Opening of the Schuster Center

DAYTON, OHIO: The new star in INNOVASON's product line-up, the COMPACT Sy40 digital console, joined a constellation of stars at the gala opening of Dayton, Ohio's Benjamin and Marian Schuster Center for the Performing Arts. Cesar Pelli, architect of the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, has designed the $121.5 million center.

The new facility is expected to draw 500,000 people to 200 performances during its first full year of operation.The 2,300-seat Mead Theatre at the Schuster Center provides a new home for the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, Dayton Opera and Dayton Ballet Company.

Steve Colby of Evening Audio Consultants in New Hampshire joined the team as audio producer for the event using the INNOVASON console at front of house. "The console did everything that it needed to do," remarked Colby, who was using the recently introduced Sy40 for the first time. No stranger to INNOVASON consoles, Colby is a senior sound engineer for the Boston Pops and a frequent engineer and consultant for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which last year installed an INNOVASON Compact Live at its historic Symphony Hall as part of a new sound system designed and installed by Evening Audio Consultants.

"The big change is that you now have the advantage of stereo inputs and stereo group/aux outputs," says Colby of the new console. The Compact Sy40 supports up to 72 physical inputs and 48 outputs through 48 faders: 32, including eight stereo, for the 40 input channels, 12 faders for the stereo mix buses, and three faders for the LRM/C masters, plus an automation control fader. "It has 24 mono and eight stereo inputs," he elaborates, "with three main outputs and 12 stereo group/aux outs."

Colby is very enamored of the Sy40's appearance. "I love the look of the new console. Cosmetically it's very beautiful, and easier to read in the dark than previous versions. The new software has enhanced the graphics dramatically. INNOVASON has also improved the system's insert capability."