Petal High School enjoys a unique position in the state of Mississippi. The school district it resides in was initially created in 1976 after the community members decided they wanted to create a district separate from the county school system. With that thought process, the city of Petal was incorporated specifically to form the new school district.
Long-range planning has kept Petal an acknowledged leader in education, the district recently received a #1 ranking by the Mississippi Department of Education. Those strategic plans include the continuous addition and upgrading of facilities to increase and improve the academic opportunities.
Recent years have seen the expansion of the Petal Center for Children and Families, expanded athletic fields and a new Band and Chorus building. This year, the plan called for an upgrade to the high school performing arts center.
For audio-visual needs, the district relies on C&M Music, a local retailer with stores serving the Mississippi/Louisiana region. The district maintains a confidence in the support from C&M, as they also provide the majority of their band and music department supplies. As an arm of C&M Music, Hattiesburg store manager Brian McLelland operates MAX MultiMedia Solutions providing installation solutions and support further strengthening the relationship.
When called in to analyze the 600-seat auditorium, and in discussions with the school district, it was decided a line array system would be the best solution. With projection screens on either side of the stage, McLelland had to find a solution that would provide a small footprint inside the proscenium so as not to impede sight lines or impact theatrical sets.
After discussion with a few people familiar with the RCF brand, the HDL10-A active dual 8-inch two-way line array system was selected. The system is designed in such a way that McLelland was able to add an active 15-inch subwoofer as part of the array for full frequency response.
“RCF documentation made EASE modelling simple,” notes McLelland, “and conversations with the RCF engineering team gave us complete confidence in the choice.” As an integrator, McLelland goes on to comment on the ease of installation based on RCF’s hardware and cabinet design and ability to shape the array configuration.
The end result – “The clarity is great, and we have plenty of headroom,” says McLelland. Staff from the school district concur.
