Page 19 - Guildhall Coverage Book 2020-21

Call me fanciful but it was this that bounced around my mind as I arrived back at Guildhall
School, after the longest silence in the building’s history. The bawling in my ears had been the
daily Government Covid-19 briefings; the “ancient power” was, of course, music itself.
Imagine my joy at stepping back into the building and hearing the wonderful sounds of human
beings making music in every corner.

The occasion of my return was the final of Guildhall School’s Gold Medal, our most prestigious
music prize, which consists of a live concert in the Barbican Hall where the finalists perform
with the Guildhall Symphony Orchestra. High above the entrance foyer in the school hang two
enormous oak boards, emblazoned with the names of past winners. As is my custom each year
before the medal I took a few moments to gaze up at the long list and pick out some familiar
names – Benjamin Luxon, Bryn Terfel, Tasmin Little and Jacqueline du Pré.

The Gold Medal has been running for 105 years – every year since 1915 – so none of us could
entertain the idea that Covid-19 would get the better of us.

A different type of connection
The problem was: how can a 100-piece orchestra play together, socially distanced, without a
football stadium? The answer came to us in the shape of our resident genius and Head of
Recording and Audio Visual, Julian Hepple.

Julian’s expertise gave him a unique perspective on the problems. He explained: “Nothing will
replace the magic of 100 people working together in a physical space to alter the course of the
very particles in the air around them, but that’s exactly what happens when an orchestra
rehearses.

“The result moves us in ways we cannot explain. Somehow, we learn more about who we are
and what the world is. We make sense of our past and we look forward to the future. We hear
a composer’s perspective on the human condition, and we feel less alone. These 100 people
make the air around them dance, and we are changed merely by hearing it. It has been this
way for hundreds of years.

“But then there was lockdown. How could we keep this magic alive? Could technology really
save us? Could something so cold and informal as performing to a screen really replicate the
shared communal experience for both performer and listener? Using the latest technological
advancements, we set about devising a system for synchronous collaborative rehearsal and
performance. We cannot control the number of people allowed in the room, but we could
control the air coming from your speakers or headphones.

“The primary problem is latency. Latency is the amount of time between an event, and
someone hearing and seeing that event. It is one of the many reasons why a Zoom call doesn’t
allow for the same type of connection as real-life conversation. You are watching something I
said or did anywhere between 50 and 500 milliseconds ago. It is inherently not in the moment.
Our aim was to create a system that reduced latency as much as possible while maintaining
technical benchmarks of quality and synchronous interaction.

“The answer came from a combination of several different technologies and a bit of common
sense. We took elements of digital workflow used in large scale stadium rock touring and
applied them to orchestral rehearsals. Who knew that the audio system designer for the band
Tool could be so instrumental to our orchestra performing once again? We used elements of
video broadcasting technology used in the Royal Courts of Justice and a few ideas from an ice
hockey arena installation to create our network.