Norwegian Academy of Music showcases next generation of talent using JBL Professional

To provide students of the Norwegian Academy of Music with a top-notch education and music-listening experience, LydRommet recently upgraded the existing JBL sound reinforcement system in the school’s Linderman Hall with next-generation JBL VTX A8 line array speakers.

Located in Oslo, the Norwegian Academy of Music (NMH) is the largest university-level music conservatory in Norway. Many of Norway’s top musicians received their education from NMH’s diverse curriculum of genres, ranging from church and classical music to jazz and folk music.

Officially founded in 1973, NMH has academic origins dating back to 1883, when Ludvig Mathias Lindeman and his son Peter Brynie Lindeman founded a historic school for organists.

Named in honour of Lindeman’s legacy, Lindeman Hall is the Academy’s main concert hall, with a seating capacity for 365 audience members. With a superior acoustic design and a stage big enough for a full symphony orchestra, Lindeman Hall is an ideal performance venue for large acoustic ensembles, amplified jazz bands, chamber orchestras and solo performers alike.

In keeping with the Academy’s dedication to supporting students’ musical growth with the latest technology, NMH turned to Norway-based Harman distributor LydRommet to upgrade Lindeman Hall’s existing sound system.

To deliver wide and balanced coverage for a diverse range of concerts and genres, LydRommet installed a modern JBL VTX live sound reinforcement solution consisting of VTX A8 line array speakers.

“NMH is the top music university in Norway, and they strive to offer the best in terms of education and equipment alike,” said Jan-Stefan Hansen, director of pro audio sales, LydRommet.

“To complement the beautiful acoustic design of Lindeman Hall, we implemented JBL VTX A8 speakers. The coverage of the VTX A8 speakers is perfect for the size of the hall, and its flat frequency response sounds very natural, yielding versatility for different music styles.”

In 2014, LydRommet outfitted Lindeman Hall with a JBL sound system consisting of 16 JBL VT4886 line arrays and four VT4883 subwoofers for the main left-right hang, four VT4886 speakers for a centre cluster and four F18 subwoofers, powered by nine Crown ITech 4x3500 amplifiers.

In the summer of 2022, LydRommet replaced the VerTec Series line arrays with 25 VTX A8 line array speakers, suspended 10 per side and five in the centre cluster. The team also added two more F18 subwoofers to a total of six. To promote sustainability practices, LydRommet elected to integrate the VTX A8 speakers into Lindeman Hall’s existing infrastructure of ITech Series amps and F18 subs.

"An important element of the procurement has been to follow up NMH's environmental profile in practice,” said Stig Gunnar Ringen, technical manager, NMH.

“LydRommet’s JBL VTX solution utilises pre-existing amplifiers and infrastructure – completely in line with the sustainability goals of the Norwegian Academy of Music. We thank LydRommet for a solution-oriented process with sustainability in focus."

LydRommet used a combination of Crown’s built-in JBL speaker presets, JBL Line Array Calculator and Performance Manager software to tune the new VTX A8 speakers to deliver wide and balanced coverage for every seat in the house.

“The Crown ITech amps have speaker presets for all JBL speakers, including the A8,” said Hansen. “I used JBL Line Array Calculator and Performance Manager software to fine-tune the system. It’s very accurate and precise. When I measured the system in-action, it was incredible how close it was to the software predictions. The rigging system is also really good, making it easy and fast to stack and deploy the arrays – it’s a brilliant system.”

Thanks to NMH’s new JBL VTX system, concerts held in Lindeman Hall benefit from improved sound quality, intelligibility and horizontal coverage, ensuring that every note can be not only heard, but also appreciated.

"The Norwegian Academy of Music is very pleased with the new JBL VTX A8 rig in Lindeman Hall,” said Ringen.

“NMH's concerts have an enormous musical range, where we do everything from subtle enhancements of acoustic music to amplification of giant big bands. The JBL VTX system’s transparent sound reproduction, plenty of headroom and even coverage are crucial in the hall's unique acoustics.”