What a beautiful scene — from Valparaiso, Indiana’s prestigious Valparaiso University comes a story about LED ellipsoidals performing above and beyond for the sake of worship and beauty, inside of the Church of the Resurrection on the Valpo campus.

From the press release:

Valparaiso, IN – With a soaring roof that’s distinctively shaped like a nine-point star, Valparaiso University’s Chapel of the Resurrection is a fabled landmark to passing motorists on nearby U.S. Route 30. By some accounts the largest collegiate chapel in the U.S., boasting a 98-foot high circular chancel, the 55-year-old structure is also “big” in terms of the interior illumination challenges it presents — which is why Jeff Hazewinkel, Director of the Center for the Arts at the Indiana university, specified CHAUVET Professional’s award-winning Ovation E-190WW LED ellipsoidal for a recent lighting upgrade to the facility.

The Ovation E-190WW units made their debut in grand fashion, illuminating the 2013 Valparaiso University Christmas Concert, a beloved musical tradition in the community for more than 80 years. Attended by some 2,500 individuals, the concert featured the Valparaiso University Chorale, Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Concert Band, and Women’s and Men’s Choirs.

Lighting up both an event and a venue of such exceptional stature presented the Ovation E-190WW with a big role to fill – literally and figuratively. Along with its nearly 100-foot chancel, Chapel of the Resurrection has an expansive nave that extends 58 feet high and 193 feet in length.

“The lighting requirements for the event were two-fold,” said Hazewinkel, “one, to provide the musicians and choir with sufficient lighting for their performance, and two, to enhance them to the audience. Also, the addition of accent lighting creates visual interest.”

Hazewinkel said he chose the Ovation E-190WW “due to its light output and cost effectiveness,” as well as its extremely low power draw compared to ellipsoidal fixtures with conventional lamps. “One of the greatest challenges in lighting this space is the lack of sufficient distributed power for traditional lighting dimmers and fixtures. The (Ovation E-190WW’s) LED technology enabled us to light the performers in a way that would simply not have been possible using traditional fixtures without major infrastructure changes to the 55-year-old facility.”

The winner of the 2013 WFX New Products Technology Award, the Ovation E-190WW is a warm white ERS-style fixture, powered by 19 x 10-watt 2,960K LEDs. It produces a high-quality flat, even field of white light and features 16-bit dimming resolution for smooth fades. The fixture includes standard beam shaping shutters and a gobo/effect slot, and it is compatible with industry standard lens tubes.

Hazewinkel used 20 Ovation E-190WW units to light the performers at the Valparaiso Christmas Concert, hanging the fixtures in the facility’s north and south galleries, with additional front lighting provided from a position in the west gallery. Since the units were at a distance of about 165 feet from the performers, 5° ETC lenses were used to focus their beams.

“The lights performed extremely well; the color was even and true,” said Hazewinkel. “The performers remarked on how the lights enhanced their performance.”

Chauvet lights also added a dash of color to the event. The company’s CHAUVET-DJ-branded COLORrail IRC multi-color LED strip lights were used as wall warmers, on the acoustical shell and to provide color all around the stage. “I have several COLORrails in my inventory,” said Hazewinkel, “and I find them to be bright, great color, and easy to position.”

Hazewinkel, who has designed lighting for more than 75 theatrical productions, as well as concerts, corporate and athletic events during his 17 years at Valparaiso University, said he plans to add more Ovation E-190WW units to Chapel of the Resurrection in the future. Because of its large seating capacity, “the chapel serves a variety of roles,” he noted. “It is regularly the site of University convocations, commencement ceremonies and special lectures, as well as performances by instrumental and vocal ensembles. We will be bringing in additional Ovation E-190WWs as we continue to update the lighting systems.”