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  • Jacobs School of Music installs state-of-the-art sound system in Musical Arts Center

Jacobs School of Music installs state-of-the-art sound system in Musical Arts Center

Thursday, November 07, 2024

(View full resolution version of this image) Audio engineering student William Heilbraun works the board of the new sound system in the Jacobs School of Music's Musical Arts Center.  Photo by Konrad Strauss

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – When the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music raised the curtain on its new mainstage season in September, it also unveiled the school’s new cutting-edge sound system in the Musical Arts Center, or MAC, its premier performance venue.

After meticulous research to replace the MAC’s system from the nineties, the Jacobs School chose L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal Sound technology from L-Acoustics, becoming home to the first such system installed in Indiana. Installation began in June and finished in August—just in time to prepare for IU Jacobs Opera and Ballet Theater’s season-opening double-bill of “Suor Angelica” and “Trouble in Tahiti.”

Jacobs had been actively pursuing replacing the outdated system for a number of years, and once it found the perfect fit, was able to do so through the generous support of the Georgina Joshi Foundation. The school’s thanks always go to the vision of Louise E. Addicott Joshi and Georgina Joshi.

“The Music Industry Department is so excited to add this new sound system to the Musical Arts Center,” said Michael Stucker, department chair. “This state-of-the art immersive system will benefit not only our audio students, but all performers and faculty in the Jacobs School of Music as well as our patrons, of course!

“By making this an L-ISA system, we are adding tools that allow us to create an even better experience. It helps make the sound appear to come from the stage instead of the speakers. It also allows the instruments and/or voices that are amplified to stay out of each other’s way so that they all come out clearer.”

Stucker said that the new system was specifically designed for the Musical Arts Center. “They took original blueprints and used those to model the space and then determine the best speakers to use and where to place them to ensure that every seat in the MAC is covered,” he explained. “The earlier system could get sound to all the speakers only by making it very loud for some while being just audible for others. This new system gets the sound to over 90% of the seats at the same volume and clarity.

“The new system also has less ‘spill,’ which means that there is less sound from the speakers getting onto the stage, making the performer experience better. Additionally, we added new, separate speakers onstage for the performers, which are also a huge jump in quality so that they can hear what they need to much better.”

Jacobs School students serve as sound technicians and manage the sound for all Jacobs events, and receiving extensive hands-on experience with this latest technology will give them significant competitive advantage after graduation to become leaders in the music industry. While the immersive system be may experienced at all mainstage events in the Musical Arts Center, IU Jacobs Opera Theater will showcase it next during the world premiere of “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay” on Nov. 15.

Learn more about the technical aspects of the new comprehensive sound system in the Musical Arts Center.

Media Contact

Linda Cajigas
Writing/Editing Specialist
IU Jacobs School of Music
812-856-3882 | lcajigas@iu.edu

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