HUMIDIFICATION FOR MUSIC ROOMS AND INSTRUMENT STORAGE
Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School
EAST PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND
Veterans Memorial Auditorium (The VETS) in Providence, Rhode Island, was the site of an uncommon,
two-night event in February of 2024. World-renowned pianist Garrick Ohlsson performed Sergei
Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3. Rach 3, as it has come to be known, is one of the most difficult piano concertos ever composed. All three movements feature chords up to 10-keys wide, and the final movement has finger-tangling, overlapping notes that require both hands crowded onto just a few keys.
Ohlsson was accompanied by the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra. If the 40-minute concerto caused him anxiety, he channeled it well.
I can answer yes to both, said an auditorium staff member who worked The VETS both nights and was asked if Ohlsson and the orchestra played Rach 3 as advertised and without mistakes.
Then they teach kids
While Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra musicians are paid professionals, many give back not only as performers, but also as teachers at the music school. In fact, Rhode Island Philharmonic is the only professional orchestra in the country for which music education and performance are equal priorities.
Space is limited
The school knows the importance of humidification for the students' respiratory health, and dry air can cause woodwinds, violins, pianos, and anything else with reeds or wood to crack. The rehearsal rooms, piano studios, and instrument storage area are humidified.
The school teaches about 1,500 students on a weekly basis,
with another 13,000 yearly interactions through partnerships,
residencies, concerts, and in-school performances. With all that is going on in the areas of teaching and performance,
there is no floor space left for humidifiers.
This one humidifies Sage Hall, says Bob Taylor, the school's Maintenance Specialist. Taylor is on a step ladder and pointing to a DriSteem Vaporstream®
humidifier somewhere above the ceiling tiles. From the floor, a run of insulated steam tubing can be seen disappearing into the darkness above tiles.
They're all installed overhead, and the tech from
Lincoln Energy, the contractor who installed the
Steam from a
Vapormist®
humidifier is dispersed in the duct behind
