The Mansfield ISD Center for the Performing Arts, Texas, US, has installed a Meyer Sound Constellation acoustic system to provide acoustics for its new multi-purpose Cunningham Performance Hall.
To meet the demand for the range of events that take place at the Mansfield ISD centre without overstretching the available budget by having to build and maintain multiple spaces, the school opted to make one single area offer five different room configurations.
After moveable partitions were implemented, the performance hall can now hold 5,500 in its open configuration (mainly to accommodate graduations), seating is reduced to 4,200 when moveable walls slide out to form twin 650-seat lecture halls on each side, and reduced further to 1,800 when a thick acoustical curtain closes off the balcony for concerts.
Austin-based acoustic consultant BAi was selected to head up the Mansfield ISD project. The company’s principal and president Charles Bonner and acoustician Andrew Miller encouraged Dr. Russell Sanders, the district’s director of fine arts, to experience the Constellation system at nearby Temple High School.
“The system created a transparent and supportive acoustical environment throughout the performance hall,” commented Sanders.
With the Meyer Sound Constellation system passing with flying colours, Infinity Sound of Grand Prairie handled system integration for the centre’s AV systems. The Cunningham Performance Hall now comprises a Constellation system built around a core D-Mitri digital audio platform with eight processing frames, including three processors for hosting the patented VRAS algorithms. Two-dozen microphones distributed on stage and around the hall pick up the stage and room’s acoustics, and the DVRAS processors produce augmented early reflections and reverberations that are delivered by 95 Meyer Sound self-powered loudspeakers and subwoofers. Eleven different acoustical presets of varying reverberation times are available on a touchscreen interface.
“The acoustics created by Constellation give kids the experience of performing in a world-class facility. In addition, the technology allows us to fine-tune the natural acoustical environment to suit whatever we are doing in the space,” Sanders added.
The new hall now serves as a concert venue for dozens of school programs and high-profile community events, including a major church-sponsored program and a recent fundraising concert by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
The Mansfield ISD Center for the Performing Arts was designed by Huckabee architectural firm of Fort Worth. addition, Infinity Sound of Grand Prairie handled system integration for the centre’s AV systems, including Constellation.
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