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Feature : Aboard the Ark

Posted on 10 April 2019
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Indonesia's Ark of Christ (AoC) Christian Fellowship was christened at the turn of the new millennium as a service for Bandung’s worshippers. In the years since, under the leadership of Pastor Daniel Krestianto, ThM, AoC has grown to welcome congregants of all ages and backgrounds, becoming an interdenominational Christian community. As a result of that growth, the organisation now operates several branches across Indonesia and into Australia and the Philippines, and is considered as one of Indonesia’s largest reaching Christian communities.

Depending on the configuration of a particular service or event, the main AoC Bandung sanctuary, Glorious Hall, seats up to 3,500 people. With the city of Bandung known as a thriving hub for art and culture, it comes as no surprise to learn that the AoC sanctuary also plays host to a variety of concerts and other performances.

‘AoC Bandung and its youth movement, the Alive.id community, regularly organise events that consist of full bands with musical equipment, including concerts and other regular services,’ explains Yohan Febrian, audio consultant at AoC Bandung. ‘It also functions as a venue provider for other churches and any organisation to run events.

‘Being a popular venue in Bandung and fully equipped with lighting and multimedia systems, including a camera and LED screen system, AoC needs to own the best in-house sound system possible to accommodate and offer the best audio experience to all who attend or hold events here.’

Glorious Hall hosts all manner of events
Glorious Hall hosts all manner of events

With that in mind, AoC decided to add extra control to its sound system, turning to Stagetec Asia for assistance. While AoC Bandung’s sanctuary was built with acoustics in mind, including soundproofing for SPLs of more than 110dB and acoustic sound panelling, church officials sought better control of the audio within the room. Therefore, the Stagetec Asia team designed and installed a setup formed from Stage Tec’s Aurus large-format mixing console with a Nexus Star audio router. Aurus was chosen for its wide range of features and functions for varying applications that allow it to perform a diverse list of mixing tasks in large and changing audio networks; just what AoC Bandung needed.

‘The Stage Tec Aurus is a unique console; it is very distinct,’ says Yohan. ‘We weren’t able to find another mixing console here in Indonesia with as much functionality as this one. The console is ready for use “out of the box”, despite its complicated level of functionality and perhaps intimidating look. It is actually a very user-friendly console and the settings are easy to use, even for new operators and volunteers, as well as more seasoned users.’

It was the ease-of-use and configuration, in addition to its advanced level of functionality, that added to the appeal of Aurus for AoC Bandung. The console can be calibrated for use by either new or seasoned operators. The AoC committee took the intimidation factor into account, as too many knobs and faders can put potential new operators off. However, Yohan explored the console in more depth to ensure that it was indeed user friendly.

Stage Tec designed Aurus primarily for use in large performance venues, at concerts or in the theatre. This hasn’t gone unnoticed during services in the Glorious Hall, during which the audio experience has improved drastically. When large crowds fill the sanctuary, each visitor is now able to hear music and speech in fine detail with added clarity.

‘The building’s existing setup with acoustic sound panels, dual layered walls and sound proofing already provided Glorious Hall with good sound reinforcement,’ notes Yohan. ‘However, the level of the sound would decrease along the sanctuary and casually drop. With Aurus and Nexus Star’s high dynamic range audio quality, we can hear that it gives us a solid sound and is very clear, delivering every detail throughout the hall.’

As well as being simple to use and configure, the Stage Tec solutions were seemingly just as easy to install. ‘The console and router were installed within four hours of arriving in Bandung,’ reveals Stagetec Asia’s managing director, Advon Tan. ‘There weren’t any difficulties or any technical issues during the set up, and the machines are working very well.’

Proof that the new Stage Tec systems were indeed working well came during their first major test: AoC Bandung’s Supernatural Blessing Christmas Celebration event. And to ensure the console and router continue to do so, Stagetec Asia will provide after-sales service to AoC Bandung.

‘We will focus on maintaining the console and its parts, and will assist AoC Bandung with any issues,’ confirms Tan. ‘We believe Aurus and Nexus Star are definitely bringing a better quality of sound to the venue, which serves as a great reference. We hope that more churches and venues in the region take note and look into the potential benefits of upgrading their sound systems for their attendants.’