Lesher Center for the Arts Debuts Custom Acoustic Orchestra Shell in Walnut Creek Hofmann Theatre

The Lesher Center for the Arts and the City of Walnut Creek Arts and Recreation Department unveiled a custom-engineered full-stage acoustic orchestra shell on Friday morning inside the 785-seat Hofmann Theatre at 1601 Civic Drive in downtown Walnut Creek. Designed by theatrical acousticians in collaboration with resident company conductors from the California Symphony and Diablo Ballet, the $790,000 modular enclosure replaces a thirty-year-old fiberglass baffle set that had reached the end of its mechanical service life. Eight twenty-four-foot-tall rolling towers clad in honey-toned Pacific Northwest maple veneer now interlock with four counterbalanced overhead acoustic ceiling clouds to form a resonant concert hall chamber on the mainstage.

During acoustic tuning trials conducted on Friday with a brass and string ensemble, sound-pressure measurements confirmed that the curved composite wood panels increase onstage cross-stage ensemble hearing by 4.5 decibels while projecting warm mid-frequency and bass harmonics evenly to the rear balcony rows. Because music stands are illuminated by integrated warm-white LED downlights recessed into the overhead clouds, stagehands no longer need to rig separate theatrical halogen fixtures for orchestral concerts.

Unlike older heavy steel frames that required a six-person crew and four hours to assemble, each new tower rides on pneumatic air-caster pads powered by a quiet compressed-air umbilical, allowing two stage technicians to convert the Hofmann Theatre from a Broadway musical fly-loft configuration to a symphony concert hall in under forty-five minutes. When stored in the backstage scene dock, the nesting towers occupy 40 percent less floor space.

Funding for the $790,000 acoustic shell was provided through a $500,000 leadership gift from the Diablo Regional Arts Association paired with $290,000 from the Lesher Center Capital Replacement Reserve. Patrons can view the November concert calendar and reserve Hofmann Theatre seats online at the Lesher Center Ticket Office Portal or by calling (925) 943-7469.