World of Pageantry

At the same time you have to see it from the point of view of the director. He may think that a single first could take the place of a couple in a second or third position and uses that knowledge to balance the group's sound. It might also be that the position in the chunk of people might work better. For instance, your director might sit you in the second row instead of the first because you have great tone but you always play too loud and the person sitting in front of you blocks your loudness from the audience.