The University of Oxford has installed a Harrison 32Classic mixing console in the new Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities. The desk is housed in one of three music studios used by the Faculty of Music.

The installation is part of a wider audio setup across the building, which brings together studios, rehearsal areas and performance venues on a Dante audio-over-IP network. In Studio Three, the 32-channel analogue console is linked to an Ensemble Room and four smaller practice spaces, allowing staff and students to record live performances from multiple locations.

Studio Manager Daniel Hulme said Studio Three was designed to support conventional recording methods alongside electronic and experimental work. “Studio Three is a traditional recording studio. As well as more experimental and electronic compositional work, we teach students the traditional ways of making music in the recording studio, with small- to medium-sized ensembles performing in a room together.”

The nearby rooms are connected to the Harrison console through the network. “The Harrison gives us connectivity between all those spaces in that immediate area, so you can really capture a good-sized ensemble with separation,” Hulme said.

Teaching focus

Oxford selected the console in part for how students would use it in teaching sessions. Hulme noted that many users are musicians rather than trainee engineers, and that this shaped the studio workflow.

“They’re not technicians, they’re not engineering students; they’re musicians. It’s not an engineering course; it’s a creative practice course. So the workflow of the Harrison was perfect, in that it’s a relatively simple, open architecture. Some other products are more geared towards tech-heavy engineering and have multiple layers; there’s lots of stuff that could be overwhelming for a music student. There are no hidden layers to the Harrison. It’s all there to see.”

He also cited the sound of the desk as a factor in the final choice. “The thing that I liked about the Harrison was primarily the sound of the console, the sound of the EQ and the mic pre. It did not disappoint. I ran some stems through it and listened to the EQ. It was a beautiful thing. The 32Classic has the right balance of function, form and sound. That really appealed to me.”

Networked rooms

The building’s Dante network extends beyond the studio complex. It also connects the 500-seat Sohmen Concert Hall and the 120-capacity Black Box Performance Lab, giving the Faculty of Music the option to route live performances back to the studio for recording through the Harrison desk.

Hulme said this setup simplifies the teaching process for students moving between live rooms, the console and digital audio workstation software. “The functionality with the Dante integration means that there’s a really simple workflow that we can create for the students. It’s one-to-one from the live room into the console and one-to-one from the console into the DAW. It’s an easy thing to teach and for students to understand. They get good results quickly, and we can move through the curriculum quickly.”

He also described the acoustic and technical specification of the main concert hall. “The concert hall is pin-drop quiet and has a beautiful, variable acoustic, and there’s a multitude of concealed microphone ties and various other connectivity to connect back to the studios.”

Joshua Rush, chief marketing officer at Audinate, said the project shows how a single network can link different types of spaces in a teaching building. “We are excited to be part of the audio infrastructure at the University of Oxford’s new multi-studio facility. Dante was built to make audio routing as flexible as creativity itself, and this project is a perfect example of what’s possible when a whole building shares one network. By connecting studios, rehearsal spaces and performance venues to a common Dante backbone, the Faculty of Music can capture performances wherever they happen quickly, reliably and at the highest quality.”

Immersive audio

The centre’s other two music studios are also connected to Dante interfaces. Studio One is configured as a Dolby Atmos 9.1.4 room, while Studio Two is designed for several immersive audio formats, including NHK 22.2, Dolby Atmos, Sony 360 Reality Audio and Ambisonics.

All three studios were acoustically designed by Level Acoustics. Hulme said the 32Classic can monitor a 12-channel surround source from the Dante interface, and he is considering workflows that would let students record with immersive formats in mind while monitoring projects through Studio One’s Dolby Atmos speaker system.

His preference for an analogue console reflects his early experience in recording studios in the north of England and later work in London and Liverpool. Hulme said that background informed the design priorities for Studio Three and the wider balance between established recording practice and newer production formats.

“I wanted an analogue console. There’s a view to the future of music production here and what that might mean. We are very invested in exploring immersive technologies and workflows creatively, but let’s not forget about the past and where we’ve come from. If you’ve got good foldback and you can combine things together in an easy and immediate way, and it sounds fantastic without you having to do too much, you’re in a good place creatively. That makes things more fluid and makes the whole production process happen quicker. I think a good analogue console uniquely brings that to the table.”

Darren Jones, Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg (aired on Sunday, April 26) that he was looking at the economic impact of the war “in a lot of detail”.

He shared that “price pressure” was more likely than gaps on supermarket shelves.

The US-Iran war has been ongoing since the end of February, and the blockade of the crucial shipping route, the Strait of Hormuz, has been a sticking point.

BBC News reports that energy production and transportation across the Middle East has slowed or stopped entirely due to the conflict, causing supply chain issues and price rises globally.

