Meyer Sound TIGRA enhances intelligibility and sound coverage at Kodak Hall

The Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester has upgraded Kodak Hall’s sound system with Meyer Sound TIGRA line array loudspeakers, one of the first TIGRA installations in the US, designed by Meyer Sound’s Bob McCarthy and installed by Sound Associates.

Built by George Eastman as a home for the school and a cultural centre for the city, Kodak Hall is an Italian Renaissance and Neoclassical-style venue featuring ornate plasterwork, murals, and a 2.5-tonne crystal chandelier. Opened in 1922 as a silent movie theatre and concert hall, it now seats 2,326 following a two-phase renovation completed in 2009. Meyer Sound loudspeakers have been part of the venue's equipment since that renovation.

Kodak Hall is the main performance venue for Eastman's orchestras, wind and jazz ensembles, choir, and Eastman Opera Theatre productions. The school presents more than 1,000 concerts a year across its three venues.

With these improvements, we can ensure that the venue is ready to host a wide variety of performances by Eastman students and faculty, guest artists, and community partners such as the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, says Kate Sheeran, Joan and Martin Messinger Dean of the Eastman School of Music.

Preserving the hall's acoustics

"When you come into a venue like this, one that is so highly regarded for its acoustics, you have to stop and ask yourself what this hall needs to deliver", explains Domonic Sack, executive vice president of Sound Associates. "We don't want to change the hall, because it's one of the finest acoustic venues in the country".

The new system comprises two arrays of 12 TIGRA loudspeakers per side, along with two ULTRA-X80 point-source loudspeakers and one ULTRA-X82 for orchestra in-fill reinforcement, six ULTRA-X20 loudspeakers as front fills, and eight UP-4slim loudspeakers providing delayed coverage beneath the mezzanine balcony.

Four 2100-LFC low-frequency control elements extend the bass response, while two Galileo GALAXY 816 network platforms handle system processing, management, and optimisation.

"You never want to see your product installed in a space where it's oversized or undersized", says McCarthy. "In this case, the system is perfectly sized. It's going to perform exceptionally well in this hall".

A space for education and concerts

There are a lot of young musicians training here, and I want them to feel that they can play their instruments without having to fight the acoustics of the hall or the sound system. And as for the audience, I want them not to think about the sound system at all, but simply to focus on the music and the experience, explains McCarthy. 

The system ensures coverage for speech and amplified music throughout the seating area without altering the hall's natural acoustic response during orchestral performances.

"The sound is consistent throughout the hall, and there isn't a single bad seat in the house", says Mark Wazowicz, director of Audio Visual Technology and Production at the Eastman School of Music.