CHICAGO – Downers Grove North High School (DGN), home to an active theatre-focused student body that hosts various events throughout the academic year, recently kicked off its springtime musical, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. For this and every production, DGN relies on DPA Microphones’d:fine™ Single-ear Directional and Single-ear Omnidirectional Headset Microphones to support on-stage talent, favoring the durability and superior audio of the company’s microphones compared to other leading brands.
“Before switching to DPA, our previous microphones would break or crack over the ear, the cords would go bad, or they just didn’t hold up well,” explains Bill Miller, fine arts music teacher at DGN. “When we upgraded our sound system, Dana Kirkegaard, who is a well-known acoustician and also a parent to one of our students, said, ‘you know, you really need to use DPA’ and gave us two mics. We are really fortunate and thankful for that.”
Since being introduced to DPA, the school of more than 2,000 students has grown to rely on the d:fines to fit the changing needs of the events hosted in the Clarence Johnson Auditorium. From chorus concerts and theatre performances, to outside corporate events, the company’s d:fine headset microphones compliment all of the needs of the students and faculty, from quality build to ease of use.
“I’m a fan of DPA mics, they sound fantastic and the durability is a great benefit,” continues Miller. “We try to give our students the experience of working as professionals, and to be able to give them this kind of equipment to use first-hand is important to us. The students notice how easy the d:fine is to put on, especially when they need to quickly switch the mics between performers. With some of our students who maybe had a supporting role in the past, when they hit the big time and use the DPAs, they comment, ‘wow, this is so much easier than the other mics!’”
When it comes to head worn microphones, DPA’s d:fine headsets have a leading position in the industry, owing to the combination of pristine audio quality with unique and simple mechanical solutions. With its very high SPL capabilities, one can both speak and sing with no hint of distortion. Further, by rotating the boom, the microphone can be moved from left to right ear for a user’s optimal position. Available in both omnidirectional and directional versions, the DPA d:fine also features single- or dual-ear mounts, with the latter dedicated for even the most rigorous and energetic performance applications.
Downers Grove North High School is part of Community High School District 99, which has grown from one small building to two large modern comprehensive high schools, producing more than 1,400 graduates each year. District 99 develops goals and detailed action plans in its continuous quest to improve on its core mission: to provide a caring and challenging environment where all students develop as lifelong learners to become contributing, responsible members of a changing world.
Miller joined the Community High School District 99 music faculty in 1995. He currently teaches a variety of courses at North High School and serves as the director of the DGN Jazz Lab Band and Trojan Marching Band. Additionally, Miller is the auditorium manager of the school’s 1,200 seat Clarence Johnson Auditorium and the lighting and sound director of several productions each year.
ABOUT DPA MICROPHONES:
DPA Microphones is the leading Danish Professional Audio manufacturer of high-quality condenser microphone solutions for professional applications. DPA’s ultimate goal is to always provide its customers with the absolute finest possible microphone solutions for all its markets, which include live sound, installation, recording, theatre and broadcast. When it comes to the design process, DPA takes no shortcuts. Nor does the company compromise on its manufacturing process, which is done at the DPA factory in Denmark. As a result, DPA’s products are globally praised for their exceptional clarity and transparency, unparalleled specifications, supreme reliability and, above all, pure, uncolored and undistorted sound.
