BUENA PARK, Calif. (November 17, 2016)—The auditoriums at both Pilgrim H.S. and Veterans Middle School in Warwick, Rhode Island have added NEXO GEO M6 speaker systems along with Yamaha TF3 Digital Audio Consoles to their 800-seat auditoriums. The auditoriums are used for school productions, assemblies, lectures, and movies. ATR Treehouse of Providence completed both installations.
“Veterans Memorial was formerly a high school, and the City of Warwick saw the need to change it to a junior high, states David LaPorte, President, ATR Treehouse. Several other schools in the district were changed as well. In Rhode Island, and I assume elsewhere, changing demographics have forced school districts to re-allocate existing spaces. Several cities and towns have transformed elementary or secondary schools into middle or junior high schools to accommodate changes in student populations. Very often these facilities were built in the late fifties. The auditorium spaces are not just out dated and inefficient, but are often dangerous and in dire need of retrofits. The electrics and fly systems have been in place since the original construction. The sound systems have been periodically replaced, but usually haphazardly using sub-standard or makeshift fly ware. They also lacked assisted listening devices and do not interface with fire alarm systems, now required by code. This all makes for a bad situation and an accident waiting to happen.”
“These are a few of the reasons why a growing number of school districts are asking us to help update their auditorium spaces, LaPorte says. But beyond the structural inadequacies of the systems, they are also terribly inferior to what students and even parents have come to expect. Nowadays, people everywhere are accustomed to a certain level of quality in the audio they hear, whether it is in the car, in the home, or even at work. The same holds true of video and lighting. The educational environment is no exception. If schools are going to be successful, they have to gain the students’ attention and respect. What space in any school engages students more than its performance venue?”
LaPorte said that Hector Morel, ATR installation manager and Laurence Coch, ATR lead design engineer first saw and heard the NEXO GEO M6 at InfoComm 2016. “They were immediately blown away; they sounded fantastic and like a much, much bigger box. The box is lightweight and the fly ware was super simple, and flexible. When we got them into the room and fired them up, we were amazed at how great they sounded right out of the box. Everything about them was just perfect for spaces this size. “Relying solely on ATR’s input and design, the decision to install NEXO GEO M6 systems was clear,” states Coch.
The rooms are approximately the same size with similar layouts and acoustical characteristics. “The client wanted both venues to be as similar as possible, LaPorte notes, “so whomever we trained on the system could easily move between the two.” The schools retain an audio tech and technology instructor.
Each auditorium’s system includes six NEXO GEO M6 and one LS18 per side left and right, two NEXO PS8’s for lip fill in the front of the stage, one NXAMP4X1, one NXAMP4X4, one Yamaha MTX3 DSP audio processor, and a Yamaha TF3 Digital Audio Console with Tio1608 stage box. “In one of the spaces, we were able to tuck the LS18’s up in the ceiling, out of site and away from anyone who may try to mess with them, adds LaPorte. They still sound awesome!”
“I’m able to push more out of the system without feeding back, states Richard Denningham III, English Teacher, Pilgrim High School; Advisor/Director, Pilgrim Players Drama Club; and Co-advisor, Pilgrim Film Society. It sounds cleaner than what I had previously.”
Regarding the Yamaha TF3 Digital Audio Consoles installed at both auditoriums, Coch said that the Yamaha name is synonymous with quality and dependability. “Beyond that, I thought the one touch button control, in conjunction with the pre-sets library, would help students and novice users make the system sound consistently better.” With regarding to the console, Denningham said he “finds the board a bit more intuitive (and most certainly more feature-rich) than our old Mackie.”
ATR has provided various services to the Warwick School District over the years and paid close attention fulfilling the requirements of the recent installations with after-install servicing when required. “We’re very happy with the new systems, and the installation and service provided by ATR Treehouse has been good,” adds Denningham.
ATR has since installed similar sound systems since the auditorium projects at Warwick schools.
For more information on ATR Treehouse, visit www.atrtreehouse.com.
For more information on NEXO and Yamaha products, visit www.yamahaca.com.
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Photos: Pilgram HS theatre educator Rich Denningham and students preparing for upcoming production, and NEXO GEO M6
Photo Credit: Bill Murray
