Segerstrom Hall a Bit ‘Too Clean’ for Chorale Director

“I like the acoustics of Segerstrom Hall,” says Pacific Chorale director John Alexander. “My only complaint is that it’s too clean for music. Music requires a certain ambiance, a resonance, to make it sound beautiful. The room an instrument is in is like an extension of the instrument. Segerstrom Hall seems to clarify rather than enhance the sound. But I’d rather have that than have a dead hall.”

Acoustics in the much-vaunted hall at the Orange County Performing Arts Center recently came under criticism by William Hall, the new music director of the Master Chorale of Orange County. Hall complained about dead spots on stage--where musicians could not hear each other--and a general lack of “ambiance” in the hall.

Asked his opinion, Alexander said “the room itself has a wonderful ring, but on stage, resonance is being soaked up somehow. The material in the shell and floor may be wrong. The shell seems to be porous. I know other types of shells we’ve dealt with are different.”

Alexander explained that, originally, the shell was designed to hold an orchestra. In order to make room for singers to be on the stage as well, side panels were created, extending the shell backwards.

“But the extension was built out of a different material (than the shell was),” Alexander said. “And nothing was put above the chorus. Overhead, there’s a hole there. So the sound goes straight up. It would be better if there would be a ceiling.

“I am happy with the hall. But being picky, I would like to see a ceiling. In time, we will get that.”