Award-winning acoustician Russell Johnson has a simple philosophy for his design of the Regional Performing Arts Center. "Our job is to create a blank canvas upon which the musicians [artists] can paint," said Mr. Johnson, founder of the acoustic design and theatrical consulting firm Artec Consultants.

Mr. Johnson has focused on the acoustics and theater planning of buildings for the performing arts since 1946. His major projects include the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Newark, NJ; Symphony Hall, Birmingham, England; Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas, TX; Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, West Palm Beach, FL; and the acclaimed Culture & Congress Hall in Lucerne, Switzerland, home of the International Music Festival.

By molding the overall shape of the auditorium, and then adding innovative elements such as reverberance chambers and vertically-moving canopies that provide a wide range of acoustical adjustability, Mr. Johnson and Artec will help ensure an optimum artistic experience for the audiences of The Regional Performing Arts Center.

A native of Berwick, PA, Mr. Johnson studied theater planning and architecture at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and Yale University. He is credited with revolutionizing the field of concert hall design by recreating the acoustics excellence achieved in the best concert halls built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, in cities such as Vienna, Amsterdam and Boston.

In recognition of his contributions to the advancement of opera house and concert hall design, Mr. Johnson recently received the Wallace Clement Sabine Medal, the highest honor in the art and science of architectural acoustics given by the Acoustical Society of America.

A fellow of the Acoustical Society of America and of the United States Institute of Theater Technology, Johnson has published more than 115 essays, lectures, and papers describing his approach to the design of concert halls and opera houses in various scientific, architectural, and music journals.

Artec Cousultants Inc. is a New York based company providing interdisciplinary consulting services for buildings housing the performing arts. These services are categorized into four primary areas: (1) Feasibility and Economic Studies, Programming and Planning Consulting Services; (2) Theatre Consulting Services; (3) Acoustics Consulting Services; and (4) Sound and Communication Systems Design. Artec also provides basic design services for theatres, opera houses, concert halls, recital halls and related facilities. Founded in 1970, Artec has built a distinguished international reputation for excellence in the planning and design of performing arts buildings.

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