In the 1,000-seat auditorium of Germany's Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln (Cologne University of Music and Dance), a dual-purpose Meyer Sound reinforcement system, tailored to the institution's wide-ranging programs for both traditional acoustic and avant-garde electronic music, was recently installed. The system provides powerful left-right sound reinforcement directed from the stage while immersing the seven-sided auditorium in a multichannel (quadro- or octaphonic) sound field.
The stereo reinforcement system comprises left and right hangs of nine Meyer Sound M1D line array loudspeakers each with bass augmented by two 500-HP and one M1D-Sub subwoofer per array. Side- and front-fills are provided by two UPJ-1P VariOâ„¢ loudspeakers and four UPM-2P loudspeakers, respectively.
An independent multichannel sound system was installed to accommodate particular requirements of the institution's renowned Studio für Elektronische Musik (Studio for Electronic Music). For this system, eight UPQ-1P loudspeakers are mounted above and behind the stage as well as on both sides of the audience. Flexible routing and matrixing capabilities enable transparent translation of multichannel productions from the institution's own state-of-the-art digital recording studios into the larger auditorium space. Both the main front and surround systems were cooordinated and installed by Jellinghaus Musik Systeme GmbH of Dortmund, Germany.
“We received very positive feedback from the students of our electronic composition class, as well as from those in the dance, jazz and pop music departments,” says Marcel Schmidt of the Studio for Electronic Music. “We have heard someone say that this system is like a magnifying glass that delivers a precise, one-to-one reproduction of our studio work—only on a larger scale. Another student reported that the system allowed them to hear details that they did not notice in the studio.”
The Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln is the largest institution of advanced music education in Germany. Program studies cover musical theater, jazz, pop, church music, music education, composition, electronic music, contemporary dance and much more. Originally founded in 1840 as the “Conservatorium der Musik in Coeln" (Conservatory for music in Cologne), the university now has branches in Aachen and Wuppertal.