STORMEN S NEW CONCERT HALL ADD A d:facto VOCAL MICROPHONE TO ITS EXTENSIVE STOCK OF DPA

This latest addition is already proving very popular with visiting singers.

Stormen Concert House, the new home of the Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra, has added a d:facto Vocal Microphone to its extensive stock of DPA microphones all of which are regularly used for both recording and amplification purposes.

The new d:facto Vocal Microphone, which was supplied with a handle and an adapter to fit the concert hall's Shure wireless system, is proving so popular with visiting singers that Stormen is hoping to add more in the near future.

Located in the Norwegian town of Bod , Stormen Concert Hall was designed by British architects DRDH and officially opened in November 2014. It replaces an older venue that was only ever intended as a temporary solution, although it actually stood for 23 years before the new building was commissioned. The concert hall has three different auditoria a main hall with 940 seats, a small hall with 240 seats and a chamber hall with 60 seats. It also has a club venue with standing capacity for 460. The main hall features a comprehensive system for transforming the stage and acoustics, making it suitable for either symphonic musical performances or theatre.

Sound engineer H vard Christensen, who is Head of Stage Engineering at Stormen, was site manager during the construction phase and worked closely with Arup Theatre Consulting, which specified all sound, visual and communication systems.

I was also a user representative during the planning of the new concert hall because I had spent several years working for a local PA company, he says.

Choosing DPA microphones was an easy decision for Christensen to make because he had used the company's products for many years in his own studio, which specialises in classical and jazz recording.

I have always regarded them as the No. 1 choice for natural sound reproduction of any instrument, both acoustic and amplified, he explains. Another very important feature is the accuracy of the pickup pattern. This makes feedback easy to control and makes bleed from adjacent instruments sound more pleasing.

Stormen's stock of DPA includes over 20 d:dicate Recording Microphones, 20-plus d:vote Instrument Microphones, four d:screet SC4098 Podium Microphones and over 30 d:fine Headset Microphones, all of which were supplied by DPA's Norwegian distributor, Lyd-Systemer.

We have invested heavily in d:dicate condenser microphones because they are so versatile, Christensen says. They are used for many different purposes including drum overheads, percussion, horns, strings, woodwinds, piano, choir and speech. We have also invested in 10 tube stands, which are very popular when we want to minimize the visual impact of the sound equipment on stage.

Stormen's d:vote Instrument Microphones are mainly used for strings but also come into their own when the concert hall's wireless system is in use. This versatility similarly applies to the concert hall's stock of d:fine Headset Microphones, which were also chosen for their sound quality and ease of use.

We really like them because they sound so natural and are so easy to fit, Christensen says. In my opinion they are the most comfortable headworn microphones on the market. They are also exceptionally easy to maintain because you can change just the cable or the microphone if something gets damaged. This makes them very affordable in the long run.

Since opening, Stormen has hosted many concerts covering all musical genres from pop and rock through to classical. It also hosts theatre and dance performances and is occasionally used as a conference venue. Among the artists who have performed there are Leif Ove Andsnes and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Sivert H yem, Trondheim Symfoniorkester/Krzysztof Urbanski, Dara O Briain, the Emerson Quartet, KORK, Veronica Maggio, Brit Floyd, Gregory Porter and La Folia Barockorchester.

We are very pleased with the sound quality we're achieving in all three auditoria and particularly pleased with our choice of DPA microphones, Christensen says. Anders Faafeng from Lyd-Systemer was an indispensable resource and his detailed knowledge and experience with DPA products was very important when it came to helping us choose the right microphones for our needs.

LINK:	http://www.dpamicrophones.com/news/stormen-concert-hall-add-a-d-facto-...
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