Originally Posted by
bbocaner
I attended as well. While the playing was impeccable, I was really disappointed with the sound. It's a really good hall, but for some reason they were mic'ing and amplifying the soloist as well as the harp, double bass, and piano. I don't know if this was a request of the soloist, or if the audio technicians that work for the band were trying to justify their existence. David Childs coming out of a speaker doesn't sound the same as David Childs coming out of his bell. The few times when he turned away a bit from the microphone and you heard more of his direct sound were refreshing. And at times, the harp and double bass were overwhelming, which is NOT the way those two instruments are intended to blend with a concert band.
One interesting note, when the three air force band euphonium players joined Mr. Childs for the 4-euphonium version of Bravura, all four players were using different marques of instrument - Besson, Adams, Willson, Yamaha. All sounded great, but they were certainly all different sounds.