PA People supplies NSW’s first purpose built indoor recital hall
Published: ASIA
AUSTRALIA: The PA People has completed an installation at the newly built 180-seat Four Winds Festival concert hall in Bermagui. Known as the Windsong Pavilion, the hall is the only purpose built indoor recital hall in southeast New South Wales, and was supplied with JBL speakers, BSS Blu and Shure radio mics.
‘This is a big leap from a three-day festival to a world-class cultural facility that will support aspiring and practicing musicians in a year round calendar of events,’ said Four Winds’ chair Sheena Boughen. ‘It will provide a home to be able to develop, rehearse and perform. We believe this is unique in the country and we are thrilled it will be a venue for a wide range of art forms. We will be a venue for hire and a presenter of programmes.’
Funded by NSW government’s Arts Trade and Investment and Federal government’s RDA fund, as well as donations from more than 300 benefactors, the not-for-profit festival will mark the official opening of the new hall and is due take place over Easter. The PA People was given a brief to equip the facility for use as both a concert hall and a community resource. Theatre systems consultant, Jim Hultquist of consultancy Schuler Shook, specified a user-friendly A/V system capable of accommodating a wide range of usage and configurations, and the installation process was overseen by Brett Steele, manager of installed systems at The PA People, who was given the task of bringing the design to light.
The technical solution provided consisted of two JBL PRX512M 12-inch powered loudspeakers, complemented by a PRX 518S subwoofer as the main FOH PA, and driven from a BSS Blu DSP unit. The Blu was programmed for both simple, no-operator sound reinforcement as well as for connection to a mixing desk’s outputs for larger musical events. Extensive wiring installed throughout the pavilion enables equipment to be connected at many physical points, facilitating multiple configurations for events, and radio mics were provided from Shure.
A 3,500 lumen NEC projector was installed to cover visual requirements, projecting onto a built-in screen. Both the projector and the sound system are controlled by a user interface built with equipment from AMX.
‘From one of three installed touch screens, any user, regardless of their technical knowledge, can activate both the projector and sound system,’ said Mr Steele. ‘The microphones are turned on and mixed automatically, making the space and equipment accessible and useful to the whole community. With another button press, every component of the system shuts down safely.’