I’m here with Bob Quinones, New York area district manager for Yamaha Commercial Audio, who’s graciously agreed to share some words of wisdom about some of the new offerings from Yamaha for the theatre sound market. Take it away, Bob:

This is our third year participating in this event & we love seeing all of the up & coming folks that are emerging in the theater world. It’s very satisfying having the opportunity to sponsor some of the students.

We’re showing our PM5D console which has a capability of up to 56 in by 24 out, has a powerful array of internal processing including the equivalent of 8 SPX2000 effects processors and 12 graphic EQ’s. It has been a real big success for us as we have managed to place 1500 boards in two years.

We’re also showing our new M7CL board which comes in either 32 in or 48 in by 16 out. It feature a very intuitive layerless approach called Central Logic. This product is out only four months and it already has topped an amazing1200 units worldwide.

Thanks Bob. You can learn more about Yahama’s gear at

Yamaha Commercial Audio.

It’s early on Saturday morning, May 20, and we’re here at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where the 4th Annual Broadway Sound Master Classes has just gotten underway. I had the pleasure of introducing our faculty chair and godfather of all things sound related, Mr. Abe Jacob. He’s doing his always engaging introduction to the art of theatre sound design, and then he’s turning the mic over to Rick Thomas, professor of sound design at Purdue University, who’s speaking on the topic of “What’s Being Taught About Sound Design in the University.” Many of the corporate sponsors are already here, setting up for the manufacturers’ showcase this afternoon, including Richarg Bugg of LCS, Todd Meier and Steve Bush of Meyer Sound Labs, Howard Kaufman from Lectrosonics, Bill Cornell from d&b audiotechnik, Robin Whitaker from Outboard, and Bob Quinones from Yamaha.

I’m probably jinxing myself, but this has been the smoothest run BSMC yet. Credit for that must go in large part to Kathy and Michael Eddy, who are serving as production managers for the Live Design Master Classes this year. I also need to praise the staff here at NYU, particularly Chris Jaehning and his gang, for all their help.

I’m going to try and grab some of the manufacturers once they”ve gotten set up and eaten their bagels and plop them in front of this computer to provide you all with pearls of wisdom from the world of theatre sound. As the day progresss, you’ll also be hearing from students and faculty as well.

Back soon….

Hello follks, here’s our first post for the 2006 Broadway Sound Master Classes, which kick off in a few hours with a performance of The Drowsy Chaperone at the Marquis Theatre. It’s been a stormy kind of day here in New York City, and we’ve heard from at least one attendee, Marc Schwartz, who’s plane had been diverted to Philadelphia due to thunderstorms in the area. The sun’s out now, so hopefully Marc and anyone else flying in today for the show will make it to the theatre in time.

Looks like we picked a winner for a show. The Drowsy Chaperone garnered 13 Tony nominations this week, the most of any other show, and is a front runner to win best musical Tony, though Jersey Boys also has its supporters. Of course, none of those nominations is for best sound design, since after all these years the Tony nominating committee still can’t get it’s head around the fact that this is a legitimate design discipline, but I digress….

I’m pleased to report that we have a record number of attendees who’ve signed up for the BSMC this year–over 65 in all. Credit faculty chair Abe Jacob for putting together a truly stellar lineup for this year’s event. We’ll be hearing from Abe, members of his faculty, sponsors, and even attendees on this blog over the next three days, in an effort to provide you with an in-depth and behind-the-scenes look at this annual event.

We’ll be back on Saturday with a full review of the show and a chat with Abe…..