Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Wenger Highlights College Install of Active Acoustics at IAVM's VenueConnect Show

  • 07/19/16

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – How can campus performing venues stretch their acoustic potential, to better host a variety of events? Attendees to the International Association of Venue Managers’ VenueConnect show in Minneapolis, MN (July 23-26, 2016) can hear firsthand about advancements in active acoustics technology. Representatives from Wenger and Lexicon will discuss a world-premiere installation at Wartburg College in Waverly, IA, on July 25 at 11:00 a.m.

With this new system, Neumann Auditorium at Wartburg College in Waverly has been transformed from a dated, problematic facility to a showplace for Wartburg’s renowned music programs. For the first time in years, the band, orchestra and choir can put on shows like their annual homecoming and Christmas programs together in the same venue. The new active acoustics system also makes it possible to perform classical pieces composed for choir and orchestra, which had to be avoided in the past due to concerns about sound quality. With these improvements, Neumann Auditorium now offers musicians and audience members a performance like they’ve never heard before.

The new active acoustics system also offers something that traditional acoustic treatments can’t do: the creative flexibility to create music programming that simply wouldn’t be possible with conventional technology.

“You can simulate any acoustic you want. It’s virtually limitless,” says Lee Nelson, Wartburg’s director of Choral Activities. “You could create a choral/orchestral performance setting, a choral setting for cathedral performances and a setting for a piano concerto — all within the same concert if you wish. And, all settings can be stored and recalled at any time.”

The new active acoustics system has also become a selling point in the battle to attract talented student performers, events and concerts. Prior to the installation, Neumann Auditorium’s less-than-ideal acoustics were a drag on recruiting efforts, and made it impossible to host concerts by certain artists and bands.

Assumption College in Worcester, MA, recently purchased an active acoustics system, which will be installed in 2017.

Get more info on this July 25 performing arts session here.

Featured

  • Hawaii Elementary School Reopens Following $25M Campus Modernization

    Haʻaheo Elementary School in Hilo, Hawaii, has reopened to students following a three-year, $25-million campus modernization and expansion project that significantly increases the school's instructional space while preserving one of the island's oldest educational institutions, according to local news.

  • GeoCam and UCLA: Modernizing Campus Accessibility Mapping

    In early 2025, UCLA partnered with GeoCam to capture and modernize its pedestrian infrastructure data. The goal was ambitious but clear: to produce a high-accuracy, imagery-backed digital map of every sidewalk, pathway, ramp, and ADA-related feature on UCLA’s 419-acre campus.

  • University of Pennsylvania Releases Design of Future Physical Sciences Building

    The University of Pennsylvania (Penn) in Philadelphia, Penn., recently released renderings of an upcoming 350,000-square-foot Physical Sciences Building, according to news release. The facility was designed by CO Architects and will unite the university’s departments of Physics and Astronomy, Mathematics, and Earth and Environmental Science.

  • Can AI Help Build Stronger Communities in Student Housing?

    Student housing success is shifting from operational performance to student experience, with belonging now at the center. A recent 2025 report underscores a growing emphasis on student well-being, community, and engagement, signaling that expectations now extend beyond logistics to ensure students feel supported in their living environments. AI is enabling that shift by reducing administrative workload and giving teams more time to focus on meaningful student engagement.