Installations

Once named as one of the “ten best cities for families” by Family Circle magazine, Henderson, TN is a small town that’s just 18 miles northeast of Nashville. While officially part of the Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area, Henderson still retains a small town feel, yet with that kind of proximity to Music City USA, residents there are very attuned to sonic quality — especially as part of their worship experience.

Years ago, the question of whether theater was dead was constantly brought up by detractors on every front. And if live theater remained trapped in the genre of stodgy parlor dramas, any predictions of its demise would have seemed credible. However, today, quite the opposite is true, and the application of advanced technologies in staging, lighting, visual effects and high performance sound systems have done much to keep theater not only alive but growing.

The pace of technology upgrades in the house of worship market seems unstoppable. And why not, as congregations — both traditional and contemporary — take advantage of modern audio, lighting, video and broadcast systems to help spread the message. With the rise of high-energy praise bands and choirs, these days, a ‘60s Lowrey organ and a couple of well-worn Shure Vocal Master columns don’t cut it when presenting contemporary music services.

“The show must go on” still rings true every day in thousands of theaters and performing arts centers worldwide. However, these days, savvy facility directors realize the importance of a great sound system, especially as audiences — accustomed to hearing high-performance audio systems in live concerts and local bijous — are putting demands on facilities to provide a first-class performance experience, where intelligibility and musicality are just as important as rock ‘n’ roll SPL’s. With than in mind, we present this look at some recent installation projects — both new and upgrades — that reflect the current state of the art in venues both large and small.

Mention the phrase “music festivals,” and the images that usually come to mind are packed, hot, dusty outdoor venues with multiple overlapping stages blasting rock, country, pop, hip-hop, EDM and so on — or perhaps even the mud pits of the original Woodstock. The throbbing bass from such events can easily carry for miles.

“The Theater” at Gwinnett Church Benefits from Speaker Steering Technologies and High Channel Count Consoles

North Point Ministries (NPM) was founded in 1995 with the vision of creating non-denominational churches with an attractive environment that would appeal to those who do not regularly attend church. Obviously, this plan has worked. Since its inception, NPM has grown from one church to six in the metro Atlanta area and has developed a global network of more than 30 strategic partner churches.

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Technology upgrades — for audio, as well as video and lighting — for houses of worship remains one of the largest sectors of growth in the industry, particularly within the contemporary worship market.

New Phoenix-area Venue Marks First EAW Anya Install in a Club Environment

In the heart of Scottsdale, Arizona’s entertainment district, LiveWire has quickly become one of the most sought-after venues in the Southwest. Since opening earlier this year, LiveWire has hosted national touring acts, comedians, artists, DJs and up-and-coming local bands.

Virginia Tech’s Institute for Creativity, Arts and Technology (ICAT) has created an immersive 3-D audio environment. Christened “The Cube,” this unique four-story theater and high-tech laboratory features one of the highest-channel count 3-D audio systems in the world. The facility combines multi-screen video and 3-D sound from 145 loudspeakers to bring creative artists, educators and audiences together in a four-story, black box theater that’s one of the largest on the East Coast.

It’s a familiar story that happens to a lot of churches. A congregation starts off in a smaller facility, eventually outgrows the sanctuary and moves to larger space, which may not have the warm, intimate acoustics of the original church. And so it was with the Clinton Frame Mennonite Church of Goshen, Indiana.