RPG Diffusor Systems

Picotte Recital Hall, Massry Center for the Arts, College of Saint Rose, Albany, NY

The Massry Center for the Arts, designed by Saratoga Associates of Saratoga Springs, NY and built by Sano-Rubin Construction of Albany, NY, is a new showcase for music and the visual arts at The College of Saint Rose. The Kathleen McManus Picotte Recital Hall has a volume of 126,000 cf. The band/orchestra rehearsal rooms are directly above the recital hall. The designed STC 95 and IIC 82 separation between the spaces makes concurrent use possible.

Acoustic Consultant

Mr. Seth Waltz – AVL Designs, Inc., Penfield, NY www.avldesign.com

“The Music department expressed a wish for a space that could accommodate small and large ensembles with excellent sound in all seats. The space design for the building dictated a sloping floor, which made this a more difficult task. Based on our prior experience with RPG, we selected an almost entirely diffusive environment. The optimally modulated Waveform™ Gaussian and Spline products were chosen to avoid edge diffraction effects and for their pleasing architectural shape. We added some custom radius shapes for stage focus and provided a large air cavity above the ceiling for low frequency extension. Modffusors™ were added to the upper walls of the stage to return incident sound across the stage. The results exceeded our expectations, with consistent warm response through the seating area, and excellent envelopment throughout.”

Testimonial: Paul Evoskevich, Professor of Music, Music Department Chair, The College of Saint Rose

“ I would be more than happy to comment on the acoustics of the recital hall. They are incredible! When people have complimented me on how well my Saint Rose Jazz Ensemble has sounded on past performances I have always thought to myself ‘you should hear how great they sound from where I stand on-stage, directly in front of the band.’ In our former auditorium, there was a marked loss of clarity the further you were from the stage. In the Picotte Recital Hall, it sounds the same whether you are on the stage, in the front row, or in the back row. The sound is basically the same everywhere in the hall. It is as good an acoustic environment as we could ever has hoped for. Everyone who attends a performance in there is completely blown away with the acoustics. In addition to the acoustics, the hall is drop-dead gorgeous! The sight of wood flooring on the stage and the wood wall and ceiling panels is absolutely stunning. To say that everyone who sees it is very impressed would be quite an understatement.”

Testimonial: Irish Tenor Ronan Tynan

“The world-renown Irish tenor Ronan Tynan performed in the Picotte Recital Hall last week. After performing several selections he announced to the audience that only once in his life had he ever performed in a hall With such exquisite acoustics.”

Installed Products