Sir George Martin completes Montserrat Cultural Centre

News

Andy Wood Mar 20 2008, 11:00am

Yamaha supplies total audio solution for island project

The massive project to provide a state of the art cultural centre for the Caribbean island of Montserrat has been completed.

The brianchild of legendary producer Sir George Martin, who has personally guided the project for over 10 years, the multipurpose, state of the art cultural centre on the Caribbean island of Montserrat, which will provide a national focal point for the island’s people and an international centre for cultural excellence and education.

Conceived following the devastating effects of 1989’s Hurricane Hugo, which destroyed 90 per cent of the island’s structures, and the subsequent eruption of the Soufrière Hills volcano in 1995, the new building has brought a new dimension to Montserratian life.

Sir George initiated and drove the project because of his love for the island, which stretches back 30 years. “I first visited the island in 1977, its peace and tranquility providing a complete contrast to London and the other worldwide centres of music-making,” he says. “Within two years we had built Air Studios, which saw the recording of many albums by some of the world’s biggest artists over the next 11 years.”

Initial funding was generated by a star-studded benefit show at London's Royal Albert Hall, featuring many artists who had previously recorded on the island. To raise further funds, 500 limited lithographs of his score for the Beatles song 'Yesterday’ were produced, each numbered and signed by Sir George and Paul McCartney. This gave Sir George and the team on the island the impetus and funds to set the project in motion.

The Montserrat Cultural Centre (MCC) comprises the 700 seat Sir George Martin Auditorium, conference rooms, a bar and restaurant area, changing rooms, rehearsal rooms, offices and an outside area for open air performances, all of which provided challenges for the projected audio installation.

Following initial meetings between Yamaha Commercial Audio boss Nick Cook and Sir George, they and the Commercial Audio team worked closely on a solution for the exacting audio requirements. It soon became apparent that the best way Yamaha could support the MCC project was to supply the entire audio system.

“Supplying an integrated package meant that it would go together very quickly and easily, be extremely reliable and Yamaha could also provide the logistical support to get the equipment to what is still a relatively inaccessible location,” says Nick Cook.

With audio expert Chris Runciman drafted in to manage the project and an outline audio plan in place, the project’s fundraisers opened negotiations with Yamaha to help maximise how far the funds for the audio equipment could be made to stretch. A combination of generous donations and Yamaha’s desire to help meant that the final system design was able to include full surround sound and a remarkably flexible mixing system.

One of the most important aims of the entire project is education and training for young Montserratians. The aftermath of the natural disasters has meant that opportunities are very limited, so a key part of the MCC’s purpose is to provide an opportunity for people to learn about commercial audio and lighting, which is a skill that they can then earn from, both on and off the island.

As Yamaha installation manager Scott Fraser says: “It was all about giving Montserrat a hand up, not hand outs.”

The heart of the system is a pair of Yamaha DME64N digital mix engines. Front of house and monitor mixing is taken care of by an M7CL-48 digital console. Yamaha loudspeakers and amplification are also installed.

“We at Yamaha are honoured to have been involved in the project and that the Yamaha equipped Sir George Martin Auditorium is the only one in the world to bear his name,” says Nick Cook.

“We hope our centre can play a positive role in regenerating the Island and we are immensely grateful to our friends at Yamaha, not only for their technical expertise and excellent audio products, but their obvious passion for helping us realise our aims, concludes Sir George Martin.”

An extended feature on the Montserrat project will appear in the April issue of AudioPro International.

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