MADISON, WI — Attracting more than 120,000 people every year and held on the State Lawn, “Concerts on the Square” is one of Madison’s largest outdoor concert events. Because the concerts are literally held out in the open air with no band shell or roof to help control and disperse the sound, capturing both the full range and subtle nuances of the orchestra and guests is a significant challenge. Sticha Brothers, a full service production company from Madison, provided audio for the event.
As described by Owner Dale Sticha, the concerts are held “at one of the entrances to the State Capitol building and we cover 180º around it, halfway around the square. There is a full orchestra performing and they’re not under a shell, so we have a lot of acoustic challenges caused by weather conditions such as the wind, humidity and temperature changes.
“That plus the fact that acoustically, we don’t have all of those nice concert hall reflections, which means the orchestra really has to depend on the conductor a lot more than usual because they can’t hear themselves as well. So, we have to make continual adjustments in terms of monitoring to make it sound as close as possible to what they’re used to inside a concert hall.”
Having dealt with these particular problems over the years, Dale has done a lot of homework about orchestral sound, especially in light of evolving technologies to make sure sound quality stays at optimum levels. To overcome the inherent problems of what he calls the site’s “landscape,” Sticha has come to rely on Martin Audio. As he puts it, “The accuracy of the projection and dispersion from the W8LC’s and W8LM’s plus Martin’s Display software helps us keep on top of things.”
Specifically, the speaker set up for the main sound system consists of six Genie Lifts strategically positioned at the front and on each side of the orchestra, each with four Martin Audio W8LC’s for a total of 24. There are two more Genie Lifts on each side of the orchestra, each with six W8LM mini line array speakers. Additional fill and delay coverage is provided by six Martin W8C’s and four LE12J’s. Four racks of Martin Audio amplifiers with a total of 16 MA2.8’s and MA4.2’s are used to power the strategically positioned speaker array.
Monitoring, so critical to each concert’s success, is provided by four Martin Audio WT3 speakers flown on two Applied Electronics Crank Up lifts. Four of the Martin’s LE12J’s are added for individual soloists with Crown Macro-tech amps powering the monitors.
In addition to Martin Audio, the system also includes a Digidesign D-Show Profile as main FOH console (from which the crew also does monitor sends) along with Digidesign FOH and Stage racks and an Alesis Masterlink Recorder. A variety of DPA, ADK, AKG, Shure Beta and SM57. Countryman and Audio-Technica microphones are used for the profusion of acoustic and electronic instruments in the orchestra and the guest performers.
The Sticha Brothers Staff for Concerts On The Square includes Dale Sticha (System Designer/Engineer), Philip Fendley (FOH Engineer), Steve Philbert (Assistant System Engineer), Adam Hart (Stage Manager & Monitor Engineer), Joey Zimmerman (System Technician) and Caleb Reinert (Assistant Stage Manager & Assistant System Tech).
As Dale concludes, ‘We’re covering all the way back from the capitol as much as 280 to 300 feet out and we go out 90º on each side of the orchestra.” Asked about Martin Audio, Sticha adds, “They’re the speaker of choice. Part of the reason the orchestra works with us is the sound of the Martin boxes, which is just more musical and sensitive to the subtleties of the program material. We can use them with rock or orchestras, and the versatility and transparency of the speakers is always true.”
In its 24th year, this popular series features the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra with a variety of guest artists performing a wide range of music encompassing everything from classical symphonic works to popular songs and patriotic marches.
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For information, please visit www.martin-audio.com.
