Backstage at the Carnival Center-a View from the Pit
The Carnival Center for the Performing Arts opens in Miami this weekend, an event decades in the making. From October 3 through October 7, South Florida Musicians Association Secretary-Treasurer and Florida Classical Orchestra oboist Jeffrey Apana writes about what it is like to be backstage during this history-making week.October 7
Musicians generally show up for work about a half-hour early. It's hard to start a ball game without a pitcher, and for most of us, if we aren't there, our part doesn't get played, and we can't make up the time at the end of the day. We use that extra time to play a few notes, get used to the hall we happen to be playing in that day, figure out which reed we should use, or just warm up (unless the time was used up stuck in traffic). We had an afternoon dress rehearsal before the Saturday concert, so we arrived plenty early, and had an opportunity to wander around the hall before the concert. There are some beautiful views...arrive early if you visit the Carnival Center so you have time to look around. I was in the upper balcony listening to members of the orchestra warming up, and the sound carries all the way to the top of the hall. Our harpist, Deborah Fleisher, was in the hall for one of the pieces we were rehearsing, and said that there's a warmth that we don't have at other halls.
The audience contributes to the performance as well, and not just by encouraging us to excel with their applause. We were noting how all of the bodies in the hall during the performance were absorbing sound and that we had to push a little more to make a bigger sound (a big change from Dade County Auditorium, where we always had to tense up to keep from overpowering the stage). And a few of the violinists were remarking about hearing the audience talking (and that cell phone that went off!). The Broward Center is like that, too...if you sneeze in the upper balcony, we can hear you in the pit and on stage. And those cell phones disturb us as much as the person sitting next to you!
While we had to walk a bit to get to our cars after the show, the traffic getting out of the Center was not as bad as we were expecting. The Carnival Center is a huge step up from what we're used to performing in, and hopefully the community will be able to better appreciate the world-class organizations that Miami is home to, now that they have a world-class facility to show off their talents. I hope you take an opportunity to see and hear for yourself.
- 1. Backstage at the Carnival Center-a View from the Pit
- 2. October 4
- 3. October 5
- 4. October 6
- 5. October 7
Replies
Write reply
Comments must be approved before being published.
