Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music Goes Immersive Live

Bloomington, IN (November 2024)—Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music has positioned itself at the forefront of immersive audio education with the installation of L-Acoustics L-ISA Hyperreal Sound Technology at its 1,460-seat Musical Arts Center. The new system not only delivers superior sound experiences for performances, it also provides students hands-on experience with technology that’s rapidly becoming the industry standard in professional venues worldwide.

Modeled after New York’s Metropolitan Opera House, the MAC serves as both a premier performance venue and an advanced learning environment. Solotech performed the recent installation and system integration, based on specifications from project consultant Sound Associates.

“We’re committed to giving our students experience with technology that’s defining the future of live sound,” says Michael Stucker, Chair of IU’s Music Industry Department and the Jacobs School of Music. “L-ISA is the future, and our students will graduate with a significant competitive advantage having worked with this system.”

Domonic Sack, Executive Vice President of Sound Associates in New York and former Metropolitan Opera tenor, emphasizes the strategic importance of the installation: “Immersive sound has become essential in modern productions, from opera to Broadway. Students working with L-ISA are learning skills that will be crucial for their careers in theater and live sound.

“This is not just any school,” Sack continues. “Indiana University is one of the foremost schools in the world for music, and particularly for opera. Many of my colleagues did their musical training there, taught there and coached there. The theater was familiar with L-Acoustics and we knew the support would be there when needed, so when I brought up the idea of L-ISA, they were very receptive.”

L-ISA is now integrated with the MAC’s new L-Acoustics A Series loudspeaker system, which includes five identical Scene arrays of five L-Acoustics A15i Focus over one A15i Wide each, spread out above the stage; eight KS21 subs are flown in two hangs of two on either side of the center A15i array, while a single vertically-oriented A15i Wide per side is flown on the perimeters of the second and fourth A15 arrays to supply out-fill coverage.

Fifteen ultra-compact 5XT coaxial systems lining the stage lip provide spatialized front-fill, while a pair of Syva colinear columns complemented by six X8 are in place for stage monitoring. The system is powered by seven LA7.16i amplified controllers and one LA12X. System management and processing is done via an L-ISA Processor II and the P1 Milan-AVB processor.

Stucker notes that the shows produced so far with L-ISA, including weekly jazz performances and two operas, have been crowd-pleasers. But just as important is how the students feel about it—and they really like it: “The students have been engineering everything so far,” he says, adding with a faux lament, “All of us faculty are kind of jealous because we haven’t got to mix on it yet. The students are having all the fun.”