You may have noticed that everything from Mozart to Metallica sounds great in the Jack Singer Concert Hall. Chalk that up to the acoustics of the room if you want—certainly being ranked as one of North America’s ten best concert halls helps. But getting the music to sound pitch perfect requires extra tools and extra skill to make the room sing.
That’s where the Arts Commons sound team comes in.
Jack Jamieson is the Head Sound Technician at Arts Commons. Having been with the organization since 1988, Jamieson knows the Jack Singer Concert Hall inside and out. “The room is stunning acoustically,” he says. “The first time I heard an orchestra in here unamplified, the hair came up on my arms.”
Whether they’re mixing a 60-piece orchestra or a six-piece Finnish acapella group, the sound team ensures that that the music on stage is crisp and clear. And they do this with a tool that sits towards the back of the concert hall—the digital sound board.
Everything from the microphones you see on stage to the speakers that hang above the audience is controlled by the sound board—also called a console or a desk. All the microphones, effects, and speakers run though the board with the overall sound controlled by a sound engineer who manipulates the faders and knobs (the buttons and sliders that move back and forth) to get that perfect sound, or “mix.”
You can find numerous sound boards throughout the building—each venue has at least one, sometimes even more. In the Jack Singer alone, there are three consoles that keep the show running. While each console varies in size, all are by a brand called DiGiCo. There’s a reason for that: flexibility. Being able to know what you are dealing with in a multi-venue operation like Arts Commons is essential. “We can move from space to space to space and know how the console operates,” Jamieson says. “The logic is the same for all of them.”
The DiGiCo console doesn’t pop out of the box ready to go, however. It must be carefully programmed to meet the requirements of each venue and the nuances of each show. That instantly recognizable blare of trumpets that peel open at the beginning National Geographic Live is fine-tuned to the Jack Singer Concert Hall and saved as a sound profile on the DiGiCo hard drive so it can be loaded up for the next heavyweight Explorer. Ditto for orchestral performances, or Classic Albums Live, and so on. “We have a template that does everything in a consistent way from show to show to show,” Jamieson says.
Being able to control the sound is key. In fact, the sound board at Theatre Calgary has special software that can recall the specific mix for every actor, every song, and every scene—which means about 350 pre-programmed “cues” for each show. Each performance is a massive undertaking of skill, organization, and execution that often goes unnoticed by the general public.
And that’s a good thing. It’s also intentional. Arts Commons has several fail-safes that ensure the sound never stumbles. The console itself is equipped with a backup cable to avoid disconnection issues, a close eye is kept on the digital devices so that they are always in-sync, and volume levels are constantly monitored to make sure things don’t get too loud. “We have to pay attention to what we’re doing with the acoustics of the room…so it can be as musical as possible,” Jamieson says. Bad sound can not only ruin a show, it can also comprise physical health by damaging hearing or creating other adverse effects. “You have to be really aware of how hard an audience is being hit and from where,” Jamieson says.
All that hard work is worth it when the show begins. For Jamieson, seeing players at the top of their craft—the so-called musician’s musicians—makes it all worthwhile. “That’s what makes a special show for me, when the technical stuff is totally appropriate for what they are doing and the content takes me somewhere I didn’t expect to go.” Whether it’s master violinist Itzhak Perlman, the eccentric piano player George Winston (known for manipulating his piano by physically reaching in and grabbing the strings), or the legendary Leonard Cohen, each artist is brought to life with the help of the sound team. “It can be really magical. And that’s what I do this for,” Jamieson says.
Amazing artists, a world-class venue, and a top-notch sound system all combine to make each show at Arts Commons the best it can be. But don’t just take our word for it, join us for a show and experience it for yourself. Some things you just have to hear to believe.