Press Release - September 26 2007 |
LA PROPOINT COMPLETES PROJECT AT COLBURN SCHOOL, AN ENCORE PERFORMANCE IN DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES Company Responsible for Rigging and Lighting at Walt Disney Concert Hall Returned to Grand Avenue for Performing Arts School’s Expansion Project (Sun Valley, Calif.) September 26, 2007 – LA ProPoint spends almost as much time on Los Angeles’ Grand Avenue as some performers do. The company, which was responsible for the rigging at both the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the REDCAT, crossed the street for a commission at the Colburn School, a private conservatory of music which recently opened the doors on a brand new school of performing arts. The Colburn School provides a distinguished education in music, dance and drama from the introductory to the advanced level to children and adults, and also provides the public with a full season of admission-free cultural performances. To better serve the needs of its students and the community, Colburn recently expanded its campus with a new 326,000 square-foot, 12-story high-rise designed by Pfeiffer Partners Inc. LA ProPoint, Southern California’s leader in the design, engineering, fabrication, and installation of stage and show systems, played a critical supporting role in the project—working alongside Matt Construction to outfit a high-end performance laboratory and a rehearsal room. “Located adjacent to the Museum of Contemporary Art and across the street from iconic Disney Hall, the Colburn School occupies an ideal setting in Downtown Los Angeles,” said Harvey Sweet, LA ProPoint’s vice president. “It was our job to give the Colburn School’s new building the equipment and capabilities befitting its vibrant performing arts neighborhood.” For Colburn’s new performing arts space, a facility with seating for a few hundred people, LA ProPoint created adjustable acoustics including a movable banner system. The system consists of three rows of 15 acoustic panels that store in a “garage” over the stage. The movable banners are crucial in that they will allow operators to “tune” the room for various types of aural performances, but installing them was no easy task. LA ProPoint enlisted rigging machinery supplier JR Clancy to custom manufacture three lineshaft winches as well as a computer system to deftly maneuver the panels in a crowded space shared with lighting, HVAC ducts, conduits, structural supports and other pieces of operating equipment. The layout and installation of the lab’s lighting pipe rigging also presented a challenge. Fortunately, LA ProPoint’s stable of highly skilled craftsmen and technicians are experienced in delivering highly customized show systems that combine state-of-the-art technology, innovative design, and a commitment to safety. LA ProPoint brought its experiences on high-end projects for clients such as the Hollywood Bowl and Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas to bear on the Colburn School project. Colburn’s new performance lab required five lighting pipes that move simultaneously—but without interfering with the acoustic banners—via a motor-assisted counterweight system. Working carefully around other tradespeople, the LA ProPoint team installed lighting pipes that travel through narrow slots in the ceiling and follow complicated wall angles. Over the performance lab’s stage, LA ProPoint suspended a sound-reflecting canopy that weighs in at several thousand pounds and is used to support architectural and theatrical lighting. An intricate chevron shape with virtually no 90 degree corners, the structural frame of the canopy had to first be constructed in four pieces in LA ProPoint’s shop and then transported to the Colburn School for assembly. And though the canopy carries not only its own weight but thousands of pounds of sheetrock, plywood, conduit, wiring, lighting fixtures, and audio and video gear, its intended use in a performance space required that its vertical supports be as visibly transparent as possible. For Colburn’s new rehearsal room, a large, square space, LA ProPoint again employed a flexible acoustical system. Nine separate drapery sets, some single- and some bi-parting, are motor-operated by custom curtain machines manufactured by ADC. Operators can use a custom computer system created by JR Clancy to deploy the heavy drapes in pre-set patterns to adjust the rate and quantity of reflected sound in the room. In moments, an acoustician can produce the ideal conditions for enjoying the sounds of a solo instrument or, alternately, a large group performance. The Colburn School celebrated the completion of its new facilities earlier this month, just in time for the new school year. Although much of LA ProPoint’s work took place behind the scenes and may never be noticed by students or audiences, the company has made an essential and enduring contribution to the project. “Now, the raw spaces where we worked are finished and ready for everything from hosting a dance recital to conducting a piano master class,” said Mark Riddlesperger, founder and president of LA ProPoint. “Colburn’s distinguished faculty and talented students will practice and perform in state-of-the-art facilities that stand proudly among their renowned neighbors on Grand Avenue.” ABOUT LA PROPOINT
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