Higher prices could last ‘eight plus months from the point of resolution’

Discussing how long the higher prices of energy and food would last, Jones shared that it could be for many months once the conflict is concluded.

He said: “Our best guess is eight plus months from the point of resolution that you’ll see economic impacts coming through the system.

“So people will see higher energy prices, food prices […] flight ticket prices as a consequence of what Donald Trump has done in the Middle East.”

Sky News reports that Jones is heading up a contingency planning group of ministers meeting twice a week to focus on live monitoring of stock levels and what plans are in place for addressing supply chain disruption.

They will assess how the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the subsequent reduction in oil, gas and ammonia supply will directly impact the UK.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will also chair another meeting of a Cabinet committee on Tuesday (April 28), set up to deal with any shortfalls.

Ministers have stressed there are no shortages yet, and drivers should continue to fill up as usual and not change travel plans over fears of potential jet fuel shortages.

Jones has previously said: “This is not our war.

“The government made the right call to stay out of the conflict and only take defensive action to protect Britain’s interests.

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“We’re acting now to prepare for, and mitigate where possible, the impact on our economy and domestic security as a result of the conflict.

“The prime minister wants to see a toll-free Strait of Hormuz reopened as soon as possible.

“The UK is working tirelessly with our international partners to find a permanent solution to this crisis and minimise the knock-on impact to households.

NUWAVE Communications has integrated Tollring’s Analytics 365 Call Analytics into its unified communications offering, adding analytics to the services it supplies through its partner network.

The integration is intended to give customers more visibility into how unified communications systems are used and how they perform. NUWAVE works with carrier partners, service providers and channel partners across the UK, Europe, North America and other international markets.

The agreement centres on Analytics 365 Call Analytics, which tracks and assesses communications activity across platforms including Microsoft Teams, Webex and Zoom. NUWAVE plans to embed the software throughout the lifecycle of its unified communications services rather than offer it as a standalone tool.

The move reflects growing demand from businesses for clearer reporting on communications platforms used across multiple systems and geographies. Providers are also under pressure to demonstrate ongoing value after initial deployment, particularly as cloud-based communications become more common in larger organisations and the public sector.

Under the arrangement, NUWAVE plans to make the analytics offering available through its iPILOT platform and wider partner programmes. This will allow partners to provide ongoing services based on usage and performance data alongside the original communications deployment.

Mark Bunnell, chief operating officer at NUWAVE Communications, linked the partnership to the rise of Microsoft Teams and other cloud services in the UK market.

“This partnership is particularly relevant in the UK market, where adoption of Microsoft Teams and cloud-based communications continues to accelerate across enterprise and public sector organisations. This collaboration strengthens our ability to support UK partners and customers with data-driven insights that improve operational efficiency and long-term value.

“We selected Tollring because they are a proven leader in turning communications data into actionable business intelligence. Tollring’s approach aligns closely with how we view the future of unified communications. It’s not just about enabling voice, it’s about delivering the visibility and insights needed to continuously optimise performance, user experience and business outcomes.

“As businesses increasingly demand greater visibility, compliance and performance insight from their UC environments, analytics is becoming a critical component of modern deployments,” Bunnell said.

Partner focus

The integration is also intended to support NUWAVE’s channel strategy. Partners will be able to use data generated by Analytics 365 to develop additional services and strengthen customer relationships through ongoing monitoring and advice.

This reflects a wider shift in the unified communications market, where providers are looking beyond deployment and connectivity towards recurring service models tied to management, reporting and operational oversight. In that context, analytics tools can help resellers and carriers identify trends in call activity, user adoption and service performance.

Tollring develops cloud software focused on communications analytics, call centre analytics, conversation analysis, voice recording, fraud protection and scam detection. The company sells both directly and through channel partners and says its products are used by more than 22,000 businesses globally.

NUWAVE has been active in business communications services for more than 25 years and supports service providers offering Microsoft Teams, Zoom Phone and Webex Calling. Its iPILOT platform is designed to help carriers and partners deliver multi-platform unified communications services to channel partners and end customers.

UK demand

The UK is likely to be a key market for the combined offer because of strong adoption of Teams and broader migration to cloud-based communications. For organisations running several communications platforms at once, analytics has become more important as IT teams seek a clearer view of employee usage, call performance and operational issues.

For partners selling and supporting these systems, the ability to package analytics with unified communications could also create a new source of recurring revenue. NUWAVE said adding Tollring’s software would help position analytics as a core part of communications delivery rather than an optional extra.

The product will be supported through NUWAVE Academy training and broader partner programmes, with the analytics layer integrated into service delivery through the channel.