2026 Helen Hayes Award Nominations, Outstanding Sound Design

Glimmerglass Festival 2021

Andrew Harper, Sound Designer Interview for LSI

Glimmerglass Festival 2021

Sound Designer: Andrew Harper "Natural sound has been the glory of opera for centuries. It’s always hard to fully assess amplified voices. Yet, for the four rewarding programs I took in recently, the sound came across with resonance...and clarity."--Anthony Tommasini, New York Times

Il Trovatore

Glimmerglass Festival Sound Designer: Andrew Harper “The speakers, strategically placed to cover the three lawn areas – A, B and C – were terrifically clear and powerful. While one could tell that the orchestral sound was being amplified, those same speakers did a remarkable job of projecting a powerful sound from the stage and out across the lawn.”—Matt Costello, Opera Wire Photo by Karli Cadel Photography

Glimmerglass Festival 2021

Sound Designer: Andrew Harper "One of the great wizards of the proceedings was Sound Designer Andrew Harper along with his team....the sound system was so sophisticated it could provide just a little added presence to each unique voice without flattening the overtones (opera lovers’ “to-die-fors”) or muddying directionality."-- Susan Galbraith, DC Metro Arts

Songbird

Glimmerglass Festival Sound Designer: Andrew Harper “Their balance with the singers was perfect and everything including the dialogue was easily heard throughout the area.”

The Magic Flute

Glimmerglass Festival SD:Andrew Harper "The festival’s first post-shutdown season is being performed..with crystal clear amplification...Sound designer Andrew Harper utilized his audio tools to do the performers some favors. Vocal ensembles like the Three Ladies were heard in a kind of perfect balance rarely achieved from actors moving around on a stage. Also, certain passages in the orchestration – a pizzicato from the bass here, a bassoon line there – also benefited from the amplified mix."

Cruzar la Cara de la Luna

New York City Opera Sound Designer: Andrew Harper Click to read the New York Times review Photo credit: Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times

Elf

Theatre Under the Stars Sound Designer: Andrew Harper "Andrew Harper's sound work is clear and distinct, no small feat in the cavernous Hobby."--D. L. Groover, Houston Press Photo by Melissa Taylor

El Milagro del Recuerdo

Houston Grand Opera Sound Designer: Andrew Harper Click for Operawire review Photo Source HGO Facebook

West Side Story

Lyric Opera Kansas City Sound Designer: Andrew Harper "The costumes, hair, lighting, sound, and all the other technical aspects are outstanding in this production."--Bob Evans, KC Applauds

West Side Story

Houston Grand Opera Sound Designer: Andrew Harper Click to read the review in the Houston Chronicle Photo: Lynn Lane

The House Without a Christmas Treee

Houston Grand Opera Sound Designer: Andrew Harper "The amplification, with sound design by Andrew Harper, was subtle enough to bring out the transparency of the orchestration and preserve a balance with the singers."--Heidi Waleson, Wall Street Journal Photo: Lynn Lane

Mayerling

Houston Ballet Sound Designer: Andrew Harper "The four performances.. were at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts instead of the nearby Wortham Theater Center, the company’s main home, which suffered extensive damage in the storm. Orchestral numbers had to be reduced; sound is subtly amplified. But already this production is much the finest work I have seen by Houston Ballet, America’s fifth-largest company."--Alastair Macaulay, New York Times

It's a Wonderful Life

Houston Grand Opera Sound Designer: Andrew Harper "The most striking effect is the orchestral silence when Clara temporarily erases George’s existence to teach him a life lesson. Here, HGO artistic and music director Patrick Summers put down his baton, and sound designer Andrew Harper provided an eerily soft, wail-like drone over which the singers only speak until the chastened George repents his desire to end it all and is restored to his wonderful life."- William Albright Photo: Karen Almond

How To Succeed in Business...

Theatre Under the Stars Sound Designer: Andrew Harper "The big Broadway orchestra under maestro Jeff Rizzo sounds lush and fondly recalls those days of yore when musicals didn't rely on synthesizers and souped-up electronics for their ample sound. The entire production beams; we beam."--D.L. Groover, Houston Press Photo by OS GALINDO

Sweeney Todd, Generations ATC

Generations, A Theatre Company Sound Designer: Andrew Harper "Andrew Harper's Sound Design is remarkable, always keeping the audience on The Edge of their seats. The loud whistle never truly allows the audience to get comfortable as they are in a state of unease, which works so well for this production. Andrew Harper's skillful design successfully ensures that the audience cannot escape the madness that surrounds them and is wonderfully effective."-- Kristina Nungaray, Broadway World