With the competition among venues heating up in Singapore, Hurrairah bin Sohail explores how The Star Performing Arts Centre is upgrading its technology to keep its edge.
The Star Performing Arts Centre is one of the best venues in Singapore. In recent times, it has undertaken significant upgrading works for its technological capabilities.
Daniel Loh from The Star Performing Arts Centre explains how the success of the venue necessitated the upgrade: “Outside of our anchor tenant, New Creation Church, last year we staged close to 100 shows which is a record high for us. And if we take into account the shows for our anchor tenant, we have very few dark days. We have a drive to be self-sufficient when it comes to external shows and The Star Theatre is unique because it is meant to be a venue for all types of events. Our events are split 40% MICE and 60% performances. Technology is required for us to not only be self-sufficient but also to deliver a high-quality experience for our clients.”
A core part of the upgrade work completed deals with the wireless microphone systems present at The Star Performing Arts Centre. Loh gives details: “We installed the first series of the Shure Axient, which was the analogue version, and after using them for almost 12 years, it was time to replace them. The units were getting old and there were issues with interference. The interference we get is primarily from the fact that we have a 100 sq m LED videowall and the venue also has a lot of materials that add to the interference. To be fair, this was not due to any fault with the product. It was just time to upgrade.”
He continues: “We decided to stick with the Shure Axient system but upgrade to the digital version. The older Shure Axient analogue systems were still being accepted but we found that increasingly more riders were asking for Axient digital and that made the decision to upgrade easier. People were asking us why we didn’t have the latest version and we knew it was an easy upgrade for us to meet this demand.”
The Star Performing Arts Centre runs 38 channels for microphones for high-key events. With the new Shure Axient digital wireless microphone system, the venue has 40 channels available and has an additional 28 IEM channels available as well.
For operations Shure Wireless Workbench works in tandem with the latest Axient digital helping improve the operational outcomes. Wireless Workbench offers control, with an enhanced interface, access to advanced RF spectrum, live performance monitoring and more. Loh says: “Shure Workbench allows us to scan and pick clean frequencies. One of the reasons we went with the Axient 12 years ago was because it can change frequencies if it detects any interference. The handhelds in particular can transmit two frequencies, and we use that function for important events. Essentially what this means is that if there is any interference with one frequency, the system automatically switches to the second one and there is no dropout. This ensures that our users and the audience don’t experience any impact.”
The Shure microphone system is already making an impact as Loh says: “Feedback from our anchor tenant, New Creation Church, who uses the space every Sunday, and the riders that we were seeing for events, made us confident in our choice of the Shure Axient digital wireless microphone systems.”
To boot, the switch has not really impacted proceedings. Loh details: “The transition has been smooth because our staff was ready and prepared. This was a good upgrade in terms of monitoring and deployment. We are already very familiar with Axient having used it for over a decade and now we retain that confidence because we have a better, modern product in our hands.”
Electronics & Engineering (E&E) was the integration and technology partner for The Star Performing Arts Centre and helmed the upgrade project for the microphones. Regarding the partnership, Loh says: “On the operational side, we had an idea of what we wanted and we communicated this to E&E. They built the height of the racks according to our direction and we are very pleased with the results. It was a partnership and they didn’t just deliver the boxes. They also built us a custom patch bay to enable how we wanted to operate our technology systems and that was also very helpful.”
To minimise disruption to The Star’s operations, E&E optimised off-site preparation by assembling the system beforehand. The integrator then brought the fully assembled system on-site for commissioning and to address any initial teething issues.
Gary Goh, CEO of E&E, comments: “Our relationship with The Star dates back to the original construction project more than 12 years ago and we are proud to continue serving them on this latest upgrade. This project exemplifies our commitment to delivering the latest technological solutions throughout the customer journey. We look forward to serving The Star Performing Arts Centre for many more years to come.”
The Star Performing Arts Centre has also upgraded its speakers with the addition of the L-Acoustics K2 professional sound system. A total of four K2 speakers have been added per side. This part of the upgrade was handled by Concept Systems Technologies. Loh elaborates: “We used to have five Kara speakers for downfill. And over the years, what we realised was that for the first 15 rows of seating, there was a little bit of inconsistency in the low to mid frequencies. When the K2 speakers came out, we talked to L-Acoustics and we also looked at Soundvision. We listened to the new solutions and we found that upgrading would help us address some of the issues we were having.”
Loh discusses the technology strategy adopted by The Star Performing Arts Centre: “We prefer to upgrade rather than to change our systems completely. We did this with our mixers which are Digico, we went from the SD7 to the Quantum and we were probably one of the first few that changed our engines in this manner. We did this with our L-Acoustics speakers and our Shure microphones. We are looking to change our amplifiers and delay speakers next. We will continue to do this with our sound, video, and lighting systems as much as we can to make sure we remain one of the best venues in Singapore.”
Loh concludes: “Increasingly there are more competitors in Singapore, especially when you look at the options for venues sized at 1,000 seats or thereabouts. We are constantly looking at riders and what events want from venues like us. For us, it is about being in sync with what they want and ensuring that we can provide consistency and quality to our clients. Our partners, especially E&E, are always helping us stay abreast of the latest technology innovations which gives us a better idea on how to plan for the future. Technology is the way that we will retain our edge in this competitive events market.”