Meyer Sound has announced its acquisition of Audio Rhapsody, a startup founded by sound designer Jonathan Deans.
Deans (pictured above) is renowned for his pioneering work in immersive sound and his commitment to advancing the artistry of the craft. With multiple Tony and Drama Desk award nominations to his name, he has contributed to hundreds of productions spanning Broadway, the West End, and beyond and crafted soundscapes for 15 Cirque du Soleil productions.
His relationship with Meyer Sound goes back to 1978 when he met founders John and Helen Meyer while working on a production of Evita using a Meyer-designed JM-3 loudspeaker. Meyer Sound acquired Deans’ company Level Control Systems in 2005, leading to an expansion of the company’s digital products.
Deans, who assumes the role of Meyer Sound’s senior specialist, theatrical production systems. “I founded Audio Rhapsody to build tools that remove the silos and barriers to creativity that are inherent in theatrical sound design systems and processes, and I’m so thrilled to complete that journey with a team of people who share the same passion.”
A team of Audio Rhapsody partners joins Meyer Sound. Grammy and Thea Award winner Jason Rauhoff, a former Meyer Sound employee, joins as product manager, theatrical production systems. Rob Mele, also previously with Meyer Sound, assumes the role of application architect, theatrical production systems, contributing to the software development team. Michael Kroll joins as visual designer, theatrical production systems. (Audio Rhapsody’s Mike Tracey will remain an independent advisor.)
The team will focus on developing the next generation of audio show control software for the Nadia platform.