LA’s Walt Disney Concert Hall has completed the installation of a Meyer Sound Leopard loudspeaker system.

Designed by architect Frank Gehry, the 2,265-seat Concert Hall opened in 2003, and is home to the Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) and its Music & Artistic Director, Gustavo Dudamel, as well as the Los Angeles Master Chorale and Artistic Director, Grant Gershon. While the orchestra relies on the hall’s natural acoustics for its performances, an increasing number of contemporary production require sound reinforcement. Leopard will support these shows, which include artists such as Herbie Hancock, Dianne Reeves and Jose Gonzalez in the LA Phil’s 2015-16 season.

The new Meyer Sound configuration includes twin arrays of 14 Leopard line array loudspeakers and three 900-LFC low-frequency control elements each, aimed for optimum reach throughout the hall. A Galileo Callisto loudspeaker management system handles system drive and alignment.

‘Audiences discover some of the world’s most acclaimed artists inside Walt Disney Concert Hall, a performance space that has set a new standard as a place of imagination, possibility, beauty and acoustic excellence,’ says Chris Christel, Director of Production at The Music Center, the company behind the installation. ‘To that end, we look for partners who aim for the highest standards in quality and value. By investing in a system primarily composed of Leopard system components, we made a smart artistic and economic decision.’

‘Historically, loudspeakers focus on level and throw, but that is not necessarily what we need in Walt Disney Concert Hall,’ says Fred Vogler, sound designer and mixer, and principal of Sonitus Consulting. ‘This hall needs a speaker that delivers high performance and is low-profile. A speaker with linear response that is so natural sounding you can hardly tell the music is amplified. Leopard combines the latest technology with innovative thinking and design. The result is that it captures natural acoustics as never before, and adds no colouration to the sound. You hear what the artist on stage creates, and you hear it in every seat.’

‘When we hear all the incredible musicians playing through our systems and see the audience completely enthralled by the performances, we feel the satisfaction of knowing we’ve done something good for the music and for everyone involved,’ adds Meyer Sound President and CEO, John Meyer.

‘Walt Disney Concert Hall is a miracle of bold design that fuses art and function,’ says Los Angeles Philharmonic President and CEO, Deborah Borda. ‘Its cutting-edge beauty symbolises the Philharmonic’s concept of music as an art of our time and all time. Because our mission is to bring music in all its rich variety to the widest spectrum of listeners, we offer diverse genres to diverse audiences. But in whatever we do, one thing must remain constant. Whether music is traditional or new, whether or not a performance relies on amplification, the experience for artists and listeners must be of the highest quality. Meyer Sound’s Leopard enables us to realise this ideal more completely than ever.’