Volume 14, Issue 1

Research & Development
The Newsletter for Progressive Acoustics Research
Volume 14, Issue 1, 2009
DIFFUSE NEWS
PICOTTE RECITAL HALL AT THE COLLEGE OF SAINT ROSE
Everything Acoustic!
Dr. Peter D’Antonio
President and CEO
2nd Edition
Acoustic Absorbers and Diffusers: Theory,
Design and Application, by Prof. Trevor J.
Cox and Dr. Peter D’Antonio, Taylor &
Francis 2009, 2nd Edition
IN THIS ISSUE
1. Diffuse News
I am proud to announce the formation of the
The Massry Center for the Arts,
Chesapeake Acoustic Research Institute, LLC to
collaborate with international universities offering
designed by Saratoga Associates of
masters and doctoral research programs. CARI, LLC
will also offer acoustical absorption, diffusion and
Sano-Rubin Construction of Albany,
Saratoga Springs, NY and built by
NY, is a new showcase for music and
scattering coefficient testing to practicing acousticians. I am also proud to announce the 2nd edition of the
the visual arts at The College of Saint
reference text, which incorporates all that is currently known about absorptive, reflective and diffusive surfaces.
At RPG, we have developed an Acoustical Continuing Education (ACE) Program to present new information about our products and current
Figure 1. Exterior view of the Massry Center for
the Arts at the College of Saint Rose, Albany, NY.
research. This year, I will be visiting acousticians across the US to describe this new opportunity. This is only the beginning.....
cf. The band/orchestra rehearsal rooms are directly above the recital hall. The designed STC
Rose. The Kathleen McManus Picotte
Recital Hall has a volume of 126,000
95 and IIC 82 separation between the spaces makes concurrent use possible.
CONTINUALLY EVOLVING.....
Educational facilities have become RPG’s leading market in recent
years. One of the reasons is that a school is a microcosm of all of
RPG’s markets rolled into one and RPG offers a solution for every
room in a school. Leading school architects and acousticians have
had excellent results with our products and design suggestions,
which has led to a continuing growth of specifications nationwide.
In this issue, we highlight four high school auditoriums that have
utilized our Waveform GRG products in interesting aesthetic ways.
2nd Edition
Figure 3. View of the auditorium from the stage, showing modulated Waveform
Gaussian Woodgrain units on the walls and Waveform Spline Woodgrain units on
the ceiling.
High School Projects
2. Research & Development
Picotte Recital Hall
upper walls of the stage to return incident sound across the stage. The results exceeded
“I am proud to announce the formation of
the Chesapeake Acoustic Research Institute,
LLC to collaborate with international universities offering masters and doctoral research
programs. CARI, LLC will also offer acoustical
absorption, diffusion and scattering coefficient testing to practicing acousticians. I am
also proud to announce the 2nd edition of
the reference text which incorporates all that
is currently known about absorptive, reflective and diffusive surfaces. At RPG, we have
developed an Acoustical Continuing
Education (ACE) Program to present new
information about our products and current
research. This year, I will be visiting acousticians across the US to describe this new
opportunity.“
our expectations, with consistent warm response through the seating area, and excellent
envelopment throughout.”
Figure 1. Patterson Mill HS. Architect CS&D, Baltimore,
MD.
©2009, RPG DIFFUSOR SYSTEMS INC.
commented “ I would be more than happy to comment on the acoustics of the recital hall.
Figure 2. View of the stage from the audience, showing modulated Waveform
Gaussian Woodgrain units on the walls and Waveform Spline Woodgrain units on the
ceiling. Modffusors were also used on the upper stage walls.
They are incredible! When people have complimented me on how well my Saint Rose Jazz
Ensemble has sounded on past performances I have always thought to myself ‘you should
hear how great they sound from where I stand on-stage, directly in front of the band.’ In
Figure 2. Bethpage HS. Acoustician Rich Riedel, Riedel
Audio Services, Brightwaters, NY.
For up to the minute
information, we invite you
to visit RPG’s acclaimed web site:
http://www.rpginc.com.
Paul Evoskevich, Professor of Music, Music Department Chair, The College of Saint Rose
Figure 3. Harrisburg HS. Acoustician Christopher Brooks,
Acoustic Dimensions, Lancaster, PA.
Figure 4. Mattituck HS. Acoustician Rich Riedel, Riedel
Audio Services, Brightwaters, NY.
®
Seth Waltz, Principal Consultant, AVL Designs, Inc. Penfield, NY indicated “The Music
our former auditorium, there was a marked loss of clarity the further you were from the
department expressed a wish for a space that could accommodate small and large ensembles
stage. In the Picotte Recital Hall, it sounds the same whether you are on the stage, in the
with excellent sound in all seats. The space design for the building dictated a sloping floor,
front row, or in the back row. The sound is basically the same everywhere in the hall. It is
which made this a more difficult task. Based on our prior experience with RPG, we selected an
as good an acoustic environment as we could ever has hoped for. Everyone who attends a
almost entirely diffusive environment. The optimally modulated Waveform™ Gaussian and
performance in there is completely blown away with the acoustics. In addition to the
Spline products were chosen to avoid edge diffraction effects and for their pleasing
acoustics, the hall is drop-dead gorgeous! The sight of wood flooring on the stage and the
architectural shape. We added some custom radius shapes for stage focus and provided a
wood wall and ceiling panels is absolutely stunning. To say that everyone who sees it is
large air cavity above the ceiling for low frequency extension. Modffusors™ were added to the
very impressed would be quite an understatement.”
®