Congratulations to Alabama School of Fine Arts (ASFA) for the successful Grand Opening of the Dorothy Jemison Day Theater after more than eight years of fundraising and 17 months of construction.  Friday, April 13^th marked a star-studded unveiling of the multi-use 500-seat, $8.5 million state-of-the-art facility built for both school and community use.  Festivities kicked off with Opera Birmingham event featuring the powerful soprano Angela Brown.  The Birmingham News delivered a five star review of the  evening and praise for the new performance hall “Anticipation turned to a palpable buzz at the new facility, due as much to the hall’s sparkling acoustics as Brown’s ability to fill it with sound.”  The evening included performances of three talented ASFA students.

“Performance spaces that also serve as teaching labs are challenging from a design stand point,” explains David Kahn. “We endeavored to create a space that nurtures, showcases and inspires students to pursue their passion for performing arts.  I was amazed by talent of the student performers and am thrilled with what was achieved.”   Sunday, April 15 marked the official Grand Opening.  Birmingham Mayor, William Bell cut the ribbon to the main stage and marked the public unveiling of the most technically advanced venue of its kind in the Southeast.  Visitors received tours, commemorative tee shirts, cookies and lemonade.   Check out the official review of Angela Brown’s performance.

Photo Captions

Dan Gainey, Facilities Manager of the venue (left) enjoys the fanfare with Acoustic Dimensions President, David Kahn (second from left) E. Bryding Adams, Executive Director of the ASFA Foundation and Dr. W. Michael Meeks, Executive Director of ASFA (left to right).

Audience members start streaming in to the new theater in anticipation of the Angela Brown performance.

Bramall Music Building houses a 450-seat auditorium, music studios and a domed rehearsal room to support the University of Birmingham's strong music program. The new building completes a crescent of buildings originally designed by Aston Webb over 100 years ago. 

Acoustically our challenge was to address the wide diversity of music education and performance in the Music School. And with a dome as part of the original design--this was no small problem.  Domes are notorious for their acoustical problems of focusing and whispering gallery effects.  We developed a dome diffuser which works on the same acoustic principal as balcony fronts in an opera house -- by scattering sound from the edges of a reflective panel.

Consider the typical horseshoe shape of an Italian opera house: if the balcony fronts were only reflective, there would be an uncomfortable focus of sound in the center of the main floor....but there isn't.  And the reason there isn't is that the sound waves are scattered by the edges of the balcony -- so to the listener the scattered sound appears to come from all along these curved edges and not from a mirror-image of the source.  Both in the opera house and in this dome, the scattering is not just a scattering in space: it is a spreading in time as the reflected and scattered energy travels to the listener from progressively more distant edges.  For this dome, our studies showed that the reflected and scattered sound would arrive at the listener over a period 30ms or more -- rather than all at once as would happen with an untreated dome.

In our design, we were not relying solely on edge-diffraction for the acoustical treatment.  In addition, the angle of the "petals" of the dome is selected to direct the sound to focus in the upper part of the room well above the occupied zone. Fifty-percent of the sound is directed to pass through through the gaps between petals to be absorbed behind the dome. This absorption of the sound helps control the loudness of the orchestra in this rehearsal room while the scattering helps the musicians hear one another.

It is rare that a building takes over 100 years to finally "top off," but the new Bramall Music Building did just that this week completing the crescent of buildings at the University of Birmingham. As part of a larger project funded by philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie, the project paused when money ran out before the final building was built. But now, over 100 years later, the final building in the redbrick crescent takes its home.

Acoustic Dimensions is working with Glenn Howells Architects on the project which houses a 450-seat auditorium, a domed rehearsal room, music studios, offices and teaching spaces to support the University’s strong music program. 

While Glenn Howells Architects are known for their innovation in modern architecture, in this case they followed the intent of the other buildings in the crescent which were designed by Sir Aston Webb, who served as President of the Royal Academy from 1919 to 1924.

In building construction, topping out occurs when the last beam is placed at the top of a building. For significant projects, a topping out ceremony is often held to commemorate the event. 

