An Ear For Excellence
Acoustician Russell Johnson shapes the listening experience
October 15, 1998
"Our job is to create a blank canvas upon which the musicians can paint," says Russell Johnson, the award-winning acoustician for the Regional Performing Arts Center. Johnson, founder of the acoustical design firm Artec, has focused on the design and acoustics of buildings since 1946. His recent major projects include the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Newark, NJ; Symphony Hall, Birmingham, England; Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas, TX; Raymond H. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, West Palm Beach, FL; and the concert hall for the International Music Festival in Lucerne, Switzerland.
By molding the overall shape of the auditorium, and then adding high tech elements such as reverberance chambers and computerized, vertically-moving canopies that provide a wide range of acoustical adjustability, Artec will help ensure an optimum musical experience for the concertgoers of Philadelphia.
A native of Berwick PA, Johnson studied 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 that had been achieved in the best concert halls built prior to 1900.
In recognition of his contributions to advancing knowledge of architectural acoustics, Johnson recently received the Wallace Clement Sabine Medal, the highest honor awarded 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 35 essays, lectures, and papers describing his approach to the design of concert halls and opera houses in various scientific, architectural, and music journals and periodicals.
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