"Our 325 seat concert hall is a dream come true. It is acoustically and visually splendid. Performers and audience alike remark about it in superlatives."

C.M. Stretansky
Professor of Music
Cyril M. Stretansky Distinguished Chair in Choral Music
Director of Choral Activities

"We just finished our play and---Great!, things went well. . . It was far and away the best received and best heard musical we have ever performed. We're thrilled with the changes that have been made."

Dr. John Spangler
District Superintendent
Conewago School District
jspangler@conewago.k12.pa.us

"When we were looking for solutions to our acoustic problems in our new family life center, we discovered companies that provided material to treat the issue, but none of them would guarantee the result. We turned to Orpheus Acoustics and felt confident that the approach of Chris Brooks would result in a positive outcome. We were not disappointed with his recommendations."

Russ Long
Senior Pastor
Bel Air Church of the Nazarene

"Chris,
Thanks and it is a very impressive report. Definitely shows what we heard and where we heard it...Thanks again for your service and professionalism."

John W. Yarnall
Shaffer & Son, Inc.
johny@shafferandson.com

"During the construction of our new office facility at 1270 Grofftown Road, I reached a point where it was clear that our conference room was 'acoustically challenged'. Knowing that I needed an expert to come up with a solution, I hired Chris Brooks of Orpheus Acoustics. I could not be happier with Chris' performance. He was sensitive to the design and budget, and the implementation of his creative ideas provided results. I wholeheartedly recommend Chris Brooks, and his 'sound advice!'"

Peter Egan, President
CH&E Construction, Lancaster, PA

"It also occurs to me Chris, that I never sent you that quote about the air conditioning/acoustic design you did for us (First Presbyterian Church) in Esbenshade Hall.

You will be glad to know that it is completely silent i.e. when you are in there and the system is running, there is no detectable sound in normal room usage. Thanks!"

Simon Andrews
Director of Music Ministry
First Presbyterian Church
Lancaster, PA
simon@fpclanc.org

"The acoustics are far superior in our church after Chris' help. His work dramatically improved our space, and working with Chris was very satisfying. We would highly recommend him to anyone searching to improve the acoustics in their church."

Tom Gibson
Business Administrator
Asbury United Methodist Church
Allentown, PA
tgibson@asburylv.org

"We want to thank you for consulting with Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates on the Northern High School Auditorium. The quality of sound in the space is extra-ordinary. The school dedication program was held in the Auditorium and featured the full school band, a choral group, and a vocalist accompanied by a pianist. Every performance was exceptionally clear and crisp - from the grand finale of the full band to the last piano note in the vocalist performance. Your advice on material selection, ceiling profile, and mechanical systems integration was right on target and resulted in an acoustically vibrant and exciting space. Thanks again for your help."

Richard C. LeBlanc, AIA
Director of Design
Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates
401 East Winding Hill Road
Mechanicsburg, Pa. 17055
RLeBlanc@cra-architects.com
717-458-0272

"Big improvement! Before the fellowship hall was like a canyon, now you can have a normal conversation with no problems. It has been great! Just what we needed. And the cost was better than expected."

Pastor Embley
Zion Lutheran Church

"Hello Chris, your report was directly on target and completely consistent with our needs. Thank you again for getting this to me on an expedited basis. It will be very helpful both in our negotiations and our decision making process."

Roger Meilton
Executive Director, Pennsylvania Bar Institute

"We are extremely pleased with the design and results of the auditorium in our new high school. I would go to musicals in our old 450-seat auditorium and miss half of what the kids were saying. This year when we "christened" or new 1200-seat auditorium in time for the spring musical, I was amazed that I could hear every word that was going on from anywhere in the house from students who were not "miced" for speaking parts. That quality has only been punctuated by the sounds we receive from our singers and musicians when they perform. Our choir has never sounded better - particularly our a cappella group, the Bear Singers. It is a delight to listen to them in such a wonderful venue."

Bill Gallagher
Assistant Principal, Northern H.S., Dillsburg, PA

"You did what I though was impossible. That room had always been an impossible room to produce a distinct, discernible sound. The band instructor and I both dreaded performances because of the acoustics. We are so pleased (as is everyone else) with the clarity of the room. The greatest benefit of having you as our consultant was your expertise and commitment to doing the job correctly; integrity to producing the best sound possible. Thank you for all you have done."

