In May 25 members of London Branch assembled outside the artists' entrance of the Royal Festival Hall in London. They were not about to perform, but to take part in a very interesting demonstration of the revised acoustics of the building and the fully restored organ. Dr William McVicker, the organ curator, gave a lively and informative talk, describing how the original acoustics of the hall had been investigated, and the modifications that have taken place to improve the natural resonance of the building. The hall has always been thought too "dry" as designed, and even with the artificial "assisted resonance" that was installed and used up to 1999, the lack of audibility between the performers on stage and many other undesirable effects had launched the improvements that have now taken place. In order to achieve these, significant alterations to the stage area were made, which also involved removing the organ console from its original position, and positioning all the pipework closer to the rear wall, necessitating a complete rebuild of the entire organ structure. The 7,866 pipes were hand-cleaned and repaired where necessary, a new wooden frame was built, and the electrics, the bellows and wind blowing system were all overhauled.
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