SoundArts

Creating environments that enhance the performance

Designing engaging experiences for the listener

Listening to the needs of artists & performers

Exceeding expectations of performers, artists, audience and leadership

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Our Story

“One of the best acoustics in the world of a newly-built theater.”

These were the words that Maestro Daniel Barenboim said following the concert of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra at Teatro Mayor in Bogotá that he conducted just after its opening in 2010.

We created SoundArts to provide you with the best acoustical consulting in a studio setting; to help you design spaces that impress the most demanding conductors, performers and audience members. Our goal is that Maestro Barenboim’s quote belongs to your project as well.

You will have our undivided attention in our studio, working directly with one of us from the initiation of the project through successful construction and opening. We will draw on other consultants as needed for feasibility studies, cost estimating, marketing studies and theater consulting, while overseeing every important detail.

Jaume Soler

Our team combines architects, consultants, musicians and sound engineers which bring complementary perspectives and develop innovative and multifaceted approaches to all the exciting challenges that we face. We are passionate about our work.

At SoundArts we also believe that great projects come from great partnerships.

Our team has been extremely fortunate to partner with amazing clients, consultants and professionals in a wide variety of projects that have enriched us and have helped us better understand the complexities and nuances of acoustics and venue design. We continue to work with others that share our passion and gain experience that can enrich our projects.

We always begin with a dialog to better understand your goals and aspirations, cost concerns, and project timeline. We will ask questions and discuss key issues that you will encounter along the way and better prepare you for the decisions you have to make based on our wide variety of project experience.

Give us a call and tell us about what you’d like to accomplish. Let’s see how we can make it happen! — Cristian and Jaume

Jaume Soler

Jaume Soler is an acoustician and venue designer with more than twenty-five years of experience planning, designing and renovating performing arts facilities around the world. He has consulted on a wide range of venues, from concert and recital halls, opera houses and theaters to pop entertainment venues, arena and stadia.

Jaume’s in depth understanding of acoustics and his ability to form effective collaborative partnerships are key to all his successful designs. He particularly enjoys working with orchestras tuning their venues, using his natural instinct to identify and solve acoustic challenges.

Cristian Escurdia

Cristian Ezcurdia is an acoustics, audio-visual, and multimedia consultant and designer. During the last twenty-five years he has teamed with top international acousticians and theatre consultants designing some of the best performing arts centers, opera houses and concert halls.

His hands-on experience and insightful knowledge of the entertainment market in Latin America and beyond brings another dimension to all his consulting. He is well known for his collaborative work with musicians and artists and is often involved in ephemeral sound installations.

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Navy Yards, Brooklyn NY: The coolest Macbeth set in an industrial space with a gantry crane.

Park Avenue Armory: Vast military drill hall was reconverted into a multi-purpose space for the arts.

Barge Music, Brooklyn: An old barge, docked next to the Brooklyn Bridge, converted into a recital hall.

LSO Music Education Centre, London: Abandoned church rebuilt into a flexible music education venue.

Corner of 56th and Broadway, Manhattan: Vacant retail space adapted as an impromptu venue for rush hour Pop-Up Bach festival.

Adjust the position and angle of side and rear surfaces around the musicians to balance sound projection across the stage and towards the audience.

In challenging spaces, try different locations for artists and audience to find which gives the desired level of intimacy, clarity and reverberance.

Fine-tune shell surfaces, forestage reflector and other adjustable elements to balance impact, clarity, spaciousness and envelopment.

In halls where the acoustic volume is variable, increase it to add depth to the sound or reduce it to make the sound more intimate.

And the most important of all: Listen to the artists to understand what they are, or are not, hearing.

Symphony Hall, Boston: Subtle and sophisticated sound. All the components of great sound are there, without anything standing out or missing. Just perfect.

Savings Bank Music Hall, Troy NY: The best string sound — incredibly velvety and mellow.

Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires: Magical sound that is both intimate and spacious – like being, simultaneously, in a tall church and a small studio.

Concertgebouw, Amsterdam: A grand and magnificent sound that leaves you in awe.

Sala Nezahualcóyotl, Mexico City: The best surround hall sound. Even though Neza Hall is not a shoebox, it does sound like Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw.

Musikverein, Vienna: A smaller hall with a very intimate and articulate sound and, at the same time, an incredibly present and warm reverberance.

Teatro del Bicentenario, León GTO: Similar to Teatro Colón, this is an opera house with magnificent sound; as good as the best concert hall.

Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo, Bogotá: A warm and enveloping sound that makes you feel like you are floating in a pool of music.

Create a cool, fun, freshened-up experience that younger audiences can relate to.

Give a chance to young artists. They will bring their friends and you will find a whole new audience.

Foster audience participation and encourage the use of social media. Younger audiences love it and it will promote your venue to their friends.

At intermission, swap champagne and hors d'oeuvres for beer and pizza. Let audience and artists mingle and jostle for a slice.

Wrap it up at an after party with entertainment and drinks that appeal to younger audiences.

Wondering how a surface will look a few years down the road? Perforated drywall solutions can be repainted without losing their acoustic properties.

Looking for a clean, slick-looking finish? This black, microperforated membrane ceiling is perfect to control noise and improve speech intelligibility.

Jazz up an interior surface with environmentally friendly finishes made from recycled plastic water bottles.

Wood slats and an interesting lighting treatment can work as an inexpensive solution to conceal acoustic treatments and building systems on ceilings and walls.

A screen made out of terracotta breeze blocks is perfect to diffuse sound or to cover sound-absorbing treatments behind an eye-catching surface.

Play with form work or prefabricated concrete panels to create sound-diffusing patterns and textures that provide a warm sound, ideal for concert hall acoustics.

An unexpected pop-up choral performance in the middle of Times Square can surprise and attract tourists, Broadway regulars and classical music lovers alike.

The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival summer tent is a relaxed setting, where the breathtaking views of the Hudson Valley become the perfect backdrop for its plays.

Performances are coming out of the halls to create unexpected and fun experiences in the lobbies, so public areas should be designed with this new possibility in mind.

A cabaret-style performance creates an informal social setting for a classical recital that lets audience share music and drinks with friends.

Non-performance spaces are being used more and more for operas, recitals, and dance. Well-thought-out acoustics are key to allow for this greater flexibility.

Let’s Talk

New York City
Mexico City

Jaume Soler
Cristian Ezcurdia

+1 917-379-4917
+52-1-(55)-1384-1990