Can ensemble condition in a hall be improved and measured?

In collaboration with the Danish Broadcasting Corporation an extensive series of experiments has been carried out in The Danish Radio Concert Hall with the practical purpose of trying to improve the ensemble conditions on the platform for the resident symphony orchestra. First, a series of experiments in a 1:20 scale model indicated that among several suggested means the following would be the most effective and acceptable: (a) changing the shape of the sidewalls in the platform area in order to make them reflect sound back to the musicians more effectively; (b) lowering and redesigning of the ceiling reflectors; and (c) changing the position of the orchestra on the platform.

These variables were then tested in full scale experiments in the hall including subjective evaluation by the orchestra in order to verify their effects under practical conditions. New objective parameters, which showed very high correlations with the subjective data, also made it possible to compare the improvements with conditions as recently measured in famous European Halls.

Besides providing the needed results, the experiments also shed some light on how musicians change their criteria for judging acoustic quality depending on the experimental situation—a fact which had become evident from our previous research on musicians' room acoustic conditions.