Edmond Memorial High School, located in Edmond, OK, prides itself on supporting both the academic and personal growth of its students in equal measure, with the school recently renovating its main auditorium with the installation of a new sound reinforcement system featuring a variety of Tannoy loudspeakers.
While Edmond Memorial High School is not specifically designated as a performing arts school, Junior/Senior principal Earl Kirkpatrick notes that “it does have a reputation statewide for its arts programs”.
“Our goal with the renovation was to have every aspect of the auditorium be top of the line for our students, parents and patrons,” Kirkpatrick adds. “Although the space is used primarily for musicals and concerts, we also use it for class meetings for freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors, guest speakers, as well as for special events for the school and, occasionally, the community – so it was important that it be top of the line.”
The project was headed up by PMK Consultants Dallas office with a number of individuals providing key components to the design, while High-Tech-Tronics, located in Oklahoma City, was the install contractor on the job.
In order to accommodate the various uses of the space, PMK specified a combination of Tannoy VQ 100, VQ 60, V12 and CVS 6 loudspeakers, with the aim of providing superior reinforcement of speech, live and pre-recorded music.
“Two Tannoy VQ 100s make up the center cluster of the LCR system,” explains Dave Stearns, PMK A/V consultant. “The cluster is fixed approximately 24-feet off the ground and 10 feet below the ceiling. Two VQ 60s are located to the extreme right and left of the proscenium. A V12 is situated directly below each of the VQ 60s to provide downfill for a small seating area.”
The VQ Series of loudspeakers are full range, three-way loudspeakers designed for systems requiring high output and full pattern control. When paired with two VQ 60 loudspeakers, the LCR system almost completely covered the auditorium seating area.
“Choosing the V12s was a matter of specifying a companion product to provide down fill in what was a very small area that needed additional coverage,” Stearn explains. “The expectation was to provide the highest quality audio experience for every seat in the house and we wanted to do exactly that.”
Tannoy CVS 6 ceiling loudspeakers are used exclusively in the back of house areas, the workshop, dressing rooms, lobby area. and hallways to provide distributed audio. The CVS 6 has been optimized for all applications requiring excellent sonic quality for music and speech reinforcement and exceptional reliability.
“The lobby presented a bit of a challenge,” Strearn adds. “The room has three different ceiling heights; ranging from 8-feet high at the entryway, to 15-feet across the middle section of the space, to 24-feet in the two side areas that were built to accommodate separate orchestra and band rehearsal spaces. The CVS 6s handled the job nicely.”
The system also incorporates a comprehensive package of Sennheiser microphones, a third-party monitor system, a Yamaha LS 9 digital console, two BSS Soundweb London DSP units and a suite of QSC CX Series amplifiers to drive the Tannoy loudspeakers.
Going forward, Kirkpatrick says he’s pleased with the result. The auditorium gets high marks from all the people and departments who use it. “We haven’t had any complaints and we do a lot in there. It’s booked, all the time,” says Kirkpatrick. “And that’s why we don’t rent it out to people outside of the school very often, because we keep it so busy – I know from the people that use the auditorium at our site as well as at the district level, that’s why they keep coming back. They really enjoy the facility.”