ARTIST RENDERING OF THE BASEMENT BAR
d & b 30Ds and D80s , the system also features a Meyer Sound Galaxy processor as the front end for incoming engineers to use as a means of putting their own sonic stamp on the room .
The d & b rig was purchased and originally installed roughly two years before the venue ’ s closure for renovation in 2019 . Now , with the upgrades to the rigging and structural reinforcement , instead of having to take the house rig down for an incoming production , touring crews can lower the rig and hang their own PA , or portions of it , below the house system .
For consoles , McKendrick has opted for Avid across the board , five in total : an S6L 24D for FOH and a 24C for monitors , a 24C for their dedicated broadcast room , another 24C for their main floor club / lounge , and a 16C for the bar downstairs .
After the system was initially specified , there were some tweaks , Radu notes : “ A few extra boxes , an alternate set of front fills for when it ’ s [ general admission ] seating , also for a kind of a ‘ shaded ’ area on the balcony we ’ ve added extra speakers ( five d & b E6s ) for ambience . Not necessarily for the left / right mix , but more the reverbs from that to provide the kind ambience to make it feel like you ’ re in the middle of the hall .” Other additions include a d & b V10.2 box for outfill , he adds : “ That will shoot off the top of the array up to the front gallery corners to bring the focus and the image back down to the stage for the people sitting in that area .”
Although the term “ upgrade ” has often been used to describe what ’ s happening at Massey Hall , that would be putting it mildly . Frankly , this is a project that ’ s unique in its scope .
McKendrick explains : “ There are two new 700-seat venues in the new Massey Hall building and the tower . They ’ re attached to the gallery and the balcony , level two and level three , behind the hall . So , to get to them , you go outside and around the side of the building , walking through these glass tunnels , past the stained-glass windows , so you can look at those from both sides . It ’ s amazing . Now , if you ’ re seated on the main floor , you go down to the bar in the basement like you would have before , but if you ’ re on level two or three , you can go to the bars on those levels .
“ Those spaces can be used for a variety of purposes ,” he continues . “ You could mount a show in them if you wanted to and you can link or separate them from an audio perspective . So , if we have a corporate event , for instance , you could have a presentation up top and the reception downstairs .”
While balancing preservation and modernization was a key concern in Massey Hall proper , efforts throughout the complex were also aimed squarely at the future – a need that the pandemic and the ongoing consequences for the live entertainment industry underscored dramatically . Although McKendrick says that didn ’ t alter their plans substantially : “ I think that what ’ s happened during the pandemic reconfirmed that we ’ re on the right track with all of the efforts we wanted to make around video capture and all of that .”
As an example , McKendrick notes a new 500-seat venue in the Allied Music Centre . “ There ’ s a lot of technology there , lighting- and audio-wise . We ’ re going to be doing a d & b Soundscape immersive audio system in that ; four arrays across the front , surround , and overhead speakers . The room isn ’ t complete , but it ’ s very exciting . And we ’ ve worked to price it affordably to make it a practical place to play . Other venues , whether it be because of rising rents or other issues in Toronto , they ’ re vulnerable . This is a place that ’ s about as safe as you can get in terms of its sustainability because it ’ s part of this facility .”
Ultimately , McKendrick concludes : “ The key to this was to make sure we had the infrastructure and the ability to do almost anything that might come up later .”
Van Dijk elaborates : “ That was the vision from the outset ; creating an environment that ’ s very conducive to performing arts and music .”
That ’ s the mainstay of the venue ’ s historical function , he adds : “ But it was also to bring that to another level , to connect the various venues within the Hall and facility and be able to capture performances throughout .”
Ultimately , the goal was to dramatically increase functionality and versatility overall . With the addition of a smaller venue in the new building , for example , Van Dijk adds : “ more intimate events can happen [ when the main hall is in use ]. Everything was conceived to provide all of the infrastructure a building from the 1800s requires to address the needs of today and the future , and to allow different aspects of the industry – the live performing arts and the production side – to come together .”
With Massey Hall , that was always the vision . “ To allow artists to reach out to a broader audience rather than just the audience that ’ s at the show ,” Van Dijk adds . “ It will also allow them to capture their performances via , essentially , a full production suite ; multi-camera capture and a full live recording an artist can stream and / or post-produce for their own purposes . All of those systems , the cable pathways , the conduit , everything that supports all of that , like the power systems , it ’ s not visible to the audience . I ’ m looking forward to seeing this vision come to fruition and for artists to start using it .”
Granted , that ’ s just a modern update of what ’ s been happening at Massey over time , he continues , referencing Neil Young ’ s Live at Massey Hall 1971 album . “ An amazing sounding album that ’ s basically board tapes , multi-tracked .” It ’ s a way to carry on the legacy of Massey Hall for the future . All done in a way that , while the audiences and performer ’ s experiences will be sonically better , the experience remains – as does the Hall itself – as magical and unique as ever .
Kevin Young is a Toronto-based professional musician and freelance writer .
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