Sacred Places Fall 2010 | Page 24

PROFESSIONAL ALLIANCE SPOTLIGHT (cont.) a 2003 Faith & Form Religious Architecture Honor Award. CAG’s work for St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Rock Creek Parish, in Washington, D.C., was featured in the April 2005 issue of The American Organist. Also, as one of the few consulting firms nationwide with experience designing Shabbat sound-amplification systems suitable for use in Orthodox synagogues on the Sabbath and High Holy Days, CAG has worked for four prominent New York congregations. With proper assessment of your space and needs, Clayton says, “Speech intelligibility (can be) enhanced without compromising the beauty of music.” Also, CAG ensures that neither the visual nor aural beauty of a worship space is compromised. “In other words,” he adds, “you can have it all!” Top: The ceiling of All Saints Episcopal Church in Worcester, MA, where Clayton Acoustics Group performed an acoustic assessment and determined that a man-made soundabsorbing material applied in 1936 was actually hindering the acoustical responsiveness. Bottom: Detail of two ceiling bays, showing the sound-reflective wood planking (Nave Bay #1) and the sound-absorbing material (Nave Bay #2). Photo credit: Clayton Acoustics Group 23 • Sacred Places • www.sacredplaces.org • Fall 2010