The studio manager
Susan Thomas At the Proms since… 1982
‘‘ As a sound balancer, I’m located in the big truck outside the Albert Hall with a big mixing desk. Studio managers are spread out, with one on the side of the stage and one with the presenter in the box. My job is to try to make the concerts sound even better than they do in the Albert Hall. I sit at the mixing desk and decide what mics are put out and I mix sounds for the broadcasts. I started out as a junior, moving mics around – I was the eyes and ears onstage. I then worked in the hall, balancing the sound of the presenter and the applause.
In some ways the Proms haven’t changed since I started. We still have an enormous number of the most superb musicians coming here, and the wonderful audiences are still the same. We have changed the way we work, though, as we’ve switched from analogue to digital and moved to the truck as production has expanded.
Favourite Prom: András Schiff as soloist in Beethoven’s ‘Emperor’ Piano Concerto in 2016. It’s very special when you have a musician of his standard, and you can be totally wrapped in the music.