Images: Kevin Hendrix
Lighthouse Auditorium, Westminster Christian School, Miami, FL
Westminster Christian School (WCS), a private preschool through high school campus in Miami’s Palmetto Bay suburb, recently installed an L-Acoustics Kiva II sound system in the school's Lighthouse, a new 637-seat auditorium and worship center. The system was integrated by Jupiter, Florida-based Peerson Audio Inc., which L-Acoustics recently named as a new Certified Provider for install (CPi).
"Kiva II was a great choice for this space because it delivers a lot of sound in a very compact and lightweight box that’s easy to fly." Kevin Varnadore, President, Peerson Audio, Jupiter, FL
The two-story, 30,780-square-foot Lighthouse—encompassing a full stage and orchestra pit, first- and second-floor lobbies, a choir room, classrooms, dressing rooms, an arts hub, a broadcast studio, and more—now provides a top-notch performance environment for Westminster Christian School’s highly esteemed, award-winning Fine Arts programs. Students from grades 4 through 12 can participate in seven bands, six orchestras, and an extensive choral program.
WCS’s drama curriculum also prepares students for performance, set design and construction, sound and lighting, stage management, and film production. Westminster, which celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2021, has also earned the distinction of being named a Microsoft Showcase School for the fourth year in a row, underscoring its desire to achieve technical prowess on par with its education excellence.
Tech details
The Lighthouse’s PA is a stereo configuration comprising eight Kiva II enclosures flown per side, each backed by four SB15m subs. In addition, five 5XT short-throw coaxials are arrayed across the stage lip for frontfill, while five LA4X amplified controllers provide power. Designed to fit the specification generated by West Palm Beach-based TSG Design Solutions, Peerson Audio installed the system in September 2020 and commissioned it in November 2020. Rigging was supplied by Ape Rigging, also of Jupiter.
“We wanted WCS to have the very best for their new performing arts theater, so we recommended they go with the Kiva II system,” explains Peerson Audio President Kevin Varnadore. “L-Acoustics gave them an advanced system that offers consistent seat-to-seat coverage and excellent sound quality and intelligibility for theatrical and musical productions at a very affordable price."
Varnadore adds, "Kiva II was a great choice for this space because it delivers a lot of sound in a very compact and lightweight box that’s easy to fly. WCS now has a premium sound system ... that will serve the theater and students well for years to come.”
L-Acoustics [service] included design assistance through its Soundvision predictive software.
In application
WCS Technical Theatre Teacher Rudy Garrido points out that having the same technology in the Lighthouse that’s used in Broadway theaters and on world-class music and theatrical touring will give the school’s arts initiatives a major boost. “The L-Acoustics sound system will help make the new auditorium an even better place for our students to perform and learn in,” he says, noting that the debut, both for the auditorium and Kiva II system, included Christmas concerts by the school’s orchestras, choirs, and bands.
Varnadore also had great things to say about the service that L-Acoustics provided for Peerson Audio, which included design assistance through the company's Soundvision predictive software. “Everything that L-Acoustics said they would do, they did, which helped us make this a terrific project,” he says.
