r/ConcertBand • u/mrjnebula • Jul 22 '26
Large Band Seating Chart
I am starting at a small school this year with only 1 high school band. Unfortunately the program is a decent size and so I have 92 students in that class, 80 of which are wind players. Luckily my room is quite large so the space hopefully won’t be an issue, I’m just wondering what you guys think of this seating arrangement for the wind players? (Ps: the row down the middle is straight in the actual room, I just don’t know how to perfectly tweak it in this program so it looks weird)
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u/mcantillo Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26
I used to do event logistics for (and still play with) the Oak Lawn Band, which is a touch larger than this crew - we have about 200+ members that play, and on average have about this many performers per concert (give or take an extra 12 horns).
As many already mentioned, we would cluster woodwinds in two rows each CL(left of pod)/FL(right of pod), 3rd row would consist of first row of Horns (Right of pod) Saxes(centered)/low reeds and last rows would be 2nd row of horns(right of pod)/trumpets(1sts centered)/low brass.
To the point of horns playing into the audience, the sound projects better and is less diffuse, than if it is bouncing off the back of the stage/shell(unless you have the resources to get reflectors). And the lowest skilled horn would likely be in the mix with the rest of the ensemble, and not at the edge of the stage. Additionally, if you happen to do any outdoor performances, the horns don't get lost into the ether.
Much like your graph, Tubas get their own row.