"I am heartened in knowing that there are few...a very few...like you Chris, who know enough about acoustics to care about the sound from a musician's point of view, and to look for that intangible magic and warmth that really makes for a great hall and an additional instrument for us to work with in performance."

  "Thank you for the extraordinary work you did on transforming the sound of the Kennedy center concert hall. It is truly a room in which all Americans can enjoy music under ideal conditions. Your professionalism, hard work, and good sense have blessed us with one of the finest halls in America."

  Over the course of the past forty years, Dr. Christopher Jaffe has taken an innovative approach to acoustical design. As a result, he is recognized today as a leader in the field of acoustics. Dr. Jaffe's experience is evidenced by his record. He has been the consultant for more than 200 concert halls, opera houses, theaters and music pavilions, in the United States, Mexico and the Far East. No other acoustical consultant has worked directly with as many prestigious symphony orchestras, opera, dance and theater companies.

  Under his guidance, Jaffe Holden Scarbrough Acoustics, Inc. was responsible for bringing the surround hall experience to the Western Hemisphere at the Sala Nezahualcóyotl in Mexico City and designed the first American surround hall, Boettcher Hall in Denver.

  His current commissions include the re-design of three halls at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., a new 2,400-seat opera house in São Paulo, a 2,100 seat lyric theater in Fort Worth, Texas, and the recently completed Toyko International Forum, a multi-hall performing arts and exhibition complex in Japan.

  Among his other completed works are three halls at the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts, two opera houses for the Houston Grand Opera at the Wortham Theater Center and the restorations of Detroit Orchestra Hall and the Circle Theatre, the much acclaimed permanent homes of the Detroit and Indianapolis Symphony Orchestras.

  Dr. Jaffe graduated from the School of Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1949 and then went on to graduate studies in theater at Columbia University.

  Dr. Jaffe has presented over 60 papers to professional societies and has received nine patents. He is a Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America, the Audio Engineering Society and the Institute of Acoustics, United Kingdom and has held professorships at the Juilliard School, Rensselaer and the City University of New York.

  Perhaps the citation from Dr. Jaffe's 1980 honorary doctorate from Rensselaer best sums up his career:

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