In this week’s roundup, Entertainment Design checks out a group of spaces, two brand spanking new and two that sound like new, with the addition of audio systems. We’ll escort you through a multipurpose facility at a college in the Midwest and give you a taste of Beverly Hills glitz and glamour.
Northern Iowa University’s Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center (below) opened last year on the campus in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The $23 million facility is 115,000 sq. ft. and contains three performing venues, as well as rehearsal studios, classrooms, and administrative offices for the UNI School of Music and the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony Orchestra. The main performance hall, the Great Hall, seats 1,620, while the Davis Recital Hall seats 300 and the Jebe Organ Hall seats 125. The center features a pair of quad-18 Bag End Quartz high-output subwoofer systems, controlled by a Bag End ELF (Extended Low Frequency) processor to provide bass for the sound reinforcement system.
The $90 million expansion to the Gwinnett Civic & Cultural Center (below) is now underway in Gwinnett County, Georgia. The expansion will include an 11,600-seat arena and a 21,600 sq. ft., multi-functional ballroom. The four level arena will feature dual lighting systems and a custom designed house reduction system. These features will allow for a wide range of performances from minor league hockey to arena football to Broadway performances. Also included in the center are star dressing rooms, locker rooms, show truck parking, show power, pressroom facilities, bunker suites, three food courts, private suites, lounges, and a spacious ballroom.
The New Luxor Theatre in Rotterdam received a sound system from Amsterdam-based Focus Show Equipment. The system consists of 8 ALA-3W (Acoustic Linear Array) Loudspeakers and 2 AD10 subwoofers, hung in clusters, left to right, from specially designed truss in front of the proscenium. The system also features several fill-ins, custom-made ceiling speaker units, side-fills, loudspeakers, and monitors. The complete system is controlled with BSS Soundweb. The main mixer is a Series 4 Soundcraft, and for smaller performances there is a Yamaha 01V.
An all-Apogee system was recently installed at the 1200-seat International Ballroom at Merv Griffin’s Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. The venue has hosted the Grammy Awards, the Golden Globe Awards, and the annual dinner for Oscar nominees, among many other prestigious events. Greg Kirkland, of Thomas Gregor Audio, provided the new system. The system is comprised of six AE-2, five SSM, four AE-11, and four AE-9 speakers, all of which are plug-and-play. Four FS-2 stage monitors, three D-1 digital loudspeaker controllers, and 11 SA-700 amplifiers were also installed.