Two case studies in approach to the renovation of volumetrically challenged music rehearsal spaces

Abstract

A music rehearsal room renovation can be acoustically challenging in that there is often limited room volume, lack of loudness control, and budget constraints. Two case studies detail these challenges. (1) The University of North Texas’ choral rehearsal room was due for renovation and with a volume of only 44,000 cubic feet, the room had to accommodate choral ensembles varying from 20–85 people for daily use, over 100 voices for an annual festival, and an added recital use. At an appropriate budget, the renovation used room shaping to simultaneously break up parallel surfaces and support voices while also adding adjustable acoustics to allow for tuning of the room for each rehearsal or performance. (2) The University of Texas at San Antonio’s large band, orchestra, and jazz rehearsal room lacked loudness control even with an approximate volume of 73,500 cubic feet to serve 30 – 70 + musicians. At a much more limited budget, the solution was to flip the orientation of the musician layout in the room to take advantage of the existing room geometry and to introduce variable absorption stored exposed to the room which increased the overall absorption while also giving the ensembles an opportunity to tune the room.