments he captures in it just before the players began, and the imagery conjured by this was what I saw when the music commenced. Some of it was quite cinematic - with ominous sequences signifying the omen of his deafness to come, other moments which encapsulated the romance with his wife; the music responded very much to the emotions of his life...I guess in the same way that music can stir deep emotions, and make us sad or happy, by association and the tonality of the music. For me, in this piece, it was as if the music formed the background to the activities it represented, and in that way, I guess more like ballet music.

It was really interesting to watch the performers themselves too, as they all individually seemed to respond quite differently. I was captivated particularly by the violinists (perhaps not entirely surprising being one myself, back in the day!) With the first violinist, it seemed to me that she was really at one with her instrument - the violin was just an extension of her body and it seemed natural that chin and wrist should be connected by her instrument. Despite her immense dexterity and diverse musical expression, it seemed effortless to play; the sound sort-of came from her whole being. In contrast, the second violinist seemed to cradle his instrument. It seemed tiny, but very precious, nestled under his chin...and yet his whole body went into the playing of it, in a very outwardly expressive way: when the music was 'small' and quiet, his whole body seemed to retract and vice versa. It was as if he himself was a physical manifestation of what the music was doing...as if he was almost dancing to it. With the viola player, again her whole body seemed to respond to the music - I noticed her hair seemed particularly expressive in her movement and playing! The cellist seemed to have a very light touch on his instrument, barely seeming to touch it sometimes, and yet the music would magically float out of his cello.

As I said in the Mozart it was as if you could see the music being physically passed between instruments; it was interesting to watch the performers from this aspect too. Sometimes it was very clear when instruments were playing together - their bows in unified flow, or their eyes locked on one another, taking cues from each other and really engaging the shared moment in the music. I was really surprised at how actively visual the performance was. I sometimes struggle to know where to look when listening intently to recorded music, but there was no doubt with a group of live musicians in front of me! I do wonder how this might differ though with electro-acoustic music, when the music comes from inanimate objects dispersed around the room... definitely food for thought...

Dante Quartet + Consultation

Last night was the first concert of the season performed by the acclaimed Dante Quartet. We were in attendance to gather personal responses from the audience and introduce the concept of a new home for music in Sheffield.



Small leaflets were handed out with the programs, which embraced the subject of performance spaces, and asked for the audience's perspective of the design and aesthetic qualities of performances spaces. During the interval we were able to witness the enthusiasm of those in attendance, many of whom approached us, both inquisitively and with specific ideas and opinions. We would like to thank all those that contributed to what was an interesting and informative event.

We have compiled a collection of precedents, both directly and indirectly related to performance spaces that has been displayed as a notice board and placed in a communal location within the Music Department. This board gives the students and staff from the department an opportunity to voice an opinion on what they would like from their own concert hall in Sheffield, as both a rehearsal and performance space. We hope the precedents will encourage a diverse range of comments and feedback. If you pass the board please feel free to make a comment!

London Field Trip

On Friday we went on an epic day-trip to London, to see some of the city's major concert venues: LSO St. Luke's, The Wigmore Hall, Kings Place Kings Cross and Royal Festival Hall. We were given guided tours around all these spaces, from a wide variety of people: from technical managers to marketing staff, from who we gleaned a great amout of useful information. We saw everything from the enormous public foyer areas and the crisp auditoriums to back of house rehearsal areas, green rooms, and servicing ducts! Some aspects were highly technical - studying the array of acoustic devices, lighting options, practicalties such as staging, storage and access, while others were more general; audience layout, comfort, ambience, spill-out spaces, and so on. Other places visited included Sadler's Wells and the BBC radio centre - to look at architectural precedents for glass extentions for foyer/entry spaces - and lastly, the Garden Museum: an example of a new insertion within an existing (grade 1) listed church. All in all, a very busy day...but a useful one!

"And That's What Firth Hall Sounds Like!"

