AVANT ACOUSTICS

The semester may be coming to a close but, learning is endless. Last week our senior consultant Andrew VonFeldt, PE gave a presentation with ECC at the Kansas Independent Colleges Association Business Affairs and Operations Conference in Newton, KS. The presentation was titled "Reimagining Facilities: Adapting Spaces for Modern AV Integration.” Special thank you to all who attended the presentation and ECC for asking us to co-present with them.

Our Senior Consultant, Andrew VonFeldt lectured at a KU Architecture class. This course tasks students to design a performing arts building that includes a black box theater and a recital hall. Andrew’s lecture focused on acoustic design requirements for such spaces. The acoustic component of this course provides architecture students with an opportunity to earn part of an acoustics certificate while pursuing their degree. The professor, Brian Gross, 10 architecture students, and Andrew toured the Black Box Theater at the Goppert Performing Arts Center at Avila University and the Swarthout Recital Hall at the The University of Kansas. The most recent renovation of Swarthout Recital Hall was designed by Avant’s founder, Bob Coffeen, while he was still teaching at KU. It's always a pleasure to discuss this space that’s a piece of our founders' legacy. Andrew is looking forward to returning to the class in the spring to offer feedback on the students' designs.

This past week, Avant Acoustics performed final system commissioning and training at Bellevue West High School’s new performing arts building addition in Bellevue, NE.

Avant provided full AV system design services and recommendations for room acoustics in the auditorium, theater, lobby, and supporting spaces. The auditorium was designed to support a wide range of educational and performance needs for the school’s active music and performing arts programs.

Bellevue West’s Choir, Band, and Theater teachers (pictured here with our Senior Principal Bob Ledo) were happy to see the system go online and receive hands-on training on their new mixing console and custom control interfaces.

Andrew VonFeldt, PE was project manager for Avant, with support from Bob Ledo and David Wetzel. Avant was glad to have worked with Ralph Gladbach from GP Architecture and systems integrator Bizco Technologies on this project.

DLAA was honored to match employee contributions to a non-profit of their choosing this holiday season. Our staff members donated to the following organizations. If you aren’t familiar with these nonprofits, we hope you’ll take a minute to learn more about their work and consider donating!

2 Blondes All Breed Rescue

Chive Charities

DMK Rehoming

Epilepsy Foundation of Colorado & Wyoming

Fins Attached Marine Research And Conservation

Foothills Animal Shelter

Hog Haven Farm

Humane Society of the South Platte Valley

Imagine Furever Ranch

Lucky 13 Rescue

Melissa's Second Chances

My Fairy Dawg Mother Rescue

PKD Foundation

Prairie View Family Church

Sacred Heart Elementary School

Shep's Place Senior Dog Sanctuary

Stop Soldier Su***de

Whispering Willows Senior Dog Sanctuary, Inc.

We are thrilled to share some photos from our most recent commissioning visit to Blue Valley North High School's Band Room! Avant provided comprehensive acoustical consulting and AV design commissioning.

We partnered with the amazing PGAV Architects for this project.

After a career of over 40 years, most of which was spent at AVANT ACOUSTICS, Ed Charland will be retiring on December 12, 2025.

We are grateful for his many years of service and dedicated leadership. His unwavering commitment to audio and acoustic consulting excellence has led to countless successful projects across the globe, including the following project highlights:

• University of Georgia Sanford Stadium (Athens, GA)
• Deutscher Bundestag Parliament Building (Bonn, Germany)
• Kiel Arena/Enterprise Center (St. Louis, MO)
• Nagano Olympic Memorial Arena (1998 Winter Games, Nagano, Japan)
• Last but certainly not least, more than 100 aviation projects at over 50 airport facilities.

Ed is leaving behind a lasting impact on all of us at Avant Acoustics. His hardworking legacy has set a high standard for all of us, which we will continue to strive towards. Our team will uphold and embody his example of providing high-quality consulting services and strengthening client partnerships.

The entire team here at AVANT wishes him nothing but the best as he embarks on this new chapter, and we are all excited to hear about his next adventure at the lake!

Join us in wishing Ed a happy and well-deserved retirement!

We’ve got some new photos from our site visit to the Batesville Fine and Performing Arts Building. We were thrilled to provide acoustical consulting services along with AV systems design.

Batesville School District
Jackson Brown Palculict Architects
Nabholz Corporation

Last week, we completed a site visit for Lone Jack Middle and High School in Missouri. They recently completed a multipurpose room expansion that features retractable theater seating, a mezzanine for operators, and a touchscreen-controlled audio-visual system. These updates offer more support for presentations and small performances.

Other members of the project team:

Hollis + Miller Architects

Harvest AV Solutions

Last week, the Avant team was on site at the Paseo Academy of Fine and Performing Arts auditorium to finish commissioning and provide training on the new AV and sound reinforcement systems. We are looking forward to their first fall production of Little Shop of Horrors!

HTK Architects
Harvest AV Solutions
Kansas City Public Schools

We recently completed our training scope for Discovery and South Valley Middle Schools. These schools are nearly identical spaces designed to function as a combination auditorium, gymnasium, and storm shelter. The space will primarily operate as an auditorium, but the spaces need the ability to flex into the other functions. Our team spent a considerable amount of time working alongside the architect to design the finishes in the space that work acoustically to meet the required functions. We kept the same flexibility in mind while designing the audio-visual system to support the multiple functions of the spaces..