Cathedral’s new sound system enhances Word of God

“Ushers wanted to shake my hand and told me how great it was. One usher even told me that it was the first time he had heard a word in 70 years,” Mellon said.

From the moment he became rector of Corpus Christi Cathedral two years ago, parishioners have been gently reminding Father Hanh Van Pham they could not hear him. One parishioner even said he didn’t know he gave his homily in Vietnamese.

Father Pham decided to see if something could be done.

After he spoke with Bishop Mulvey, pastor of Corpus Christi Cathedral, he received permission to install a new sound system, but the question remained, how would they pay for it? The diocese could not afford it and Father Pham knew he could not afford it–unless he forked over a year’s salary, so he did the only thing he knew to do. He asked parishioners.

Father Hanh Van Pham, the rector of Corpus Christi Cathedral

The parishioners’ response was overwhelming. They were desperate to hear the spoken Word of God; some parishioners gave beyond Father Pham’s expectations.

“For many years parishioners have complained that they can’t hear the spoken word,” Jim McCutchon, a cathedral lector who has been a parishioner off and on since he was married there in 1953. “The new sound system overcomes the echoes. I’m very happy.”

“I love it! We can now hear Father Pham’s jokes,” Vicki Pannone, a cathedral parishioner said.

“The new sound system is wonderful, fabulous,” said cathedral usher Karlene Lewis. “At first it was a little strange to see the speakers, but now we have gotten used to it and the sound is so much better.”

Three months ago Father Pham called Mellon, who had previously installed the sound system at St. Philip The Apostle, where Father Pham had been pastor. Mellon has installed sound systems for Cole Park, the Jazz Festival, the symphony, churches and schools.

Mellon said working at various churches throughout the diocese helped him learn more about reverb, aesthetics and placement. Designing a sound system is not just putting speakers up; it is a lot more than that. Mellon is a component level repairman and has five years of calculus under his belt and more than 40 years of experience designing sound systems.

The cathedral sound system was the most challenging job in his life. He started out with a blank piece of paper and by doing some calculations found the reverberations to be “atrocious.”

While testing for tone, he discovered that there was a 5-7 seconds of delay and “it should be two seconds or under and 2.5-4 seconds of delay for music. Reverb is fine for the choir, but it was making the spoken word “totally unintelligible,” he said.

The system is not perfect. The first columns are used for the ambo, so Mellon could not set up speakers for the front pews near the sanctuary. There is some dead space in the first front pews to the far left and far right. He could have put speakers on both sides of the second columns, but he said it would look “too gaudy.” Loudspeakers should not be seen, he said.

At age 64, Mellon was quick to point out that he did not do it alone. Andrew Gonzales was his “point man;” Chuck Ybarra his “muscle man;” and Jaime De La Rosa, who is small and can crawl around in the attic, was his “climber.”

“The speakers on the columns have a variable mount and they were designed to be much lower, but Father Pham thought someone might want to steal them, so we raised the speakers higher and tilted them at an angle toward people. They are sticking out, but you can’t see them when you walk in,” Mellon said.

Speakers were also set-up to the left and right of the choir loft, as well as one in the Narthex.

Cathedral music director Lee Gwozdz has heard very positive responses from people regarding the new sound system. “It has been a challenge in the past to hear the intelligibility of speech, as most cathedrals were built to hear the choir from the choir loft. It’s an excellent system and even enhances the volume of the cantor.”

Parishioners agree.