Crown Hill Theatre in Brooklyn, New York, officially opened its doors with a red-carpet event in early December 2023. The brainchild of entrepreneur and musician, Peter Tulloch, Crown Hill was created with a vision to enrich the cultural experience of its community through every element of the performing arts.
Across its three floors, which include a main event space, studios, co-working spaces and multi-purpose rooms, this remarkable community hub not only hosts public and private events featuring innovative and in-demand acts, but offers education and access to technology, helping to foster the next generation of young professionals in the worlds of entertainment, communications, film and media.
On the education front, as Tulloch told Time Out New York, his wish is to welcome city-affiliated programs for those between 18 and 24 who wish to learn ‘new age trade skills’:“Back in the day, trade skills were all about plumbing, construction and electrical installations, for example. Today we’re talking about film editing, Adobe Suite skills, audio-related endeavors and more.”
Tulloch’s vision for Crown Hill Theatre is creative, bold and committed. A lifetime in the music industry has sharpened his commercial instincts but never compromised his view that the essence of success is to be found where the lines between artist and audience are blurred; where inclusivity, diversity, and deep connection, strengthen communities and improve lives.
As an experienced professional and veteran of the road, Tulloch understood that to present the venue most effectively for a wide variety of live events, it had to embrace the very best in audio technology. As his plans crystallised, he visited the NAMM show in 2019 where he was introduced to Luke Jenks, the Managing Director of CODA Audio USA, and felt a good connection:
“My immediate reaction to the CODA technology was just ‘woah, this sounds interesting!’ and I asked my front-of-house engineer Derek Prescod to take a listen. He went along to a demo and also attended the Electric Daisy Carnival where CODA had a system at work. He was just as excited as me. Back in New York, I was telling anyone who’d listen just how great this stuff was – now they know!”
As the Crown Hill Theatre project was developing during 2022, and the public got an idea of what was coming, demand for the space increased and the scale and profile of the events quickly grew larger.
It was apparent that the venue’s capabilities needed to scale with the variety and size of events. Tulloch reached out to both Eastern Stage Productions of New York (ESP), CODA’s North East US dealer, and CODA Audio USA, for their support in expanding the system for a specific run of pre-launch shows which would fully demonstrate what could be achieved in the space. As the dream of the Crown Hill Theatre Project grew, so did CODA Audio’s involvement.
Jenks picked up the story: “There’s a great deal of excitement surrounding the development of the Crown Hill Theatre and what it can mean for the wider community. Through Peter’s vision and determination, this story has developed organically to the point where the venue has attracted the attention of a wide constituency of influential players, more by virtue of its authenticity than any disproportionate commercial support. In this way, it very much aligns with our own efforts to establish the CODA Audio brand in the USA. We very much see ourselves as part of an audiophile ‘community’, where we work from a base of engagement and encouragement toward the next generation of audio professionals. Crown Hill is an important space, with a unique mission, and deserves the best sound from the most versatile system possible. We are thrilled to be involved.”
The venue was launched last December for what would be a very special run of shows. Jenks continued:“ESP has an extensive inventory of CODA equipment and we worked alongside its skilled team, to design an augmented system able to support the eclectic program. The work carried out at Crown Hill by Bill Danilczyk’s expert team at ESP, who fully understand the quality and versatility of CODA Audio’s next generation technologies, was outstanding, with predictably excellent results that have the community talking.
Tulloch was impressed, revealing: “The guys from ESP did an amazing job and had us ready to go in good time for what turned out to be a hugely successful run. The ‘Fun With Friends’ event featuring DJ Puffy was a major success, with another date booked immediately for December, and Soul in the Horn were equally keen to return within weeks. The owner of a major festival in Florida saw and heard enough to book a show, so when the grand opening came around, we were completely confident in our capacity to deliver a stunning audio package for the artists and audience alike.”
The last night of the run marked the official opening of the Crown Hill Theatre. Tulloch reflected on a memorable occasion: “The whole evening was a blast. After the ribbon-cutting and the speeches, we had a full ska/jazz big band with twelve horns, DJ sets from DJ Spinna, Soul in the Horn and Frei Speech, and a six-piece R&B band. The system was on point throughout for what was a really diverse mix of sounds. The fact that the artists who played in the run up to the opening couldn’t wait to come back, says a lot about what they think of the venue and the audio excellence we can offer. CODA Audio was the talk of a number of PA companies and engineers who visited during the last few weeks – the ESP staff seemed to be in constant conversation about the system! There’s no doubt in my mind that its quality and capability has been a significant factor in attracting a large number of amazing bookings for 2024.”
Concluding, Jenks said: “It’s already abundantly clear that the role Crown Hill Theatre can play in the local and wider community is significant. I am excited to announce that the system expansion has become permanent and that our relationship with the Theatre and its surrounding community is only beginning. CODA Audio USA is proud to have played even a small part in helping to realise the dream of a creating a hub that entertains, educates and delivers opportunities in every area of the performing arts. The system will effortlessly handle the wide-ranging program of events to be staged.”
The permanent installation at Crown Hill Theatre is centred on CODA Audio’s ViRAY compact line array (12), with SCP sensor controlled subs (6) and SC2 bass extensions (2). The system is supplemented with HOPS12i high output point source (2) and HOPS8 (4), and is driven by LINUS14 (3) and LINUS12C (3) DSP amplifiers. CUE TWO (4) and CUE FOUR (4) compact three-way stage monitors complete the installation.
