Chicago, IL (December 27, 2013)—Chicago Symphony Orchestra recently brought in Walters-Storyk Design Group to upgraded the recording, broadcast and streaming capabilities of its control room.
The new CSO control room and recording system features Merging Technologies’ Pyramix DAWs and Horus Mic preamps and converters; a Yamaha DM2000 console; and B&W and Classé Monitors and power amplifiers. In addition, the orchestra upgraded its inventory with new mics by Schoeps, Sennheiser and Neumann.
Marc Geelhoed, chief of the orchestra’s CSO Resound record label, commissioned engineer/producers Tim Martyn and Shawn Murphy to form a design team to revamp the control room. The pair turned to the Walters-Storyk Design Group as architectural and acoustical collaborators. “I’ve worked with John Storyk on a number of studio projects, and knew they had the creative skills and technical knowhow to redesign CSO’s control room within the limited construction window and budget allotted for this critical turnaround,” Martyn said.
A multiple Grammy winner, and owner of Phoenix Audio LLC, based in Glen Rock, NJ, Martyn has served as technical director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Tanglewood Festival for 30 years. Oscar- and Grammy-winning, film-scoring engineer Shawn Murphy, has worked with such composers as James Newton Howard, Danny Elfman and John Williams.
Matthew Ballos, project manager, WSDG, reports that the initial site visit to CSO’s 320-sq.-ft. control room immediately inspired a key design point. “John Storyk and I agreed that the path to reconfiguring this 16-ft.-wide x 20-ft.-long room was to change its orientation from center line (rear wall) access to right rear corner. Shifting the position of the entrance immediately enabled us to improve the ‘sweet spot,’ introduce a comfortable client work area, and develop additional space to accommodate the CSO’s active CD duplication service for conductors and guest artists.”
In addition to creating a custom suspended ceiling cloud and wall treatments, WSDG supervised custom millwork for the mixing desk and related cabinetry.
Walters-Storyk Design Group
www.wsdg.com
