The new city-owned Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Amarillo, Texas, opened its doors earlier this year with a Soundcraft Series Five console in charge of house and monitor mixing duties for its 1,300-seat performance hall. The Center is also home to the Amarillo Opera, Amarillo Symphony, and Lone Star Ballet.
Installed by systems integrator Electro Acoustics and Video, Inc. of Fort Worth, the console features 32 mono and four stereo channel strips short-loaded into a 48-channel frame in the event that the facility should wish to expand its channel count at a later date.
"With our mission of providing the best possible acoustics and sound reinforcement, the Series Five was really the ideal choice for this facility," says Jim Elliott, production manager for both the Globe-News Center and Amarillo Civic Center, the city's preexisting sister venue located just across the street. "The sonics of this desk truly go hand-in-hand with the beautiful acoustics of this venue, and everyone that has used it so far has given it nothing but rave reviews."
After pointing out that he also really likes the Series Five’s programmable mutes, Elliott adds, "The fact that this desk is a fair bit nicer than what we're using in our other auditorium, which seats 2,300 and uses a smaller 24-channel console from another manufacturer, makes me feel like I'm going from a decent Toyota to a really nice Cadillac every time I come in here."
The 70,000-square-foot Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts, built entirely by private donations totaling more than $30M, is ten stories tall at its highest point with a sweeping roofline that reflects majestic Palo Duro Canyon, including the texture and colors of the canyon's popularly-named 'Spanish Skirts'. Aside from its striking architectural design, the venue also impressively features one of the nation's first retractable orchestra shells, which, attached to a 50-ton traveling bridge, wheels offstage within minutes allowing theater, opera, symphony and ballet performances to easily share show dates with jazz, bluegrass, gospel and country-and-western artists.