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Messiah College Calvin and Janet High Center for Worship and Performing Arts Outfitted With Shure Wireless
Posted on Wednesday, October 2, 2013
18 Channels of Shure ULX-D™ Digital Wireless Deliver Flawless Audio for Multiple Performances Simultaneously 

October 2, 2013

NILES, Ill., Oct. 2, 2013—Messiah College’s Calvin and Janet High Center for Worship and Performing Arts opened in January 2013 and marked a new era of creativity, expression, and education for the Christian college located in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. Serving as a space for lectures, theatrical productions, concerts, distinguished guest lecturers, and visiting performing artists, the High Center has quickly become one of the region’s leading performance venues—from an acoustic and aesthetic standpoint.

To support the venue opening, Jonathan Bert, Sound and Lighting Technical Coordinator, was tasked with outfitting the High Center with a wireless microphone system that could accommodate several events occurring simultaneously without RF interference. With the ability to design the system from the ground up, Bert turned to Shure ULX-D™ Digital Wireless Systems. “Shure has always been my go-to product for wireless use. I came across the ULX-D Wireless System at the 2012 InfoComm show, and I immediately wanted to integrate the technology into our new building,” Bert said.

Bert and his team of sound and lighting engineers worked with Clair Brothers Audio Systems to install a total of 18 channels of wireless powered by Shure ULX-D and ULXD4D dual channel receivers across three performance halls inside the High Center—eight in the main hall, eight in the venue’s black box theater, and two in the recital hall—which frequently host performances at the same time. Due to the scalable features of the ULX-D system, Bert and his team have the flexibility to incorporate a number of wireless channels and oversee the three performance spaces from one audio control center, without interfering with the current IP set-up.

“ULX-D is very intuitive to use and offers incredible sound quality and reliability. With its rechargeable accessories, I can drop the microphones into a charging bay in between uses and if the stage talent needs to grab a new microphone last minute, they are ready to go,” says Bert. “With the high number of performances and events we are hosting, ULX-D’s convenient rechargeability provides a cost and time savings benefit by eliminating the need for back-up batteries.”

Bert and his engineering team also rely on Shure Wireless Workbench® 6 (WWB6) software to efficiently scan and coordinate frequencies directly from a computer. With network control, WWB6 enables the High Center team to monitor device performance and effectively avoid occupied spectrum to ensure strong signal strength throughout the performances.

“Shure Wireless Workbench 6 allows me to see every channel of ULX-D in one place. The result is a comforting sense of ultimate control over the wireless environment, even when I’m not in the same room as the system,” adds Bert. “I’ve never owned a wireless system that makes changing frequencies so easy, and that flexibility makes my job less stressful and less unpredictable.”

Bert concludes, “While the High Center is primarily used for lectures and presentations, many events are also geared to prospective students and families or benefactors to the college. In those cases, technical glitches are simply not an option. By incorporating Shure ULX-D Digital Wireless Systems’ intelligent technology, the High Center is equipped to support any type of performance without interference or degradation—and the sound quality is flawless.”

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