The massive Gothic interior of this former house of worship in the heart of Gdansk's main town is now a spectacular venue, administered by the Baltic Sea Culture Centre as an exhibition space and auditorium, showcasing everything from classical concerts to world music. On Lauda-Audio's advice, an all-Nexospec has been drawn up; Adam Adamowicz explains why.
"As a prominent historical monument, the St John's Church is protected by law, and any modifications to the building are conducted under strict scrutiny. We faced quite a challenge to install so many speakers and still meet the curator's standards.
"The Geo S8 is a small cabinet but very effective. The venue management places a high priority on sound quality so the clarity of the S8 made it a natural choice, partnered by the RS Subs, set up in cardioid mode, which are a must in a building with a very long delay time."
The Geo S8 + RS Subs system, powered by NXAMP amplifier/processors, will be controlled by two Yamaha M7-CL48ES consoles, exploiting the benefits of an EtherSound network which allows all elements of the system to be controlled from a laptop. Some elements will also accept control from an Apple iPad, loaded with the appropriate applications.
The programme for the venue features primarily live music, mostly jazz but also classical and local artists. Lauda-Audio has snapped up a number of Nexo's new 45°N-12 monitor speakers, making St John's Church one of the first venues in Europe to carry these wedges as standard on stage. A number of Nexo PS10 and PS15 compact cabinets are also in the spec, together with some smaller LS600 subs.
"In the past, all the major performance events at St John's Church were supported by rental companies with hire equipment," recalls Lauda's Adam Adamowicz. "They are now ready to commit to a high-specification high-performance system and install it on a permanent basis, supported by our expertise. We are very excited about the whole project as it is probably the most prestigious one this year in Poland, and this is our hometown area."
(Jim Evans)