Diane Barnes
Principal, Williamson H.S., Tioga, PA

"Dear Mr. Brooks:

I want to congratulate you on the fine work you did on the WAHS auditorium. I have been a music teacher in the school district and have had to suffer with the previous nightmare for 25 years. At times we would have over 500 singers on stage singing as loudly as good taste would allow and practically nothing was projected into the hall.

This past week I had the pleasure of hearing the first concert in the new facility and was overwhelmed with the improvements you had made! It has exceeded our greatest hopes and you need to know how very much the community appreciates your work. The choir was unamplified and the hall complemented their fine performance.

You are nothing short of a miracle worker, in my opinion.

Thank you for an extremely difficult job well and rescuing our auditorium from a long period of disuse and embarrassment. It will be a pleasure to present programs in the new facility!"

Douglas S. Gordon
WASD Music Teacher, Lycoming Valley PA Middle School

"As work was completed on our total auditorium renovation in early October, we started to meet with large groups of students. In the pre-renovated auditorium we almost always had to use a microphone and the house amplification system. We immediately noticed that no amplification was needed in the renovated facility. I could easily address 400 students in a regular speaking voice and even those in the back of the room could easily hear me.

In late October our facility was used for a benefit concert by an outside group. After the concert the performers said that this was one of the best facilities, acoustically, in which they had performed.

In December we held our holiday concerts. These were three programs that "packed" the house. Probably 50 to 100 adults (parents and visitors) remarked to me how impressive the auditorium was and how clearly every voice and instrument could be heard.

The first weekend in March we performed our Spring Musical production, which was a selection of songs from Annie, Grease, and Oliver. It was amazing the number of attendees who again remarked on the acoustic quality of the facility and how clearly every performer could be heard.

As we continue to "learn" how to use this facility we continue to be impressed with the acoustics. As word is spreading about this facility we are getting more requests from community groups to use it for their performances.

In my opinion, the renovation exceeded our expectations!"

John Breece
Principal, Lenape Middle School, Doylestown, PA

"There were doubts that this space could be made to work acoustically for drama, but you did it! One can understand every word when the actors speak and the singing voice blooms wonderfully. A great success, Chris!"

Jeanne Clemson, Artistic Director,
Actors Company of Pennsylvania, Lancaster, PA

"Chris, It was great seeing you last week and watching your clear joy in seeing that your efforts were successful.

Thanks to your design, the Williamsport Area High School auditorium has been transformed from an acoustical black hole to an exceptional performance space. While the audience will finally be able to enjoy the true efforts of our ensembles, it is the performers themselves that will reap the greatest benefit. Performers can now hear all members of the ensemble while on the stage and conductors do not have to shout to insure that everyone hears directions.

We are ecstatic about the space!

Thank you for your effort in our behalf!"

Rick Coulter
Williamsport Area School District, Music and Gifted Education

"Our new auditorium is simply breath taking. Pictures would not do it justice and my words are only a mere glimpse. It is something one has to see and hear in person to get the true experience. The soft voice of a young soprano can be heard in the back row. The loudest tenor can sing at full volume without hearing nasty echoes. Our small concert band sounds full and warm, whereas our jazz band rocks the house. The audience has an unobstructed view of the action on stage from every seat in the house.

This auditorium has become "The Place To Be" for any big event in the area. In the past year and a half of operation, we have hosted everything from a small kiddy musical to a large high school play. We have even hosted a public tax forum for the county commissioners. The whole community packs the house at nearly every event. The new auditorium has become a real boost for community togetherness. We never had anything like this before and I am grateful the community spared no expense in its design. We are now able to reap its benefits."

Jason Conrad
Physics Teacher and Auditorium Event Technician,
Jim Thorpe Senior High School

"Everything went well. We have no sound transmitted into the building. People were surprised they saw the train going by and didn't hear it."

Michael Borda
Hersha Construction, New Cumberland, PA

"Christopher,

We are very happy with the choir room, visually and acoustically. At first I was unsure, since the sound was markedly different from my old choir room whose acoustics I really liked. But I have grown quickly to appreciate what this new room does for us in allowing us to hear ourselves clearly and distinctly. I have come to love it, as has the choir.

