"It's amazing how the temperature on the stage has been lowered, especially in the choir loft, which sits in the back of the stage," said Brad Lyons, systems advisor for dB Audio & Video, which installed the LED system. "Recently when I was at the church, I had one choir member come up to me and ask if we installed a new air conditioning system! That's how dramatically different it feels on the stage, not only for the choir members, but for the pastor as well."
The reaction of the choir member is easy to understand. Prior to the installation of the new lighting system, the choir loft was illuminated by 16 incandescent par fixtures. Today it is lit by only five cool and quiet Ovation E-190WW LED ellipsoidal fixtures with 36° lenses from a 25' throw distance.
At the same time, the 24 incandescent par fixtures that had been used to light the stage have replaced by 14 of the Ovation ellipsoidals with 26° lenses from a 35' throw distance. "Anytime you replace that many incandescent fixtures with a smaller number of LED units, you're going to enjoy cooler temperatures," said Lyons. "Everyone involved in conducting worship services or singing in the choir is extremely happy."
Ambient temperature was not top of mind for Senior Pastor Timothy McBride and director of facilities Mike Johnson when they decided it was time for a new lighting system. "This is a very dynamic and rapidly growing church, which had outgrown its lighting system," said Lyons. "The church was beginning to videotape its services, and the old lighting wasn't adequate for that; nor was it colourful enough to engage worshippers and keep pace with the high emotional energy level of the services."
Working with Pastor McBride and Johnson, Lyons helped Tabernacle of Praise create a lighting system that reflected the church's vitality. "We created a very impactful concert/production level lighting system at the church that really engages worshippers, provides great light for broadcast and makes it easy to accent different moods during services, all while generating less heat," he said. "Unlike with the church's old system, the new one is able to direct light at different areas to create different effects."
To illustrate his point, Lyons notes that he has one Ovation E-190WW directed at the baptistery to focus attention on that area during baptisms. Other Ovation fixtures will focus on the pastor during sermons or the choir during songs. The church also uses Chauvet Professional Rogue R2 Spots and Q-Wash 560Z LED moving washes to focus on different band instruments at key points during a service.
The new lighting system at Tabernacle of Praise is run on two DMX universes: one for the stage lights, and the other for "everything that is in the air". Currently, the lightshows at the church are run on presets by volunteers at the console. "The volunteers love working on the system," said Lyons.
Johnson, the director of facilities, shares this view. "What dB Audio & Video designed and installed for us, it's a game changer," he said. "The new lighting system has had a major impact on how we worship here. We are truly blessed."
(Jim Evans)
