USA - For 17 days and nights each spring, the city of Charleston, South Carolina, welcomes hundreds of performers to fill its historic venues with art and culture. Spoleto Festival USA, the American counterpart to Italy’s Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy, serves as a dynamic showcase for talent.
This performing arts event celebrates everything from theatre, opera, and dance to orchestral, jazz, and contemporary music. To bring these performances to life, KV2 Audio was selected as the official sound partner.
Having collaborated with the festival in previous years, sound design and audio specialists Autograph A2D returned to install the 2025 sound system. “We’ve been involved over the years through sound designer, Lew Mead,” says Preston Dunnavant, sound engineer at Autograph A2D. “In 2023, I took over from Lew as lead sound designer for the festival, overseeing the supply and setup of audio equipment across all venues.
“This year, I designed the complete audio system – from microphones to PA – for six venues and provided additional equipment for four others,” Dunnavant continues. “Previously, we supplied and installed KV2’s ESR system for theatre performances in one of Spoleto’s seasonal venues. Based on that success, and my experience hearing them on Broadway shows and at the Milevsko factory, I decided KV2 would be the best choice for the festival’s three main venues.”
Spoleto presents a number of challenges. “We have 12 days to install systems across eight venues in preparation for 120 performances. Then when it’s all over, we’ve got one week to take it all down.”
With KV2 as Dunnavant’s preferred audio solution and a tight installation timeline, careful planning and having all equipment prepared in advance were essential. “I spec’d a KV2 system for three venues based on what was available from our sales partner, Masque Sound, who had limited stock at the time,” explains Dunnavant. “Thankfully, through discussions and a factory tour with KV2’s Jonathan Reece, Dominik Krampera, and Sascha Khelifa, we were able to put together a system with what was available from KV2’s Czech and US factories.”
One of the festival’s most spectacular venues is Cistern Yard, an outdoor venue on the grounds of the Charleston College. “This was one of our largest venues,” says Dunnavant. “We used a VHD2.0 system with the 1.0 down-fill, supported by a VHD2.21 and three VHD2.16 on each side of the stage. Six ESD25 were deployed as front-fills, with one ESR215 per side stacked on road cases for out-fills, ensuring sound reached across the wide yard.”
At the Emmett Robinson Theatre – a much smaller venue with a capacity of only 310 people – the setup was more compact. “We deployed one ESR212 system and a single EX1.8 sub on the ground at each side, along with two ESD36 loudspeakers for front fills,” Dunnavant explains. “This system was perfect for the space – minimal but brought phenomenal sound to a variety of performances.”
The Festival Hall, seating 1,000, required careful attention to both power and coverage. "We used two ES1.0 as mains, supported by four ES1.8 and two EX1.8 subs arrayed along the front of the stage, and six ESD5s as front-fills," he adds.
“I was so pleased with the results we got from the KV2 systems,” concludes Dunnavant. “I got a lot of compliments from the guest engineers about the sound quality. Pete Keppler, the front-of-house engineer for Patti Smith, shared his appreciation for the system’s performance.”