The bishop came to view our new building and he was duly impressed with the choir room. He sang (so to speak) an "ah" to test its reverb, I guess, expecting an ethereal sound to come back to him. He waited in vain for an echo, and finally I looked at him and said , "Bishop, there is a limit to what this room can do." We had a good laugh.

A professional recording engineer, who does recordings for the symphony, saw the room and said it was the first one he had seen that was done properly. He didn't go into details, but I took it as a complement. As you know, my technical knowledge of acoustics is pretty minimal, so I am unable to appreciate it on a technical level. But everyone is happy with it, and I am so glad we brought you in as a consultant."

Capers Cross
St. Philips Episcopal Church, Charleston, SC

"Dear Mr. Brooks

I want to thank you for the work that you performed for Holy Spirit Lutheran Church. Everyone agrees that the acoustics are marvelous in the new sanctuary.

The use of the acoustical "clouds" is highly effective, so that sound does not get "lost" in an otherwise cavernous space. The "clouds" are also attractive to see. We are happy to recommend your work to others.

Many thanks."

Pastor Jonathan L. Jenkins
Holy Spirit Church, Lancaster, PA

"Lake/Flato Architects Inc. has recently completed the construction of a new synagogue for the Congregation Agudas Achim in Austin, Texas, for which Chris Brooks of Orpheus Acoustics served as the Acoustical Consultant.

We found Chris to be intuitive, conscientious, and thoroughly professional. In the Sanctuary, we presented Orpheus with an architecturally complex space that challenged him to utilize both his creative ability and broad range of expertise to help us realize an architecturally and acoustically successful building."

Kim Monroe
Lake/Flato Architects, San Antonio, TX

"The kids constantly beg to be able to play in the rehearsal room, because they love the beautiful sound they get in there."

Student, Pennsylvania Academy of Music, Lancaster, PA

"It worked out well. They can go in there and close the doors and hear nothing at all."

Wayne Hastons
Association of Baptists for World Evangelism, Inc., New Cumberland, PA

"You are clearly an enthusiastic, knowledgeable, professional who will work with the client until the desired result is achieved, (even under constraints of budget cut-backs) and has a commitment to the finest possible acoustics...

"The greatest benefit of having you as our consultant was knowing we were talking to both an acoustics expert and a musician."

Kathy Judd
Artistic and Executive Director, Washington Conservatory of Music
(and former Artistic Director Music from/at Gretna)
kjudd@washingtonconservatory.org

You've really given us back that space, previously almost unusable, and now used for a whole variety of purposes."

Reverend McCallips
Middlesex United Methodist Church, Middlesex, PA

"Thank you for an informative and enjoyable talk yesterday. I believe we all learned something new. ...We now have another way to look at space."

James Kendall
MasterPlanDesign, Lancaster, PA

"Your sound-isolation recommendations were helpful. We have no problem at all with sound transmission between the commons and the adjacent conference room."

Doug Proctor, Architect
Anderson Brown Higley Associates, Wilmington, DE

"We appreciate your enthusiasm and knowledge in the field."

Mike Lehr, Jack Althouse Architects
mike@althousearchitects.com

"Hi, Chris the studio that you made suggestions as to how to sound proof it from the surrounding apartments has proved successful. During our Grand Opening we had a 12 piece band in there complete with horn, base, etc. and no one in the building complained. The party lasted until past 12 midnight. We are quite pleased with the sound quality in the space."

Camille Enice, Artistic Director
Danzante
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
danzante@palonline.com

"You had visited the Hanover Church of the Brethren in August, 1996 in order to observe the acoustical problems in the fellowship hall. We finally were able to install the acoustical panels two months ago.

The final appearance seems to satisfy everyone and the sound quality is so much better."

Alan Bridenbaugh
Hanover, PA

"Dear Mr. Brooks;

I am writing this letter to thank you for helping us with the sound problem we were having with our neighbors.

When we called you, neighbors were complaining about music coming out of our club. The problem was especially bad at night when traffic died down. We had tried several approaches to solving this problem, but none had been particularly successful. It was getting to the point where we were in danger of being shut down.

"You came and helped us with several approaches to the problem, which we then implemented. Since then, we have had no complaints for the last three months Thank you for your help."

