Grammy-winning classical music recording and live sound engineer John Pellowe has joined Meyer Sound as a consultant engineer to work closely on installations of the company’s new Constellation electroacoustic architecture system.
Trained in classical music recording by Decca Records in London, Pellowe’s career has brought him into contact with nearly every current major classical and opera star and enabled him to work with the world’s top conductors and orchestras in many of the world’s great concert halls.
His recordings have garnered eight Grammy nominations and five Grammy Awards, including four nominations and a Best Engineering Grammy Award. Beyond his stellar recording career, Pellowe has been Sound Engineering Director for Luciano Pavarotti and The 3 Tenors since 1992, engineering concerts that often played to audiences numbering in the hundreds of thousands.
Pavarotti’s longstanding preference for Meyer Sound loudspeakers for concerts he mixes fostered a lasting association between Pellowe and the company. This, combined with Pellowe’s experience and interest in acoustics, made it natural he should become involved when Meyer Sound president/CEO John Meyer initiated the creation of Constellation. “John Pellowe has an extraordinary sense of what constitutes good acoustics, how music should sound to an audience in a venue, and what performers like to hear,” says Meyer. “These things are at the heart of Constellation, and no one is better qualified than John to help us meet those aesthetic goals.”
Pellowe sees the move to join Meyer Sound as a logical next step in his career. “I've always been lucky enough to be at the front lines of sound engineering,” he says, “from the golden days of the classical record industry to traveling around the world with Pavarotti and The 3 Tenors. Constellation now constitutes the forefront of audio, and all my past experience equips me to make a contribution to it that I think is important: helping to build a bridge between the technical aspects and the artistic concerns. I find it quite exhilarating to work with Meyer Sound’s brilliant team of scientists and engineers on the development, design and installation of this exciting new advance in electroacoustics.”
Executive VP Helen Meyer is pleased to have someone with Pellowe’s skills and talents helping to shape the product. “John’s impeccable credentials have earned him tremendous respect in the fine arts world. In addition to his contributions to Constellation, which are tremendous, his involvement indicates to the fine arts community our seriousness in this pursuit,” says Helen. “We’re delighted to have John Pellowe working with us.”
Pellowe was instrumental in refining the initial Constellation system at University of California Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall. He is currently working on upcoming Constellation installations.