New Years Eve pop concerts have been a long running ASO staple; this year they hosted a dazzling array of pieces from James Bond 007 film scores. Led by internationally recognized conductor Darko Butorac the symphony has branched out in recent years to offer fresh new programming in order to bring symphonic music to an ever more diverse listenership.
Of course, with a James Bond theme it was only right that the Pisgah AVL crew brought along a few gadgets of their own with Allen Heath Avantis consoles on both monitor duty and at front of house with Pisgah also providing the huge array of mics that it takes to cover the seventy person strong orchestra as well as in ear monitoring systems for guest vocalists and additional band members.
“The grouping and ganging functions on the Avantis are very quick, with the number of inputs we had on stage it was important to have the flexibility that the Avantis gives us”
At front of house Ryan Hargis was driving the audience side of proceedings in order to ensure that all guests could hear a clean well balanced mix throughout the venue; a talented Saxophonist and Woodwind player himself there are arguably few sound engineers that understand the nuances of mixing live orchestra’s in the same way. The show also marks Pisgah’s first full year of shows with the Allen Heath Avantis consoles. “The grouping and ganging functions on the Avantis are very quick, with the number of inputs we had on stage it was important to have the flexibility that the Avantis gives us” explained Ryan. As well as it’s flexibility the powerful dynamic eq’s and multi-band compressors are on hand to help deal with any problematic frequencies if they arise anywhere on stage. “I didn’t actually have to use the dynamic eq function but it was reassuring to know it was there if we needed it”.
Stage views during rehearsal.
On deck Tyler Walters was behind the Monitor console with Peter Councell was taking care of the all important patching duties and ensuring instrument mounted microphones were properly installed. When working with a band in an orchestral setting microphone choice becomes even more critical; the Pisgah team chose to supplement the use of condenser microphones with the exceptional DPA 4099 microphones being deployed for section principals. These compact microphones offer a very tight pickup pattern and can be placed directly onto instruments with specific mounts; the result is that they deliver a crystal clear sound that can be amplified far beyond a traditional overhead microphone while preserving the rich textures and tones of the orchestra. We’re sure that ‘Q’ would approve of the size of the 4099’s while Mr Bond would no doubt approve of their sonic accuracy.
For the star vocalists Shure KSM9 microphones were chosen, these have the advantage of being exceptionally resistant to feedback but also being able to pick up the subtle nuances of quieter moments. Perhaps the most Bond-esque gadget of the show is the Rupert Neve 500 Series Primary Source Enhancers. These are used to filter out background noise from vocal channels reducing the amount of stage bleed which can cause phasing issues muddying the sound out front.
There was no doubt from the standing ovation that the audience was blown away by soprano Mikki Sodergren and baritone Jonathan Christopher’s respective performances. This was Pisgah AVL’s second year providing support for the ASO’s and we greatly appreciate being part of such a high-calibre event; we raise our Martinis in a toast to many more.
More information about the Asheville Symphony Orchestra can be found here at: https://ashevillesymphony.org/
Check out some of live photos below from morelphoto!