First Congregational Church of Los Angeles

First Congregational Church of Los Angeles

The First Congregational Church of Los Angeles is the oldest Protestant church in continual operation in all of Los Angeles. The church’s cathedral style Gothic revival building was finished in 1932. It includes the sanctuary, chapel, school and numerous event spaces.

The Church houses one of the world’s largest operational pipe organs and its excellent acoustics has developed its status as a sought after venue for music performances and festivals. Its classic architecture is also a draw for film productions which use the space frequently as a filming location.

Sonitus was asked design a replacement for the existing audio and video systems, which had been pieced together over the years. The existing system was a distributed array of speakers and components, with significant shortcomings, primarily in intelligibility beyond the first few pews. The church was also desiring to increase the flexibility and overall quality to meet the needs of more contemporary services. The challenge for Sonitus was to design a system that met the performance goals and worked in harmony with the building’s complex acoustics without adversely affecting them. Additionally, the equipment and infrastructure upgrades could not damage the original stone and woodwork or alter the visual aesthetics of the space.

The new system has exceeded all expectations, high quality sound reinforcement reaches all areas of the sanctuary. Sonitus continues to provide audiovisual system design and consultation to other areas of the church.

Skills

Posted on

February 18, 2017