When the Octave 9: Raisbeck Music Center opens in Benaroya Hall in February, it will be a $6.7M one-of-a-kind venue that meshes technology and design to create an immersive environment for musical performances and other community events, classes and meetings.
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The newly renovated space, which was formerly known as Soundbridge, will feature a honeycomb ceiling created by LMN Architects that will hide microphones, speakers, motion-capture cameras, projectors and LED lights.
The home of the Seattle Symphony, the 2,500 SF venue will allow sound to surround the audience regardless of the audience’s size. Performers will have the ability to adjust the acoustics for the venue size, which can be altered from a 50-seat lounge area to a spacious concert hall.
"In this time of virtual reality and questions of whether we need physical environments or digital experiences, Octave 9 is both,” LMN Architects partner Mark Reddington said in a statement. “It is not just a new performance venue for the Symphony, it is also an exploration into the future of musical performance and education. With Octave 9, the Seattle Symphony has made a commitment to collaborating with emerging artists who are expanding the definition of musical performance while also making these new technologies accessible to the greater community.”
Construction on the project began in June, which coincides with Benaroya Hall’s 20th anniversary. The space is set to be complete in February.
A series of custom presets will allow for a variety of ensembles, and additional presets can be customized by musicians, which allows for a wide range of acoustic settings.
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The technology will provide artists with the ability to make sounds come from anywhere in the space, creating a 360-degree experience.
The Octave 9: Raisbeck Music Center is named in honor of Seattle philanthropists James and Sherry Raisbeck, who provided a $2M matching challenge to raise funds for the venue. The name Octave 9 came from the fact that a concert grand piano spans just over seven octaves. A nine-octave range represents the effort to go further.
Benaroya Hall is owned by the city of Seattle and is operated and maintained by the Seattle Symphony under a lease agreement. In addition to the Raisbecks, support for the project comes from the 4Culture/King County Building for Culture Program, Norcliffe Foundation, Apex Foundation, Paula Boggs and Randee Fox, Children Count Foundation, Joshua Green Foundation, The Tagney Jones Family Fund at the Seattle Foundation, LMN Architects and Meyer Sound Laboratories Inc.
In addition to LMN Architects, project partners include Meyer Sound, Jaffe Holden, Schuler Shook, Belle & Wissell Co., JTM Construction, Holaday Parks Inc., Sequoyah Electric LLC, Karass Creative and Magnusson Klemencic Associates.
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