A unique and innovative sound solution transforms the worship experience for two congregations at East Parade Church.

In the heart of Bangalore’s bustling central district stands one of the city’s iconic heritage buildings: the East Parade Church. Built in 1865 by Wesleyan Methodist missionaries for British soldiers stationed in Bangalore Cantonment, the Church features a majestic facade with eight Corinthian columns. Continuing its rich legacy, the Church currently serves two large pastorates: the East Parade Malayalam and East Parade Tamil congregations of the Karnataka Central Diocese of the Church of South India (CSI).

Sound is at the heart of crafting a meaningful and connected worship experience; recognizing this, the Church’s joint committee knew it was time to uplift the audio experience for worshippers. Rontek Systems was tasked with transforming the audio experience in this historic sanctuary.

Two congregations. One stage

Jacob Abraham, the founder of Rontek Systems, emphasizes the uniqueness of this project: “Being a heritage building, implementing acoustic treatments such as absorption panels and making other modifications were not feasible due to restrictions and costs. Another distinctive aspect is that the Church serves two congregations, and this is the first time they have undertaken such a major project with a single vendor.”

He explains the layout of the Church: “The interior is shaped like a cross, without any columns or pillars blocking the view of the altar. There is a left wing and a right wing; the choir for the Malayalam service occupies the benches on the left, while the Tamil choir sits on the right side during their worship. The two congregations hold services at different times, each on their respective sides of the Church.”

Jacob describes the setup of the two separate sound systems used by both congregations earlier. “The two congregations had their own microphones, speakers, and mixers that were challenging to manage. When the Malayalam service ended, the microphones would be removed and replaced with a different set for the upcoming Tamil service,” he says, adding that the process was quite chaotic, with multiple speakers on each side and a tangled mess of wires.

Integrated yet independent

Jacob explains the thought process behind designing the bespoke audio solution for the Church: “The challenge given to me was to design an integrated sound system with a shared set of priority microphones and loudspeakers but independent mixing capabilities for each congregation. This would enable both congregations to control specific elements, such as the choir microphones and keyboard organ mixing, and allow for a seamless switch between worship services held by the two congregations. Occasionally, the congregations come together for a combined service, so the sound system needed to cater to this as well.”

Seamless sound

The main front-of-house [FOH] speakers comprise the JBL CBT 1000 and the CBT 1000 E (Extension) column array speakers. “Instead of depending on the main speaker to cover the entire Church, I opted to cover a smaller area and placed the low-frequency LE speakers on top for extended coverage throughout the Church. This deviates from Harman’s original design, but it works well. We took multiple opinions and ran a trial before finalizing this approach,” he explains.

Jacob highlights JBL’s constant beamwidth technology, with two adjustable beams: a bottom beam that can be widened to cover a lower section and a top beam to cover a greater distance, helping precisely aim the sound toward the listening area. “Given the church layout, I realized we needed additional fill speakers, so we used four JBL CBT70J-1 line array column loudspeakers in the main sanctuary area of the Church,” he adds.

The JBL CBT50-LA-1 line array column loudspeakers are used as front-fill speakers placed on the sides, physically aligned, and configured to create the perception that the sound is coming from the front. This was achieved through careful time alignment, and the Haas Effect explains Jacob. “Additionally, four JBL Control 29 two-way surface mountable speakers were used in the wing areas of the church, which had no major acoustic challenges because of the lower roof height,” he explains.

Bridging beats

A shared Shure SCM 410 four-channel automatic mixer is connected to the priority microphones near the altar, including the altar mic, the reading table, and the pulpit mic, shared between the two congregations. “The Shure mixer is a crucial component that automates microphone management, quickly and seamlessly switching between the priority microphones based on speech detection, ensuring there are no delays in the audio,” explains Jacob.

The common Shure mixer is connected to two 24-channel Soundcraft Ui24R mixers, one on each side for the Tamil and the Malayalam congregations. Jacob adds that these two Soundcraft digital mixers remain independent, allowing each congregation to fully control its mixing requirements without interfering with the other. “The congregations hold special programs that often require multiple inputs, instruments, microphones, and choirs, and the respective Soundcraft mixers on either side coordinate the audio for each side depending on the service happening at the time.”

On rare occasions, when the Church has a combined service, Jacob says that both the Soundcraft mixers are connected simultaneously, with one configured as the ‘master’ and the other as the ‘slave.’ “This allows the system to retrieve channels from the second mixer and bring them onto the main system, simultaneously enabling the use of microphones and keyboards from both sides during one single service. This is a unique solution, which I believe hasn’t been done before,” he notes.

