Page 34 - Guildhall School Coverage Book 2020/21

Six rooms are currently networked for live performance. Three of those spaces can welcome
multiple performers who are not utilizing “wind power” for music. The other three are for
single occupants. All rooms have HEPA filters and are meticulously cleaned after each use.

Focusrite RedNet X2P audio interfaces, which offer 2×2 Dante connectivity, are used in all
rooms for both input and output. Microphones picking up the music being made in each
room use the X2P to convert the signal to Dante. The Dante signal coming back into the
room – typically the mix from the main control room – utilizes the outputs on the X2P
devices, with students tapping in with headphones. Dante-native Focusrite RedNet AM2
devices, which offer stereo analog output for Dante networks, are also used for headphone
output in rooms where multiple students are allowed.

Multiple Focusrite RedNet 2 I/O devices, a Focusrite A16R MkII I/O device, a Focusrite
RedNet PCIeR, and multiple Focusrite RedNet 5 devices – which enable Dante integration
with Pro Tools – are utilized in the main control room.

Adams said two additional performance rooms will be wired for Dante at the start of 2021.
And, he adds, once the new music facility is complete it will be completely connected by a
Dante network. Dante, he says, becomes a more obvious solution every day it is in use at
SFA.

“We learned a lot this semester about how flexible and scalable Dante is,” Adams said.
“People can still achieve a lot of great things if they can’t see each other. If they can hear
one another, and there is minimal delay, then that is definitely enough. We’re at such a
negligible delay right now that we can perform small concerts together. It’s very exciting.”

Adams said as it stands in the Fall of 2020, his department is utilizing a total of 250 Dante
signals. But, he says, he expects that count to go up as the university begins to consider the
use of audio-over-IP networking outside of the music department.

“The IT department is looking to us as a model for AV right now,” Adams said. “I’m getting
asked daily about how we successfully solved our social distancing challenges. There are a
lot of ideas about what our system will look like long term, but it is obvious Dante is going to
expand throughout campus. This is a solution that isn’t just short-term. It’s a long-term
answer.”