Ellen Gruber

Ellen assists and consults on all aspects of room acoustic design, planning, sound separation, and noise and vibration design for the performing arts.

I specialize in acoustics here at Charcoalblue, the scope of my work ranging from room acoustic design to noise and vibration design. I’ve been part of a number of exciting projects while working here, including the Performing Arts Laboratory at Bard College, The Peoples Theatre, and the Bloomberg Student Center at Johns Hopkins University. I am always aiming to place curiosity and attention to detail at the forefront of my work, whether that comes in the form of analyzing room acoustics models to coordinating specific acoustic details within a project. My favorite aspect of my job as an acoustician is the spanning variety of day-to-day work – there is always something new to learn!

What Excites You Most About Your Work

I love being part of the design process of venues where art is created. While there’s many very technical and precise aspects to the work we do as acousticians, at the end of the day, we’re designing spaces to support creativity and imagination. I’m always curious about how best we can support these artistic endeavors through the design of a space, and conversely exploring the ways that my work is influenced by my experiences of art within space.

What We Won’t Learn from Your CV

Accompanying the work I do as an acoustician, I’ve been a freelance oboist throughout the NYC area for the past 4 years! I’ve played in a wide variety of ensembles, ranging from the New York Philharmonic to the pit at Ragtime on Broadway. I love that my day-to-day life can span from spending the morning on a construction site to spending the evening on stage.

Cultural Value You Most Identify With

Working in the field of acoustics, our job operates within a wide range of disciplines, from architecture to mechanical system design. We’re often collaborating with almost all of the other teams on a given project to provide recommendations and guidelines regarding the acoustic implications of elements throughout a building. I’ve always found this collaborative process fascinating, especially when it comes down to working together with other teams to make unique and interesting ideas come to life.