Some last-minute checks before the show begins.
With 28 performers, the Danilo Perez Trio and Big Band presented a challenge to the Boston production team.

On the whole, our event went off without a hitch. We did, however, have to build a control room from scratch in a conference room next to the recital hall. We used two Yamaha DM1000 consoles to do the mix. We also recorded into an Nuendo system (multitrack) for later postproduction. We used Shoeps MK series or Neumann (TLM170, TLM103 and KM100 series) microphones. The signal from the microphones were split so the PA could have access to the same microphones that I used.

The venue was a small recital hall (held 100 people) and the ambiance during the performance was lively and festive. The challenge mixing the show was getting clarity from all the instruments (the Danilo Perez Trio and Big Band has 28 members). This is the fourth year in a row that we have produced Toast of the Nation from this venue. Every year the band gets bigger!

Finally, for the transmission the feed was sent via ISDN using a Prima at 256kb/s MPEG Layer 3 stereo, and as a backup we had a Telos Xstream running at 128kb/s AAC.

Boston Equipment List

• AKG 414
• Alesis HD24
• Beyer Dynamic M88
• DPA 4011
• Earthworks
• Genelec 1030A
• Marantz CD recorders
• Musicam CDQ Prima 220
• Neumann KM140, KM81i, KMS150
• Schoeps MK4, MK41
• Sennheiser MD421
• Shure SM Beta 58
• Steinberg Nuendo with Altiverb reverb
• TC Electronic Finalizer
• Telos Xstream
• Yamaha DM1000, O1V

Antonio Oliart, NPR technical director/WGBH, Boston's Berklee College of Music's David Friend Recital Hall
Antonio Oliart is a sound recording engineer at WGBH in Boston. His training includes a Masters of Music degree in flute performance from The Mannes College of Music in New York City and a Masters Degree in Sound Recording from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. He has been working at WGBH since November 1995 where he mainly works for FM music productions. During his stay at WGBH, Antonio has been nominated five times for the New England Emmy awards for outstanding individual achievement in sound and won three of them for “La Plaza” and “Basic Black”. Antonio was born and raised in Veracruz, Mexico.

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