Page 58 - Guildhall School Coverage Book 2020/21

Dante allows audio, control, and all other data to coexist effectively on the same network. For
Guildhall School, Dante enabled them to solve COVID-related challenges both with their live
performances and their virtual learning environment.

To adhere to social distancing requirements, The Gold Medal performances were constructed
across four separate rooms. The largest space was populated by those on string instruments and
the piano, with each participant located two meters apart. Woodwind and brass instruments were
split up each into their own rooms, with three meters of space allocated between performers.
Finally, the conductor was located in a fourth room. The challenge of this setup, of course, was
collaboration between the multiple rooms.

“We had 90 musicians in total across the different rooms and building,” Hepple said. “We needed
to manage a number of inputs and outputs across the space and have them be as latency free
as possible. They needed to be able to perform synchronously with one another.”

To do this, 40 Neumann, Rupert Neve Designs, Schoeps, and DBA directional microphones
were strategically placed across the space to capture instrument audio. These feeds are brought
into SSL, Yamaha and Neutrik preamplifiers where they’re translated into Dante-native channels.
These Dante feeds then head to Cisco and Dell switch infrastructure across two buildings, and
then routed to a Solid State Logic System T mixer that allows for broadcast specific processing.
The audio feeds are then delivered out to two locations: to the broadcast mix for live playout via a
live production system, and to the other performers via headphones.

“With Dante we were able to deliver the correct mix to the different rooms with an imperceptible
level of latency,” Hepple explains. “Our conductor went into rehearsals on day one, and within 20
bars he said he was ready to go. This is someone who has decades of experience in the
classical performance space, and it was an immediate acceptance of the new setup.

“There was a time when we were worried this could be cancelled. However, with Dante we were
able to keep it alive. And that’s a big deal right now because our rooms, which are normally alive
and vibrant, had been silent for six months. Bringing the music back was important for everyone.”
The setup will next be used to present an upcoming Guildhall Symphony Orchestra concert
conducted by Jessica Cottis, which will be available to watch online for one week from Saturday,
7 November at www.gsmd.ac.uk/gso.

Dante has also ensured in-person, performance-focused instruction and coursework continues.
By using a similar Dante workflow across its multiple performance spaces, the school is able to
route audio into video conferencing applications that is of high enough quality to allow
collaboration.

“So, for example, we can put three pianists in one large room - or in three separate rooms - and
have their audio output via video conferencing to the instructor of the class,” said Liam Halpin,
director at DataSound Consulting, the firm that integrated the system. “Those feeds can be heard
by anyone on the platform, and they are all high-quality audio. That’s very important to allow an
instructor to teach the class.”