Sippy Patel, Owner
Volcano Club, Allentown, PA

"We appreciate your thorough and quick response, humor and expertise."

Dan Harrigan, Spillman Farmer Shoemaker Pell Whildin-PC
dharrington@spillmanfarmer.com

"We noticed a significant improvement when we undertook your suggestions. The reduction in noise level was really wonderful, and it has made the room a much more useful and productive space. We are very grateful for your help. Your advice was cogent and practical."

Leland Kimball
General Director, OperaDelaware
opinfo@dca.net

"I really appreciate your courteous + professional + quick response."

Hugh McGettigan,
Warfel Construction Company, Lancaster, PA

Dear Chris,

We at St. Thomas Church want to express to you our sincere appreciation for evaluating our sound reverberation problem in Founder's Hall. The solutions that you proposed have been implemented and they have eliminated the annoying echoing sounds that made listening in that room almost impossible. Thank you for helping to make our Founder's Hall a better place to worship.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey Lefever
Building and Grounds
St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Lancaster, PA

"You are friendly, efficient,knowledgeable, interactive, on time, and easy to work with."

Dr. Rozmaryn,
Kemp Mill Synagogue, Silver Spring, MD
leoddoc@erols.com

"You have a very good personable meeting style and a grasp on the need to work with budget and aesthetics."

David Kulina,
Engel Architects, Lancaster, PA

"The best thing about your work for us is your quick response and flexibility.

We need to get you involved more at the beginning of projects"

Samantha Falcone,
Jack Althouse Architects,
sam@althousearchitects.com

"The auditorium turned out great!

You seem to have a desire/love for music which I feel is an asset to your work."

Jim Kuhl,
Kamand Construction, Inc.,
Mechanicsburg, PA

"Your personal attentiveness is greatly appreciated. The pride you have in your craft and enthusiasm for the work rubs off on those you work with, including me. You offer a nice blend of scientific expertise combined with field knowledge in practicality."

Hunter Johnson, TONO Architects, LLC,
tonoarchitects@excite.com

"Report was complete and written in practical terms with practical recommendations. Very pleased, Chris -- Thanks."

Dr. Jeffrey Miller, Lower Dauphon School Distric
jhazen@ldsd.k12.pa.us

"Nice job, Chris. Very complete work & we appreciate your working on alternative solutions."

Douglas Seiler, AIA
dseiler@scwarc.com

"The best thing about your work is your quick turn around on (cost effective) designs, and your willingness to design for the client's needs, within the client's budget."

Jennifer Lecher
Gilbert Architects

"You were very prompt. Everything was perfect for our needs."

Patrick Tell
Buckwalter Tell Real Estate

"You are very prompt, open to creative brainstorming."

Scott Haugh
Schmitt Sampson Walker, Architects

This one just arrived in my e-mail one day.

Dear Sir:

I recently performed in the Williamsport Area High School Auditorium as a trumpeter with the Ithaca College Wind Ensemble. ... my fiancée is a marching band instructor there, and had indicated that the performance space was remarkable. ...

We musicians tend to be a discerning lot, and brass musicians especially seemed concerned with a hall's ability to resonate appropriately, direct sound, and ensconce the audience in a soundscape that is of the highest quality, balance, and sonority. The administrators had indicated that the prior auditorium was less than the best...

But I can say, after performing everything from Holst to Corigliano in that hall, that the Williamsport auditorium displays some of the best acoustics I have observed in a high school anywhere in the country...

Best regards,

Keith David Reevesn, Music Teacher
kdr@tri-luminary.com

"Dear Christopher,

"Thank you very much for your report which I received today. Your observations are extremely clear and will help us with scenic design, and negotiations with the theatre management.

We are extremely grateful for your assistance, and look forward to working with you again."

Carol Charnow, Executive Director
bosacademy@aol.com

"My experience with you, Chris, has been nothing but "professional" to the highest order. You obviously know the technical aspects of your craft in great detail, but more importantly, you seem very aware of issues that are faced by churches and organizations when trying to produce quality sound for large audiences.

You obviously love the study and application of acoustics. Every time I speak with you, I learn something. You have made every effort to provide useful information, to stay in touch, and to follow-up with your communications. The customer service is wonderful!"

John Overman, Camp Hill UMC
joverman@camphillumc.org