The NCH says that the problem is being rectified. The players have been complaining about conditions onstage for a long time.
Some parts are hot, they say, while others are chilly.
They say the lack of oxygen, which was last year confirmed by independent tests, is serious where people such as musicians are working with an increased heart rate and with special demands in breathing, not least for wind players. It's now accepted that the centre of the stage, where the woodwind are, is not getting a sufficient change of air, and there's a build-up of carbon dioxide. Work which it was agreed last November would be completed by the end of January has not been done, he says. We are going to sit down immediately with the musicians and the NCH and see what can be done about the situation. The delay, she says, has been caused by difficulties in securing a contractor to work between 11 p.m. and 8 a.m., so that the normal activity of the hall would not be disrupted.