Elation brings Led lighting to the new headquarters of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra

The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park it has a led lighting equipment of Elation, made up of 55 Proteus Maximus and 36 Rayzor 760, 48 Paladin Panel and 40 Cube, 11 WW Profile HP IP 5 degree, 33 1with 9 degree and 16 with 26 degree, as well as 9 DTW Blinder 350 IP.

The new headquarters of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, located on the edge of the city's bay, it has a led lighting system of last generation of Elation Professional. The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park has a symmetrical equipment, designed by Jason Rothberg, that uses more than 200 LUMINAIRES with IP rating .

Designed to be one of the best acoustically acoustically-sounding outdoor concert venues in the United States, The Rady Shell has a lighting system supplied by the integration company of JRLX of Chicago. This has been responsible for the specification of the luminaires, advice and installation. The audiovisual solutions company Solotech was in charge of the lighting infrastructure, data distribution, audio and video.

The architectural construction carried out by Greg Mueller, of the architecture studio Tucker Sadler, a work of art in itself and the centerpiece of a newly improved public park, will highlight the city's world-class orchestra while hosting various musical acts.

Beyond an ordinary lighting system

“We wanted the design to be easy to use for tours “, says Rothberg. “Super simple, clean and symmetrical, with the use of only a few types of luminaires, something that anyone could come and clone to do all kinds of show.”

Rothberg consulted Jason Reberski, CEO of JRLX, to define the details of the lighting system solution. “Speaking to Jason it became clear that this was not an ordinary lighting system.. The demands placed on them were enormous.: projection distances of more than 90 metre, overcoming daylight, need to be flexible and able to achieve many different aesthetics, and all this with a degree of IP65 protection of one hundred percent. We worked closely with Elation and Jason to specify a package that would meet all of these goals.”.

IP Options

Although ease of use for lighting professionals who come to the premises was essential, the equipment had to work better for the on-premises resident symphony orchestra, which meant a lot of descending white light. With cut heights ranging from 7,6 and 12 metre, they needed a luminaire that could have enough amplitude in the lower cuts but that stayed bright enough from the higher positions. In addition, being located by the sea, humidity, the dew and the salty air, they were problems that had to be addressed.

“We needed the team to have a full IP rating”, says Rothberg, and adds that they tried many possibilities. “When I joined the project, already had 12 Proteus Maximus for towers on the lawn, but I knew nothing about them. When investigating them, and then the rest of the Line with Elation's IP rating, I found out they had all the options we needed.: Leko, moving wash, static wash and profiles”.

The original specifications included a wash luminaire, a profile and a spot fixture, but Rothberg discovered that the Maximus could do it all in one team. “I went from three types of luminaires to a guy who could do the same thing and more. In addition, gave a purer white, was brighter and had CMY. Maximus was all we needed, in addition to having a good selection of gobos. It was really the only option.”.

Design on stage

The Rady Shell has a capability of 10.000 people, with terraced seating that ensures great views from all seats. The scenario of 13.000 square meters is covered by a canopy of concentric oval rings with an inner lining (a metal fabric roof) cut five times to expose the walkways. here, 37 Proteus Maximus hang from five aerial electrical systems, whereas 12 units work from six towers (2 per tower) ranging from 36,5 to 97,5 meters from the stage.

“Even in red and a 90 meters away, the Maximus is very bright on stage”, explains Rothberg. “At first we thought of using them as tracking points from the lighting towers, but we discovered that the first position of the walkway was the perfect angle. We get a tight beam of light with virtually no scattering from that position”.

The six towers surrounding the enclosure also house 36 compact projectors Paladin Cube RGBW, 6 luminaires per tower, that illuminate them from within. It is an eye-catching show that adds to the feeling of immersion and expands the overall beauty of the space.

Next to the Maximus luminaires in the five electrical roof systems there are 34 WASH lights and special effects with IP65 rating Proteus Rayzor 760. “We use them as wash lights or as pixel effects and can access SparkLed technology to get brightness effects for a special look”, explains Rothberg. “Your position on the rigging, following the curve of the ceiling, looks great”.

the Paladin Panels, outdoor spotlights with 50 RGBW cells of 15 Watts, they work from the electric ones 2-5 for the wash of lights of the orchestra, while duplicating as strobe lights for other shows.

Providing front light from the first three walkways, as well as from the first two towers, are WW Profile HP IP, High power Led ellipsoidals. Ten luminaires of the towers are equipped with lenses of 5 Degrees, whereas 32 stage luminaires use lenses 19 or 26 Degrees. last, 9 blinders DTW Blinder 350 IP of variable white Led of 2 lights work from under the stage. The team can not only cover a wide range of musical genres, regardless of who enlarges your stage, but the lighting system is totally Led, which means that the place is saving on energy, maintenance and expendable costs, like light bulbs, versus a traditional equipment of halogen lamps.

High standards

Rothberg acknowledges that some challenges had to be overcome, For example, lighting angles that required custom self-leveling hangers. However, COVID downtime gave them enough time to find solutions and, At last, a system was achieved in accordance with the high artistic and functional standards of The Rady Shell. “With Elation we were able to double the number of luminaires while maintaining quality, performance and brightness. It is a team that the Symphony will benefit from in the coming years”, rothberg concludes.

The San Diego Symphony performs in two venues, the Copley Symphony Hall in downtown San Diego and the Rady Shell in Jacob's Park. The opening weekend of the Symphony at The Rady Shell at Jacob's Park is scheduled from 6 to the 8 August, with an inaugural season of concerts that will extend to the 14 of November and in which musical talents such as Smokey Robinson will be presented, Yo-Yo Ma, Brian Wilson, the musical director of the Symphony, Rafael Payare, and many others.

Elation Teams:

• 55 Proteus Maximus and 36 Rayzor 760.
• 48 Paladin Panel and 40 Cube.
• 11 WW Profile HP IP with 5 degree, 33 with 19 degree and 16 with 26 degree.
• 9 DTW Blinder 350 IP.

Other articles on Elation, Elation Professional, JRLX, Solotech, The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park. San Diego Symphony Orchestra, Tucker Sadler