Sound Designer — by Jeffrey Zeigler

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Sound Designer — by Jeffrey Zeigler

As we continue our discussion about the various ways to integrate a sophisticated approach to sound design, there is one point that I would like to make before we get to far into the equipment nitty-gritty. That is of the need for your own sound designer.

I think that the person in this role has both the most important as well as the most unsung job in a given concert. Important because they have complete responsibility for how you actually will sound in the hall. You may play wonderfully, but it could all be for nothing if, for example, the sound person has set you up to sound brash and tinny. But I also say unsung because the audience will only see them as the person standing at the mixing board in the center rear of a dark hall. They don’t exactly get to take a bow at the end of the concert (although maybe they should!).

I find that most mid to major sized concert halls around the world will have somebody in house that handles the space’s sound needs. This may range from miking a public speaker or a jazz band to making sound recordings. Depending on your sound needs, you may or may not be able to get by using the person or people in house. Kronos, however, learned the hard way many years ago that it is probably best to use your own sound person.

There were a few incidents that led to their decision of hiring their own designer. But my favorite story actually occurred sometime in the late 80’s in Nebraska. This was the period of time when Steve Reich had just written Different Trains and Kronos was just beginning to open up the Pandora’s Box of sound design. At the time, the quartet had never traveled with their own sound equipment or sound person. In fact, just to put it into perspective, this was the era of the reel to reel tape! Since then, the quartet has performed Different Trains using cassette, DAT, CD, mini disk, and now running the software Ableton Live.

For those of you who are not familiar with the piece, Different Trains is a monumental work that is written for string quartet and a tape part that has spoken phrases that are mimicked by the players. I think it is one of the most beautiful and profound works of late 20th century chamber music.

Anyway, on this particular occasion, Kronos had the misfortune of some faulty in-house sound equipment. It was somewhere near the end of the second movement that the quartet realized that the pitch was moving flatter and flatter! Not able to stop, the quartet just made the adjustment and did their best to stay in tune with the ever-sinking track. They finished the piece somewhere a tone and a half south of where they were supposed to be!

But even more than that crazy instance, I think that this is a continuation of the point that I made in a previous post. One of the jobs of the sound designer is to maintain quality control. If you work with a different sound person in each hall, it will be impossible to maintain any consistency of sound quality.

Again, I think that every performer has to take into consideration their own individual sound needs. Naturally, hiring a sound person to work all of your concerts adds a major expense. However, if you feel that you are able to maintain a consistency of sound using your equipment without worrying about added personnel, then I would say that you are making the right choice for you. The quality and consistency of your performances is the decider of which course of action works best for you.

By Jeffrey Zeigler|2017-10-03T03:06:00-04:00May 29th, 2011|Categories: Performance, Technology|Tags: Sound, chamber music, consistency, Kronos, string quartet, live-performance, recordings, cello, space, ensembles, concert halls, Jeffrey, acoustics, Kronos Quartet, concerts, Quartet, equipment, Travel, discussion, Zeigler, quality|

About the Author: Jeffrey Zeigler

Described by the New York Times as “excellent”, and a player who performs “with unforced simplicity and beauty of tone”, Jeffrey Zeigler was the cellist of the internationally renowned Kronos Quartet for eight seasons. One of the most celebrated and influential ensembles of our time, Zeigler has performed over a thousand concerts worldwide, has premiered over 200 works and has collaborated with many of the world’s most versatile and innovative composers and performers. In the process, Zeigler has played an integral role in redrawing the boundaries of the string quartet medium.

Zeigler has been the recipient of the Avery Fischer Prize, the Polar Music Prize, the President’s Merit Award from the National Academy of Recorded Arts and the Chamber Music America Richard J. Bogomolny National Service Award among others.

Zeigler has given many notable premiers including works by John Adams, Laurie Anderson, Damon Albarn (of Blur and Gorillaz), John Corigliano, Philip Glass, Henryk Gorecki, Vladimir Martynov, Steve Reich, Terry Riley, Valentin Silvestrov and Peteris Vasks to name a few. Notable collaborations include Asha Bhosle, The Bang on a Can All-Stars, jazz pianist Billy Childs, Noam Chomsky, The Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Philip Glass, Paul Hillier, Zakir Hussain, Nine in Nails, the great Azerbaijani singers Alim and Ferghana Qasimov, Afghani Rubab virtuoso Homayoun Sakhi, pipa virtuoso Wu Man, Tom Waits and Howard Zinn.

The 2013/2014 Season will see the launch of a number of new projects and collaborations. Highlights include a duo with Laurie Anderson and a trio with the experimental pianist Hauschka and the Finnish rhythm master Samuli Kosminen. Both of these collaborations premier at the River to River Festival in New York City. Zeigler will also be giving the world premier of a new Cello Concerto by Canadian composer Scott Good with the Vancouver based jazz band, The Hard Rubber Orchestra. Additionally, Zeigler will be premiering a number of newly commissioned works by Kyle Bartlett, Nimrod Borenstein, Anna Clyne, Bryce Dessner (of The National), Mohammed Fairouz, Jesse Jones, Glenn Kotche (of Wilco), Richard Reed Perry (of Arcade Fire), Paola Prestini and John Zorn.

Mr. Zeigler has appeared as a soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Toronto Symphony, the Royal Danish Radio Symphony, the Basel Symphonie, the Brooklyn Philharmonic and the Sioux City Symphony and has performed under the batons of Seiji Ozawa, Christoph Eschenbach, Michael Tilson Thomas, Leonard Slatkin, Robert Spano, Sir Roger Norrington, Mstislav Rostropovich, Peter Oundjian, James Conlon, John Adams and Dennis Russell Davies.

Over the course of his celebrated career, Mr. Zeigler has released over a dozen recordings for Nonesuch Records, Deutsche Grammophon and Smithsonian Folkways and has appeared with Norah Jones on her album “Not Too Late” on Blue Note Records. Zeigler can also be heard on the film soundtrack for Darren Aronofsky’s film, “The Fountain” featuring music by Clint Mansell and including performances by the Scottish band, Mogwai.

Jeffrey Zeigler holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester where he was a student of Stephen Doane, and a Master of Music degree from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University where he served as the Teaching Assistant for Paul Katz. He then continued his studies at Indiana University under Janos Starker. Mr. Zeigler has also studied at the Britten-Pears School in Aldeburgh, England where he was a pupil of William Pleeth and Zara Nelsova. He is also the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts degree from the Cornish College of the Arts.

Zeigler served as the Cellist-in-Residence at Texas Christian University and as a Visting Lecturer at Indiana University at Bloomington. Recently, Zeigler was appointed to the Cello Faculty at Mannes College The New School For Music. This season, he will also be a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Oregon.

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