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Challenge
Plan and outfit new performing arts center, including rehearsal spaces, recital hall and renovated full-stage auditorium.
Wenger Solution
Supporting music faculty and design team throughout entire process. Offering expert consultation about product selections, options and proper configurations of risers and cabinets. Providing on-time delivery, installation and product training to ensure facility was ready for first day of school.
Benefits
Highlights
“Our performing arts faculty got involved early, providing the architect with our wish list,” says Michael Turner, performing arts chair and director of music at the Noble & Greenough School in Dedham, Mass. The independent school serves 550 students grades 7-12, with nearly half the students involved in music. He says proactive involvement before the first architectural drawings were done was critical. In their research, Turner and other arts faculty visited nearby schools and talked with the people using those spaces. “We knew Wenger had a lot of experience with these projects,” recalls Turner, adding that Wenger’s Planning Guide was a valuable resource he shared with others on the team. “It contains a lot of great information, like the recommended square footage per musician. It was incredibly helpful.” For equipping the new facility, Turner also thought of Wenger first. “I’ve worked with Wenger for a long time – Tourmaster risers were our first significant purchase. We’ve used them for years and they’re great.” Over the years, the school has also ordered several hundred Music Posture Chairs.
Before selecting Wenger’s Classic 50 stands, Turner says they tested several different brands. “The Classic 50 stands have an outstanding design – incredibly lightweight, yet strong,” comments Turner. “With the Move & Store Cart, I can easily move 20 stands with one finger – try doing that with a competitor’s stand! These stands also won’t get bent or loosen up like other stands always do.” Turner says the different areas in their facility flow together nicely, with the Move and Store Carts enabling chairs and stands to quickly and easily move between rehearsal and performance spaces as needed. “Our new instrument storage cabinets are secure and neat,” says Turner. “Wenger designed the proper configuration of cabinets for each location and helped us select finishes that blend nicely with our facility.” For applying theater makeup, 10 Studio Makeup Stations are located in a new multi-purpose space used as a theater green room and dressing room, and also for some musical rehearsals. “The actors now have convenient, mirrored, well-lit stations and we can get pre-show prep done better, more easily and twice as quickly as before,” notes Turner.
Trouper risers are used to elevate certain sections like the horns for instrumental rehearsals and performances. In the 250-seat theater, they serve as audience seating platforms for a theater-in-the-round. When the Versalite platforms are removed from the auditorium, approximately six times a year, Turner says a very small crew can re-install the entire system – with seating for 70 people – in about 30 minutes. A centerpiece of the new facility is the renovated 500-seat auditorium, where Wenger installed a Diva full-stage acoustical shell. “The Diva focuses the sound and provides a beautiful visual focus,” explains Turner. “We now have a first-rate concert hall. The redwood finish looks very beautiful and classy.” Wenger properly configured the Diva shell and Versalite risers based on the auditorium’s available footprint. The full Diva shell and riser setup can be closed behind the curtains, with a tolerance of two inches. “Our concert Steinway fits inside the risers perfectly – it was beautifully done.”
Product List
Tourmaster® Choral Risers, Trouper® Staging and Versalite® Platforms, Instrument Storage Cabinets, Classic 50® Music Stand, Studio® Make-up Station, Music Lab Workstation and Move & Store Cart.