Recording Session Noise Problem

Re “Live! From Oxnard: Estrada Brothers’ Music Overcomes Troubles in Performance Recording,” Aug. 27.

As one of the 50 tenants in the apartment building facing the Carnegie Art Museum from across C Street, I must disagree with Museum Director Suzanne Bellah’s explanation that she “gently, firmly” deflected the police officer informing her of our complaining about her racket invading our privacy.

First, it was not true that “every precaution had been taken to keep the sound under control and inside.” On the contrary, four museum windows and one door facing our building were wide open. We wouldn’t have heard or been bothered by the noise if those had been closed--or if she had held the recording session in her home.

Bella suggests that because “outdoor music can frequently be heard rumbling in the park” it’s OK for other noise sources to assault our apartment building. It’s her way of saying two wrongs make a right, I suppose. I’m delighted to be able to report that code enforcement and the City Council have been remarkably successful in taming Plaza Park noise this past year. Perhaps Bellah’s jam sessions will be their next target.

ROBERT EARL McCROCKLIN

Oxnard