A child stepping onto a stage for the first time. A musician in the orchestra pit. A beloved actor sharing a powerful monologue. A community member discovering the power of live theatre. Those moments only matter if they can be heard.
QCT is launching the Every Voice Heard Sound Campaign, a $500,000 effort to replace and significantly upgrade our aging theatre sound system. Our current system has served audiences for many years, but it is increasingly difficult to maintain and no longer provides the consistent, high-quality sound that our performers and audiences deserve.
The new system will provide clearer, more consistent sound throughout our 498-seat theatre while giving performers the ability to hear one another onstage and giving our musicians and technicians the tools they need to create exceptional productions. It will also improve accessibility and reliability for years to come.
QCT’s Current Sound System
Installed in 1995, our system has gone through minimal upgrades since the building opened. While it has faithfully served QCT for decades, the patch-worked equipment is reaching the end of its life. While dedicated staff and volunteers work tirelessly to maintain aging equipment, increasing repairs, obsolete components, and technological limitations make it difficult to deliver the experience our artists and audiences deserve.
This project is not about buying equipment. It is about ensuring that every performer is heard, every story is understood, and every audience member can fully experience the power of live theatre.
When audiences struggle to hear dialogue, lyrics, or music, performances are diminished. A new sound system will allow us to:
- Deliver clear, consistent sound throughout the theatre
- Improve accessibility and audience experience
- Support larger and more complex productions
- Enhance educational opportunities for young performers and technicians
- Reduce costly maintenance on aging equipment
- Ensure reliability for performances, events, and rentals
Why Now
We spend countless hours leading up to each show trying to maintain the current equipment. Pieces of equipment continue to reach the end of support by the manufacturer. Sound quality continues to be the most consistent piece of negative feedback from patrons and volunteers.
It is not a question of if we replace our sound system, but when.
QCT is institutionally ready to support both the fundraising efforts and installation process for a new system, and has spent the last 18 months evaluating the right step forward. The longer we wait, the more likely we are to see increased costs and risk a higher likelihood of equipment failure.
Your Investment Supports
- Main speaker system, front fill, subwoofers designed to deliver clear, balanced, and consistent sound coverage to every seat in the theatre, ensuring every audience member enjoys the same high-quality listening experience.
- Mixing console (sound board) & stage box system with expanded input capacity, increased flexibility, and improved reliability, allowing productions of all sizes to be mixed with greater precision and efficiency.
- Dante audio networking infrastructure replacing aging analog multi-core cabling with modern Ethernet-based networking, creating a more dependable, scalable, and future-ready audio system.
- Stage monitoring systems that allow actors to clearly hear fellow performers, orchestra accompaniment, and vocal cues, improving confidence, musical accuracy, and overall performance quality.
- Pit monitoring system featuring personal monitor mixers and in-ear monitors for each musician, along with a conductor talkback system, enabling musicians to hear what they need while improving communication throughout performances.
- Live conductor camera providing offstage performers with a real-time view of the conductor from the wings, ensuring accurate musical entrances and tighter ensemble performance.
- On-stage camera feed that streams the stage to monitors in backstage areas, dressing rooms, the green room, and production support spaces.
- Wireless Mic System with increased channel capacity to support larger productions, improve sound quality, reduce interference, and provide greater flexibility for performers.
- Crew comms system expanding capacity, allowing stage managers, technicians, fly operators, and crew members to communicate more effectively while enhancing backstage coordination and safety.
- ADA-compliant assistive listening system allowing patrons with compatible Bluetooth-enabled hearing aids, cochlear implants, smartphones, or personal listening devices to connect directly to the performance audio, making productions more accessible for guests with hearing loss.
- Supporting infrastructure including cabling, networking equipment, rigging hardware, power distribution, and system integration components necessary to ensure every piece of equipment functions seamlessly as one cohesive system.
- Professional installation, programming, and training to ensure the system is properly configured, fully optimized for our facility, and that staff and volunteers are equipped to operate and maintain the new technology for years to come.
Expanded Accessibility
The new technology will include an ADA-compliant assistive listening system. In addition to assistive listening devices, the system will allow patrons with Auracast-compatible hearing aids and cochlear implants to connect directly to the performance audio. Combined with improved sound clarity throughout the theatre, this technology will make performances more accessible and enjoyable for all audience members and create an environment where everyone has the opportunity to experience the power of live theatre.
A System Built for Tomorrow
The impact of this project extends far beyond the stage. A modern sound system strengthens one of our community’s most important cultural assets and ensures future generations will continue to have access to exceptional live arts experiences.
By acting now, we can make a strategic investment that will benefit audiences, students, volunteers, and community members. This system is designed to meet our needs now and allow room for growth.
$500,000 Fundraising Goal
QCT’s fundraising plan includes approximately 40% of funds coming through grants, 30% through major gifts and corporations, and 30% through individual gifts. The fundraiser will run Fall of 2026-Spring of 2027. With your support, we can ensure that every voice is heard at QCT.
Donor Levels
Harmony Society $50,000+ (Includes naming opportunities for the Sound Booth, Orchestra Pit, etc)
Crescendo Society $25,000+
Overture Society $10,000+
Spotlight Society $5,000+
Encore Circle $2,500+
Ovation Circle $1,000+
Applause Circle $500+
Friends of the Sound $250+
Recognition: Wall plaque for major donors ($5,000+). All donations $250+ recognized in stagebill, annual report, and website.
Frequently Asked Questions
The existing system has served the theatre well for decades, but many core components have reached the end of their expected service life. Repairs are becoming more frequent and costly, and the system no longer meets the performance needs of today’s productions or educational programming. Planned replacement allows us to avoid a major failure later.
Yes. Every performance, educational program, and rental in the theatre relies on the sound system. Improvements will benefit every audience member and performer, regardless of the production.
The project includes the core audio infrastructure, such as speakers, amplifiers, digital mixing equipment, processing, wireless microphone systems, networking, supporting infrastructure, and the assistive listening system. The specific scope has been developed by professional theatre sound consultants.
With proper maintenance and periodic technology updates, the core system is expected to serve the theatre for 20–30 years.
No. In fact, newer technology is expected to improve reliability, simplify maintenance, and make training volunteers and staff more efficient.
Yes. The proposed system has been selected with future expansion and upgrades in mind, allowing us to adapt as technology evolves.
Funding the project through donations allows QCT to invest in critical infrastructure without placing additional debt on the organization or diverting resources from programming and education.
Yes. Gifts designated for this campaign will be restricted specifically for the sound system replacement and related project expenses.
The theatre has developed a phased financial plan and will only proceed responsibly when adequate funding is secured. Leadership is committed to completing the project without compromising QCT’s financial stability.
The theatre conducted extensive research, consulted industry experts, evaluated multiple solutions, and selected the proposal that best balanced performance, reliability, long-term value, and cost.