Can I host a conference call and bring participants in muted by default?

I would like to hold a fairly large conference call and would like to bring participants in muted by default. Is this possible?

good question.
Here are the recommended settings

This would mean that people will be on hold until the host joins with audio
The host is recommended to have web controls (on the web) open before he/she calls in. This way he can set the lecture mode before he/she calls in.

During the call web controls are handy to see who is active speaker and mute/unmute people

hope it helps.
Thank you,
Eugene