Home to the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Icelandic Opera and Reykjavík Big Band, Reykjavík’s Harpa has won awards for its architecture and its role as a concert hall and conference centre since opening in 2011. The venue features comprises primary performance venues ranging in capacity from approximately 200 to 1,800 – a symphonic concert hall, recital hall, dividable black box conference hall, and a small theatre, alongside further smaller multi-use spaces.

The sprawling complex was initially equipped with a Clear-Com Encore Analog Partyline (PL) system and Eclipse HX Matrix system, which was later expanded with V-Series Iris Keypanels, FreeSpeak II Wireless intercom, E-IPA IP capabilities, and the Agent-IC Mobile App.

The recent integration between Clear-Com’s intercom and QSC’s Q-Sys amplifier platform, however, has provided a substantially higher level of functionality and integration between the venue’s paging, intercom, and house audio systems.

Harpa had begun shifting its infrastructure to Dante interfaces during the Covid-19 pandemic, in order to address increasing demand for virtual and streamed events. For this, the Clear-Com intercom system’s ability to integrate with platforms like Zoom were critical. But the ultimate goal was to tighten integration between paging and intercoms to allow immediate and easy access, selection, and playback of pre-recorded announcements, music and other assets (including safety/security messages) in each of, or any combination of more than 30 paging zones.

When Harpa staff began to consider this project, they were initially uncertain of the best way forward, and so began by working with Clear-Com on create an advanced programming system to interface between Clear-Com and Q-Sys and include Dante connectivity.

The upgrade project also addressed issues dating back to the venue’s in-house paging systems owing to an early decision to merge Harpa’s evacuation and announcement systems, as well as intermittent problems with the pre-existing AMX management in some rooms and the previous analogue messaging system.

‘That’s why we needed a solution,’ says Harpa Technical Director for Events and Technical Management, Andri Guðmundsson..

The effort involved replacing the paging system and reusing some existing infrastructure, including their original Clear-Com Eclipse and Encore systems. Harpa upgraded to FreeSpeak II and added E-IPA cards for remote connectivity to broadcasters, additional Agent-IC licenses for future use by ushers and other front-of-house staff, and E-Dante cards to interface between the Clear-Com matrix and Harpa’s new QSC Q-Sys distribution system. The result is ‘a huge degree of flexibility and programmability’.

‘It’s the flexibility to route almost anything, anywhere, without having to make any physical interconnections,’ Guðmundsson says. ‘So, even though the integration is rather complicated, the end-user gets a simple interface.’

Harpa is working on the full implementation of Agent-IC for ushers’ use, but that’s something the young people in that role are looking forward to. ‘They don’t want to use bulky radios, they want an app,’ Guðmundsson says. Also, the ability to use smartphones and Wi-Fi eliminates the need for additional infrastructure and components.

Refreshing technology after a decade-plus of operation is standard for PACs. Still, this project is unique in its magnitude and offers almost unparalleled connectivity for users of Harpa’s audio infrastructure.

What sets the project apart is the development and implementation of a custom plug-in by Clear-Com’s local distributor and integrator on the project, Atendi ehf. This allows Eclipse to route audio in Q-Sys, trigger pre-recorded messages and provide feedback for paging status via an Iris panel or FreeSpeak beltpack.

The depth of the integration provides granular control of individual or combinations of paging zones (including shared backstage areas), streamlining and providing new workflow options, and increasing communication between those working the show and, if required, the audience itself. In effect, it provides far more than a usual paging system in terms of overall and individual control throughout the facility.

Ultimately, this level of integration and connectivity, particularly between Clear-Com and Q-Sys, has benefits in a wide range of applications. Consequently, the plug-in source created by Atendi ehf will provide a ‘starting point’ for others using Eclipse/Q-Sys HCI interfacing, something that’s in line with Clear-Com’s dedication to innovation and the provision of ever more powerful, customisable solutions.

This versatility and scalability is crucial, given the pace of technological advancement and innovation, growing audience expectations, and the evolving needs of artists and incoming events. In fact, one of Harpa’s missions is to ensure it can cater for any production’s requirements, however complex.

‘We still use the same matrix frame,’ Guðmundsson observes. ‘We’ve added new cards and some licenses, but we still rely on an investment made ten years ago, and it’s lasted all this time.’

More: www.clearcom.com