The community of monks at Saint Michael’s welcomed a recent upgrade of the Abbey’s AV, IT, and security systems, a project led by specialist systems integrators Whitwam AVI. Brother Michael, a resident of Saint Michael’s Monastery responsible for overseeing the community’s operations, reached out to Whitwam AVI following a visit he made to Saint George’s Chapel in Windsor.
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“I appreciated the attention to detail which had been taken to respect the surroundings when installing the technology at Saint George’s,” recalled Brother Michael. “On seeing the custom-colored loudspeakers, I knew this would be a great solution for Saint Michael’s Abbey.”
While the original enquiry was focused on upgrading the Abbey’s sound system, the project scope quickly grew, thanks to the commissioning of a full restoration of the Abbey. “Originally, we were designing for a new audio system, new microphones and a camera and video system to improve visibility for the Abbey’s organist,” recalled Ray Clarke, operations and engineering manager at Whitwam AVI. “Following the restoration work, the project was then expanded to encompass the original requirement, plus a broadcast streaming system, CCTV and the integration of a site-wide networking solution across the Abbey and the Monastery.”
Given the historic and sacred nature of the environment and the architectural constraints of installing new technology in a heritage building, the Whitwam AVI team spent time carefully designing and commissioning various custom bracketry solutions and RAL color-matched enclosures for both loudspeakers and cameras to ensure that the new tech would blend into the historic surroundings. Furthermore, the venue’s limited cable routes required Whitwam AVI to install multiple equipment racks throughout the Abbey, some of which needed to be IP-rated enclosures due to the environmental conditions in the basement and crypt. Twisted pair and fiber extenders were utilized in the full system design to link the racks and minimize cabling, whilst custom-colored trunking was installed along the Abbey walls to ensure any cable runs were neatly contained.
The audio system, which covers the nave, the high altar and the side chapels, consists of pairs of Bose MA12 modular column array loudspeakers, ensuring even audio coverage throughout the Abbey. For the video side, five Panasonic AW-UE50 PTZ cameras, also custom colored, are installed at key locations throughout including the high altar, side crossings and at the rear of the nave to capture all proceedings during Abbey services. A portable camera offers an additional perspective for special events such as weddings. Aside from the live streaming functionality, the Abbey’s organist also benefits from an improved view of the venue via a 10-inch Lilliput video monitor, improving the accuracy of timings for musical elements of services.
“We are pleased to see our technologies installed in spaces as unique as Saint Michael’s Abbey,” commented Alan Head at Panasonic. “The team at Whitwam AVI have taken great care to integrate five of our AW-UE50 cameras seamlessly with the surrounding architecture. Given their skill and expertise, we allow for their in-house customization to ensure the integration at the Abbey not only looks great but also gives the user peace of mind in terms of system performance and longevity.”
To ensure accessibility, a Sennheiser MobileConnect system was chosen for its ease of use, allowing hard-of-hearing users to listen to services via a smartphone app. A combination of Sennheiser gooseneck microphones and an Audio-Technica boundary mic for the high altar ensures crystal-clear speech pick-up. Bespoke T-bar brackets at the lectern and pulpit ensure that not even the microphones detract from the elegance of the worship space.
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One of the key requirements was for Saint Michael’s to have the tools to stream its services online on platforms such as YouTube, as well as allow for events such as weddings to be shared with an extended audience.
“We wanted to connect with our community through broadcasting our services and make Sunday Mass available to a wider audience for several reasons,” said Father Abbot of St. Michael’s. “Firstly, to enable those far away to participate, secondly, for intellectual access and finally, to reach those who might be looking for a vocation within a monastery.”
The broadcast system is based on Blackmagic Design hardware and an Epiphan Pearl Nano streaming solution. To maximize the technology and save on additional resources, Whitwam AVI proposed incorporating the broadcast cameras into the CCTV system. Using Antrica video encoders, the Abbey’s camera footage is sent directly to a HikVision NVR, which allows for smart monitoring of activity both within the Abbey and the wider monastery buildings. For video distribution, a networked solution via Lightware VINX encoders and decoders enables CCTV multi-view on an NEC 32-inch large format display in key locations, such as the Abbot’s office.
“It was important to deliver a system that will serve the Abbey well into the future; therefore, having the network infrastructure in place now will allow the system to grow as the needs of the monastery evolve,” said Clarke. “We’re proud to have been on board since the very beginning and to have had this opportunity to work with Brother Michael on a project that encompasses many different elements.”
The feedback from Saint Michael’s community of monks and worshippers has been wholly positive, especially in terms of the quality of the technology and how it is discreetly installed to respect the architecture of the Abbey. The services at Saint Michael’s are now successfully reaching a worldwide audience, with followers in the United States, Canada, Asia, and Australia regularly watching the live stream broadcast of Sunday Mass.