Last night saw us sit in on a rehearsal of the University Symphony Orchestra in Firth Hall; a venue much discussed as the only real rehearsal and performance space for large orchestras in the University.

It was great to hear the acoustic, varied through a number of different pieces, as well as to see the spacial limitations set by the space and staging, points reiterated by a number of people we spoke to. Although this is a significantly bigger orchestra than envisioned to play in The Naz (60-80 rather than 40) nearly all of the points remain the same.

A 'post rehearsal pint' with the musicians was an informal way to get introduce ourselves further, gaining thoughts and personal narratives of the space (as well as allowing myself to reminisce on my former playing days!) Essentially, it has allowed us a chance to speak about the project and gain some recognition - really important for future collaboration.

Thanks to everyone we spoke to - your enthusiasm was excellent and we look forward to working with you more through the next month! Please get involved and stay in touch!

Space Program

Ok, perhaps not as exciting as taking chamber music into the stratosphere, but I've thrown together a program of the spaces potentially required by our intervention and their links. Hope it's useful - please add, remove, adjust or do whatever you will with it.

St Paul’s Hall, Huddersfield

"St Paul's is a former church built in 1829 that now provides a venue for a range of concerts, including the world renowned Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival. Converted from a church in 1980, this unusual concert hall seats 400 people and was designed by John Oates (an architect from neighbouring Halifax) and by local stonemason Joseph Kaye. St Paul's is conveniently located next to Huddersfield Ring Road on the University of Huddersfield Campus."

This renovated church is also the primary venue for the Huddersfield Music Society. According to the University of Huddersfield, the venue holds more than 70 concerts each year, including the yearly Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival. By my reckoning I count at least 190 seats in the picture above, which gives us an impression of what certain seating capacities look like though you'll notice the university quotes a total capacity of 400.

Whilst there is little evidence of any new architectural interventions beyond its renovation, you can't help recognise that the spatial environment shares many of the same design constraints we are concerned with at the Church of the Nazarene e.g. Columns.

Zaha at the MIF - mearly visual delight?

I thought I'd mention a project we'd spoken about before, Zaha Hadid's Bach Pavilion for the Manchester International Festival. This temporary installation creates an intimate 192 seat performance space inside a 'black box' room at Manchester Art Gallery.



















I'd wondered how much this project was purely a visual form making exercise by a famous (infamous yet?!) architect, and what acoustic qualities the space had. This article written before the recitals and this video make for interesting viewing. Artistically, it is (in my opinion) undeniably beautiful, but reviews of the space in concert give generally high praise of the acoustics too, to my surprise.

Selexyz Domincan Church in Maastricht

This Domincan Church in the Netherlands built in 1294 has been adapted in an extraordinary way. Having been used for numerous purposes throughout it's history, including a warehouse, archive and a bike store, it is no stranger to new uses. Merkx + Girod are responsible for the latest intervention - a book store for the Selexyz chain.



Despite being different from the intended use for the Church of the Nazarene, this intervention shows one the innovtive uses for old churches and the contrast between the aesthetic of the old and the new.

Snape Maltings Concert Hall

Here's another example of an old building that has been renovated into a concert hall.





Built by Newson Garrett in the mid-19th century, the 832-seat Snape Maltings Concert Hall began life as a malthouse. Officially opened in 1967 by HM Queen Elizabeth II, the Hall suffered serious fire damage two years later, re-opening in time for the Aldeburgh Festival the following year.

Although on a much larger scale than the Church of Nazarene, this example demonstrates how the character of the original building can enhance the experience of its new use.

Experimental Sound Installation

I was made aware of this project today, which i thought was pretty interesting. The physical elements of the building are converted into a giant musical instrument by being struck, causing them to resonate or vibrate. The project is intended to challenge how we view both the building and the creation of music.

First Post & Precedent

Welcome to the blog for our Live Project.

Let's get things started with a precedent. This one is called The North Wall by Haworth Tompkins.



The buildings form the new arts centre for the St . Edwards School in Oxford, the heart of which is a flexible 250 seat theatre.