Jacob explains that the default configuration is set up for the Malayalam congregation service on the left side, where most of the equipment is located. Both systems connect to a common public address (PA) system and loudspeakers through a shared amplifier and DSP loudspeaker management system. “I used the dbx DriveRack 360 as a loudspeaker management system for loudspeaker time alignment and hall correction using automatic parametric equalization.”

Jacob explains a typical church service: “It usually starts with a procession in which the choir and priests carry the cross. The priest operates a cordless microphone manually, turning it on during the procession and switching it off once he reaches the altar. This cordless microphone is the only device the priest operates; all other microphones are muted and unmuted automatically. After the procession, the main altar microphone is automatically unmuted, controlled by the Shure SCM 410 Mixer, as soon as the priest starts worship at the altar table. When the presenter speaks from the reading table, the other two microphones are muted while the designated microphone activates according to specific settings. This process is fully automated, so the transitions are seamless without any delays.”

Automated transitions

Rontek Systems’ manufacturing acumen enabled them to innovate and create custom solutions tailored to the unique needs of this project. One is the choir microphone automation, explains Jacob. “When the organist plays, the audio signal from the organ triggers the automatic unmuting of six choir microphones. Additionally, a pilot microphone is positioned in the choir’s front row; when the choir sings unaccompanied, the signal received by the pilot microphone mutes the six choir microphones three seconds after the choir stops singing.”

Powering harmony

The foundation of this system is the Rontek AViRON-Pro, a smart power management solution customized to meet the project’s unique requirements. “This custom power management system solution plays a crucial role in the sequential startup and shutdown of the equipment, starting with the Digital Signal Processing (DSP) and then the mixer, followed by the amplifiers. It seamlessly integrates with the other custom-built components, such as the microphone muting and changeover boxes, to provide a comprehensive and automated solution for the Church’s sound system,” highlights Jacob.

Jacob explains how a key fob can turn on and shut down the power management system remotely from within a 10-foot distance. “When the remote key is pressed to start the system, it automatically powers the connected devices in a specific sequence. First, the DSP is powered on, followed by the mixer, and finally, the power amplifiers. This sequential power-up ensures that the critical components are ready before the rest of the system is activated. The shutdown process occurs in reverse order.”

The changeover between the Malayalam and Tamil services is also automated, with the swap boxes reconfiguring the connections using a 12-volt trigger signal. “When the Tamil service is about to start, a 12-volt trigger voltage is sent from the power management system on the Tamil side when that system is turned on using a different remote key. When the main system is shut down and on standby, the 12-volt trigger starts and configures the system per the Tamil congregation settings.” This changeover process is instant since the DSP and critical components stay powered on, allowing the swap boxes to manage around eight connections, including the automatic mixer and subgroup Aux outputs. “We also designed a custom direct injection (DI) box and stage box solutions for the project,” highlights Jacob.

Rising to the challenge

Guided by his experience working on previous sound installations at the Church since 2006, Jacob collaborated closely with the Church’s joint committee to explore viable solutions for the project. Being a heritage site, the team faced limitations on the acoustic treatments they could implement. Additionally, ensuring a smooth and automated transition between the two congregation services without disruptions or the need for manual intervention was a complex challenge. “To address this, we implemented tailored solutions, including an automatic mixer, microphone muting and changeover boxes, and a power management system. These innovations allowed both congregations to share common resources while still meeting their individual needs, all within the constraints of the heritage building.”

Jacob points out that user dependency is a major challenge in church sound systems, as untrained users often operate the mixer. To address this, the system was designed to reduce reliance on users and minimize errors through automated features like automatic microphone gating and power sequencing. “Each congregation’s settings are configured in conjunction with the automatic swapping units, and the selected configurations are indicated by two different colored LEDs on the system,” he adds.

Enriching worship

Dr. Immanuel Selvaraj, a member of the Church joint committee and part of the East Parade Tamil congregation, expresses his satisfaction with the results. “The high roof and structure impact the acoustics, and after many iterations, we finally developed a functional and efficient audio system that met the needs of our two congregations. We also needed a system that catered to various age groups, including senior citizens. Rontek Systems ensured that the setup and requirements for each group were distinct, and we are happy with the results. We also have a service contract with the team to ensure ongoing support,” he says.

The enhanced sound system at East Parade Church has not only enriched the worship experience but also continues to honor the rich legacy of unity and shared faith that has thrived in the sacred space of the East Parade Church over generations.