Calvary Chapel in Newport News, VA, recently implemented a variety of Allen & Heath mix systems across its campus that includes a 1,400-seat main sanctuary, a 600-capacity fellowship hall and a youth ministry, all located on a revitalized site that was once a shopping center.
With installation of the Providential Integration Concepts (Chesapeake, VA) system design managed by Matt Stairs of Sunset Sound (Virginia Beach), audio signals route via Dante. The church’s new dLive C3500 control surface stands at front of house in the sanctuary, joined by a DM64 MixRack at the stage, which often hosts major faith-based musicians from around the country.
Further, the first of three SQ-5 mixers handles the sanctuary monitor mix, while the second and third are respectively deployed in the fellowship hall and youth room. And, eight ME-1 personal mixers reside on the sanctuary stage, used for both regular services and visiting performers.
“By design, Allen & Heath mixing systems are truly multifaceted within this application,” explains Bart Cardea of Providential Integration Concepts. “Throughout the construction phases of its campus, the church held to a conviction that high-quality audio was something that should serve every worship space, not just the main sanctuary. When it came to the controlling end of that equation, high channel count flexibility was a very real necessity, not just an abstract concept.”
Calvary Chapel technical director Tony Lewis adds, “If anything, Allen & Heath has allowed us to expand at our own pace, growing into a future where we always can accommodate a larger sonic vision. From the speed of our workflow to our ability to configure these systems in a fashion that suits the working style of any of our own staff members and visiting engineers, there isn’t seemingly anything within our audio chain that hasn’t improved.
“We have pristine 96 kHz performance. Countless compliments come our way from guest artists and engineers on the lack of coloration, and how easy it is to dial-in their sound to levels they usually only obtain in a studio setting.”
