Quotes about risers at Roy Thomson Hall

• 2012/05/30: Musical Frameworks - AN INTERVIEW WITH ARCHITECT JACK DIAMOND
  • "Do you think the risers improve the sound?"
  • "No question. The first rule of acoustics is that if you can see well you can begin to hear well. You hear with your eyes and you see with your ears. So seeing is good. But risers don’t only give visibility. There’s also an acoustic reason for them — in my view there’s always an acoustic basis that should drive design. So I like to put the timpani and brass on risers because I think it helps dampen the sound slightly. Then when you put the strings on a hard surface in front, you get more reflectivity. So that hall is particularly responsive to strings."
  • "Do you think if the Toronto Symphony sat on risers it would improve the sound in Roy Thomson Hall?"
  • "No question." -architect Jack Diamond
• 2014/12/26: from: My rookie year revitalizing the Toronto Symphony Orchestra
  • "the stage at Roy Thomson Hall is flat. The musicians told me they preferred to play on risers. We haven't used them because we're a tenant at Roy Thomson, and there's a labour cost of installing and taking down the risers between concerts. But I said, 'Make it happen,' and we did it. It's a small win, but it sent a message to the musicians that, one, I'm listening to them. It also sent a signal to the audience, because the musicians play better and it also looks better when they're up there on risers." -Jeff Melanson