How many concerts do you attend a year

Baltimore Symphony; Yuri Temirkanov, Director - I have a 9 concert subscription. I end up going to a few more, so we'll say a dozen. My 3 subscription seats are in a second tier box (3 seats) overlooking the stage on the soloist side (left as you look at the stage.) So the orchestra is below where I sit. The sound travels up very well, so I guess if it were an audio system it would be near field listening. Hall accoustics are not as much of an issue that close.

I probably go to a half dozen other concerts of chamber music, solo recitals, etc at various venues in the Baltimore, Washington DC area.

I sing in the Baltmore Choral Arts Society full chorus and chamber chorus (www.baltimorechoralarts.org). If this counts it is another 6 to 8 per year. Interestingly, I almost never attend a choral concert I am not performing in. Being in the Chorus and usually in or near the front row, I guess it is surround sound listening.

I also usually get in at least one opera or ballet a year.

At the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore the best seats for soundstage, orchestra balance, etc, etc is actually the middle of the cheap seats in the upper tier in the back of the hall. The sound up/back there is really great, unlike many concert halls (and it is cheap). The seats up there are usually full of musicians and other music lovers who know how good it is up there. The people who go to be seen are on the main orchestra floor level. I also like to watch, so my view of the whole orchestra from above in the box is perfect.

Marin Alsop in Colorado does a great job!

Marin Alsop will be in Baltimore with the BSO and Nadja Salerno Sonnenberg on and around May 11. I met Marin in the early 90s before she was well know. She auditioned for the Rhode Island Philharmonic job. A good friend is on their Board and invited me to atttend all the concerts with her that year that were with candidates. We both liked Marin the best, but it went to a Chinese born conductor (who was a very close second choice) who was willing to spend a lot of time in Providence promoting the orchestra in the community.

Gee another fun time. Back in my Rhode Island days I was a subscriber to Ben Zanders BPO concerts at Sanders Theater at Harvard University. My seats were front row balcony just left of center (soloist side). Great sound up there and as I and Chancie Gardiner once said: "I like to watch".