Zellerbach Hall at the University of California, Berkeley—home to Cal Performances, one of the nation’s leading university-based arts presenters—enters a new era of acoustic versatility with a state-of-the-art Constellation® system from Meyer Sound.
The upgraded system expands the venue’s pioneering 2006 installation—the first ever Constellation system—offering broader coverage, finer control, and improved stage tuning that helps performers hear and communicate better than ever before.
The system was designed by Meyer Sound’s project team; voiced by John Pellowe, Meyer Sound’s project director for Constellation systems, together with Pierre Germain, Constellation Director; and installed by San Francisco-based audiovisual integrator BugID.
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With its sweeping balconies, deep overhangs, and massive concrete structure, Zellerbach Hall embodies the bold functionalism of its era. Those same architectural features have shaped the acoustic experience for generations of artists. The renewed Constellation system has been designed to work within that architecture, providing the precision and adaptability needed to support a wide range of performances.
Built around Meyer Sound’s NADIA™ integrated digital audio platform, the upgraded system incorporates:
- 110 UP-4slim™ ultracompact installation loudspeakers
- 22 ULTRA-X20™ compact point source loudspeakers
- 16 ULTRA-X20XP™ loudspeakers
- 12 Ashby-8C™ ceiling loudspeakers
- 12 Ashby-5C™ ceiling loudspeakers
All powered by two NADIA-CP™ core processors and 14 NADIA-AO16™ 16-channel processors.
Germain, who led the system design, highlights the impact of the new architecture and processing advances:
Instead of relying on a single VRAS processor to manage early reflections on stage, the system now features four. This allows the stage to be divided into quadrants and the acoustic environment to be adjusted with greater precision—essential for musicians to hear each other more clearly across ensemble sections.
The NADIA platform also brings new sound-design flexibility to Zellerbach, with support for Spacemap® Go, Meyer Sound’s spatial sound design and mixing tool.
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As the installation progressed, the physical complexity of the project became clear, according to BugID owner Matt Lavine: “Zellerbach is a challenging building—concrete everywhere, tight timelines, and multiple agencies involved—but the collaboration with Meyer Sound allowed us to achieve maximum precision where it mattered most”. That precision carried through every stage: “Constellation installs require a bit of back and forth. Precision is key; the relationship between the speakers and microphones is critical”. Visual integration was equally important: “Everything was custom painted, even the cable pathways”.
Ahead of fall performances, Pellowe worked with London’s Philharmonia Orchestra to refine onstage balance across Constellation zones. The process, he says, underscored how much the system has evolved:
It’s a different story now. We’ve added many loudspeakers and equipment that weren’t there before, and we now have new algorithms and many more zones.
Those early rehearsals were part of a broader fall program that included symphonic concerts, piano recitals, dance performances, and amplified productions. Constellation enables smooth transitions across this wide range of acoustic demands, supporting what Pellowe describes as: “a room that behaves like a flexible instrument while preserving its character”.
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“Zellerbach is a hall where innovation meets artistry, and this new Constellation system makes us a more articulate musical partner for our visiting performers”, says Jeremy Geffen, Executive and Artistic Director of Cal Performances. “What audiences hear is a more focused, more connected performance; what musicians feel is a room that supports them while staying true to its identity”.
Critical reaction has highlighted the clarity and naturalism of the upgraded system. As Richard S. Ginell wrote in Classical Voice North America (Oct. 21, 2025): “As has been true with every application of Meyer Sound digital systems I have heard, it was almost impossible to tell without knowing in advance whether we were hearing natural sound or digitally enhanced sound”.
Cal Performances has been part of Meyer Sound’s story for decades, and Zellerbach Hall has always been a place where our ideas could grow alongside extraordinary artists. It feels especially meaningful to celebrate nearly twenty years of Constellation here—where the technology began—by giving this hall new definition, flexibility, and life for the next generation of performances, notes Helen Meyer, Executive Vice President of Meyer Sound.
