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WAAPA chooses DiGiCo Quantum

Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), part of the Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Perth, has completed a large investment programme in its performance spaces. The faculty chose DiGiCo consoles and L-Acoustic loudspeakers alongside Fourier’s Transform.Engine and Klang:Vokal systems. The equipment was supplied by Group Technologies, distributor for DiGiCo in Australia and New Zealand.

One of the most comprehensive offerings for performing arts training in Australia, the WAAPA facility includes a vast mixture of performance spaces across the campus. As sound co-ordinator and lecturer Mike Vernau explains, the DiGiCo Quantum range was “a perfect fit for the power behind this brand-new system”.

“The building is both a university and a production venue that has multiple contemporary music and theatrical spaces”, says Vernau. “In the Sound House, our contemporary jazz venue, we’ve got two DiGiCo Quantum 326 consoles, whilst our musical theatre venue, the Playhouse, has a Quantum 338 and Quantum 225. We’ve also got an SD12 in our Flex Theatre, which is predominantly used for training.”

The system aims to enable students to leave university with a solid understanding of the latest technology and equipment, while upholding the venue’s reputation for excellent musical theatre production values. For Russell Proud, Senior Consultant at Charcoalblue, responsible for venue and technical design, this was a key factor in the system design.

With over 300 public shows a year on the schedule, flexibility and versatility was also high on his list of priorities for the venue. The consoles include T software, to maximise flexibility and deliver specialist functions like performer/alias tracking to manage complex sound design and cast changes.

“We used Quantum with Dante outputs and DQ-Racks to best match the infrastructure within the building”, Proud recalls. “The system has to connect to the broadcast facility and be able to do both film and audio recording of live shows. We also ensured that the consoles were loaded with DiGiCo’s T Software to get the most out of the theatre productions that WAAPA produce.”

The Klang system brings 3D immersive in-ear-monitoring to performances with Klang:Vokal and Klang:Kontrollers. Fourier Transform.Engines allow students to experiment with a range of VST3 audio plugins, giving them the flexibility to bring studio-grade effects into the live environment.

Sam Jones works specifically with sound on the Performance and Design course and has been enjoying the upgrades. “We’ve recently taken delivery of two Klang:Vokal units and twenty-four Klang:Kontrollers, which we’ll be integrating in our DiGiCo consoles”, he says. “We use those primarily for orchestra mixes, self-driven immersive mixes for musical theatre, and we’d also like to integrate them into IEM mixes, driven from the DiGiCo Quantum consoles.”

Integration with the L-Acoustics, Klang and Fourier systems makes transferring from one venue to the next seamless. The additional convenience of transferring show files means that immersive mixing, virtual soundchecks and multi-track recordings can all be transferred from one space to another.

“DiGiCo acts as a nexus, integrating with products like Klang, Fourier and L-Acoustics effortlessly”, states Vernau, adding: “I’ve been teaching digital audio and live sound mixing for twelve years, and having a facility like this was a dream come true. There’s nowhere in the world quite like WAAPA ECU CBD campus, and we’re really excited to see how our first group of students through the door use the facilities this year.”

(Photos: DiGiCo)

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