Behind the scenes at the Bowl

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To make today’s Hollywood Bowl concert sound the best it can -- and to meet Gustavo Dudamel’s exacting standards -- the technical staff here has deployed 120 microphones around the venue, with a small army of sound engineers on hand to make sure the live event goes smoothly.

‘We try to tailor the sound to what Gustavo wants,’ said Fred Vogler, who is one of two engineers manning the Bowl’s main sound booth.

For Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony -- which the orchestra is playing now -- the conductor wanted a lot of warmth, especially from the string section. That meant placing microphones farther away from each other than normal to create a deeper soundscape, according to Vogler.

In addition, the musicians of the L.A Philharmonic are individually miked. For violins, the mikes are located on the bridges of their instruments. For clarinets, the mikes are attached to players’ music stands.

There are eight sound technicians onstage during tonight’s Phil performance. There is also an engineer who coordinates sound for the live webcast.

Visually, the Phil has brought in two giant LED screens placed on both sides of the stage. These replace the usual projection screens. The reason for the LEDs is that the bright sun during the afternoon portion of the concert would make it impossible for people in the audiences to see a projected image.

-- David Ng