Opened as amovie theatre in 1926, the Bergen Performing Arts Center (BergenPAC) underwent four reinventions to reach the 1,367-seat auditorium it became in 2004. Now hosting 200 shows a year from performers typified by Tony Bennett, Diana Ross and Willie Nelson, the facility also offers performance and music classes as The Performing Arts School at BergenPAC.

The New Jersey non-profit theatre had rented PA systems for major shows, but has become self-sufficient with an L-Acoustics Kara sound system designed and installed by audio systems and backline provider Boulevard Pro.

 ‘With Kara, we’re able to more than adequately fill the region’s largest theatre spaces for any kind of music performance,’ explains Anthony Cioffi, who with his brother, James, has owned Boulevard Pro since its opening.

‘We have a long history with BergenPAC and have been a supplying our Kara rental system there for the past couple of years,’ adds James Cioffi. ‘Being intimately familiar with the space and the customer’s needs, when they planned a capital improvement that included a sound system, Boulevard Pro and L-Acoustics Kara were the obvious choice. Having had many experiences with Kara, BergenPAC knew that its form factor and output were a perfect match for the room and that its rider friendliness was equally important.’

The venue’s new system comprises 13 Kara boxes with four SB18 subs per side, flown behind the arrays. L-Acoustics 8XT are installed as front and under-balcony fills, and 16 112P coaxial modules serve as monitors: ‘Our favourite L-Acoustics box,’ James enthuses, noting that they have more of them out on rental than any other model in Boulevard Pro’s 200-plus L-Acoustics enclosure inventory. Four LA8 and three LA4X amplified controllers power all of the theatre’s new PA system components.

The Cioffis’ familiarity with BergenPAC was fortunate because the project had a tight deadline – the new sound system had to be in place in time for the venue’s Spring Gala event featuring Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band. ‘We had the system up and tuned in nine hours,’ James says, happy that they beat the deadline.

‘We built the amp racks off-site and came into the venue with L-Acoustics Consultant Vic Wagner to do the system calibration, and with BergenPAC Technical Director Joe Feola and CEO Dominic Roncace, who made sure that everything was ready on the venue’s end. It went smoothly and now it’s a tight-sounding room,’ he adds.

So tight that Ringo Starr commented positively on the sound quality from the stage, both at soundcheck and during the show. ‘Hey,’ quips James, ‘when one of the Beatles likes the way it sounds, you can’t ask for anything more.’