One of the many beautiful things about Omani culture is the giving of gifts to show appreciation. Nicholas Edwards was awarded one of five silver coffee pots in the Omani traditional style for his dedication and work on the Royal Opera House on behalf of Acoustic Dimensions.  The intricately detailed works of art were given to the people who had been deeply involved in the project across the years from its early development to completion. 

The Royal Opera House Muscat is a new venue which opened this week dedicated to the diverse artistic and cultural expressions from the Sultanate, the region, and the world.  The design for the Opera Hall was a collaboration between a UK-based design team—including Acoustic Dimensions and architects WATG—and the in-house interior designers of the Royal Court of Oman.  Although the building is called an opera house, it transforms into a classical concert hall and into a world-class organ recital hall.  It reflects the model of the early European concert halls and opera houses but with a rich style that embodies the culture and history of Oman.

Nicholas Edwards of Acoustic Dimensions is in Oman this week for the opening of the 1000-seat Royal Opera House in Muscat.

Established by Royal Decree, Royal Opera House Muscat is a beautiful new venue dedicated to the diverse artistic and cultural expressions from the Sultanate, the region, and the world.  As the acoustician working on the project, Nick was struck many times by the blend in the architecture of the old world history of Oman and the modern capacity to support world-class productions.

The Royal Opera House Muscat is made astonishingly unique with richly detailed carved stone and wood finishes in a sophisticated interior which both equips it in its mission to embody Oman’s cultural heritage and makes it a gem of artistic engagement. Oman realizes the Royal Directives to broaden people’s participation in cultural life.

The design for the Opera Hall was a collaboration between a UK-based design team—including Acoustic Dimensions and architects WATG—and the in-house interior designers of the Royal Court of Oman.  Although the building is called an opera house, it actually transforms into a classical concert hall and into a world-class organ recital hall.  It reflects the model of the early European concert halls and opera houses.

A reverberation chamber is included to support the acoustics for the pipe organ and adjustable acoustic elements are concealed behind elaborately carved screens to transform the acoustics for amplified sound.

Opening performances in the Opera House include Plácido Domingo, Renée Fleming, Yo-Yo Ma, American Ballet Theatre, and the Mariinsky Ballet with future seasons including performances that highlight Omani art, as well as collaborations between leading Arab, Indian, Asian, African and Western artists.

As Michael Kaiser wrote in the Huffington Post about the project, “Do not be surprised if a decade from now some of the most interesting arts projects in the world are emanating from a nation that many of us could not identify on the map.”

Nicholas Edwards had the opportunity to work this week at Birmingham Symphony Hall with Gabriel Prokofiev—the London-based composer, producer, and founder of the NONCLASSICAL record label.  The concerto, which includes Prokofiev’s Concerto for Turntables and Orchestra, is performed by the National Youth Orchestra.  Listening to them you would not know this was not a professional orchestra; conductor, Vladimir Jurowski, demanded and received the highest standards of musical performance. Even though this was just a rehearsal there was applause through the hall at the end of the performance.

Prokofiev is focused on bringing classical music to younger, more diverse audiences, introducing urban sounds into the concert hall. Nick was on hand to explain the capabilities of the hall, the acoustic differences from normal DJ club venues, and how to get the best out of the hall for this particular performance.

The performance at Symphony Hall will be on August 3rd, and the final performance will be Saturday, August 6^th at Royal Albert Hall.

About a month ago, Acoustic Dimension’s NY office wrapped up work at The Nighthawk Cinema in Brooklyn, NY.  AD’s Ken Andria championed the interior acoustics for this unique venue that features three theaters, café, and bar areas.  He also addressed sound isolation to the apartments directly above those spaces.  The theater is now open and word is getting out about how great the space is.   Check it out!

http://www.thelmagazine.com/TheMeasure/archives/2011/07/06/perfectly-curated-culture-and-food-for-your-consumption-at-williamsburgs-new-nitehawk-cinema