Non-traditional concert spaces

Yesterday I got an interesting question from someone who’s facing a novel challenge that many of us have faced (or will face) in our performing careers:

This fall, I will be putting on my senior recital for my degree. Unfortunately, the recital hall on campus is being renovated so all of our performances have been moved off campus. I have a few options but I don't like any of them. I was wondering if you had a suggestion or preference among the choices.

The first option is a church that has a really low ceiling and small audience space. I don't like this option because I feel cramped in it. With the low ceiling I feel like I psychologically won't play out because there isn't as much space to fill with sound. This option has a lot of carpeting so the sound is absorbed.

The second option is a church with a very open space. It has a lot of hard surfaces and tiled floors. I have heard a few performances in this space and it has a lot of echo. When I heard a flute recital here, the flute kept getting swallowed by the piano sound.

The final option is a ballroom style space. It's just a large and empty square room with carpet. I've never been to it before so I don't know how it feels or sounds.

Out of these three options, do you have any suggestions or spaces you would prefer? I'll be doing mostly clarinet and piano pieces with one Beethoven trio.

This made me think about all the places I’ve performed in my life, and you know what? I remember almost NONE of the concert halls and recital halls I’ve been in. Sure, I can remember the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and Carnegie and Orchestra Hall in Chicago; you don’t forget those.

The places I remember? Non-traditional spaces

I remember playing in an abandoned asylum on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and the swank Michelin-star restaurant in Manhattan (where they fed us afterwards for free). I remember the dive bar in Chicago, and the converted slaughterhouse in Wichita. I remember the pop-up, bootleg, impromptu outdoor performances on Governor’s Island and outside the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

And, some of the most memorable concerts I’ve attended have been in similar spaces.

So, here’s what I wrote this fellow:

To be perfectly blunt, you’ve got a lot of bad options.

If you literally can’t find another space, you can make these work if you get a portable Wenger-style band-shell from the school to bring to a place like the ballroom.

Without that, your sound will not focus toward the audience and it will be really (really) quiet. Surprisingly so.

The church option is not great either exactly because of the massive reverberation you mention. But, again if you had the shell, you might be able to put that BEHIND the audience to contain the sound.

And finally, I can only imagine the small church space — sounds like some sort of break-out room in the basement where they hold AA meetings or something. Yikes.

Honestly, I don’t have a great recommendation for those spaces; if you don’t have any way to direct the sound with acoustical panels, you are going to have a sub-optimal experience.

But have you thought about unconventional spaces?

I don’t know where you are located, but I like the idea of having your concert at a bar or coffee shop (With a piano, of course), a museum space (they often have pianos as well), or even someone’s living room! (I mean, unless you’re bringing more than 30 people to the recital, you could probably fit your concert into someone’s house — and plus, having a totally packed living room will feel a ton better than 30 people in a gothic cathedral, amirite?

There are all sorts of spaces in my town that are super-unconventional, many of which are pictured above: the cemetery near my house has a concert space with a piano in a catacomb, there’s a converted schoolhouse up the street, even a barge. Some will charge rent, of course, but it’ll be a memorable experience for everyone!

Think outside the box, and you may just find a perfect space you won’t forget!