Australia - The Burdekin Theatre is the home for arts and entertainment in Burdekin, playing host to a diverse range of live performances including musicals, plays and rock concerts. The venue also hosts conferences and seminars, plus local events such as dance recitals, school award nights, and more.
The theatre features a 473-seat auditorium with proscenium arch and orchestra pit, supported by a professional technical staff. When it came time to upgrade its sound system, Clair Brothers topped the list after a competitive review of major loudspeaker brands.
David Luscombe, theatre technician, at Burdekin Theatre, explains: “As time went on, I knew our old system was reaching the end of its life expectancy. It just wasn’t keeping up with our ever-rising standards. I

Europe - Sound designer Gareth Owen has selected Luminex GigaCore 12 switches to provide networked audio for his immersive sound designs on all-new productions of international hit musicals, Starlight Express, Bat Out of Hell and Come From Away.
Utilising d&b audiotechnik's Soundscape object-based sound design mixing platform, the technically demanding shows - which range from 180º up to full 360º implementation - feature a large number of data channels running over Dante. With no analogue backup for the audio systems, the network distribution has to be 100% reliable.
Working together with d&b and equipment suppliers to the shows, Stage Sound Services and Orbital Sound, the Luminex GigaCore network switches were rigorously tested in a Soundscape-based setup and left everyone impressed.
Owen comments: "We wanted to get a Dante-appro

Russia - Since being founded 2012, the Moscow Musical Theatre has earned a considerable reputation for its original productions and unusual approaches to classic stories.
Just in time for the 2018/19 season, the Musical Theatre has made a new home for itself in the remodelled and refurbished Rossiya Theatre on Moscow's Pushkinskaya Square - one of the most frequented squares in the world. This new venue has an opportunity for the sound department to push the creative potential of the theatre to a new level by installing the first permanent theatrical installation of L-Acoustics’ L-ISA technology.
The theatre’s repertoire ranges from a rock opera production of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment to a fusion of circus performance with operetta and musical genres in The Circus Princess, and a re-telling of Cinderella.
The new sound installat

SE Asia - Nexo has announced the appointment of Joe White to its international sales team. He will be taking up the role of business development manager with responsibility for Nexo’s activities in South-East Asia, India and Oceania.
White is a familiar face to Nexo customers, having spent four years with the company as Global Marketing Manager. Since 2011, he has been running his own business in Indonesia, but, in his words, “I really miss the audio industry and all the co-workers and colleagues in Nexo’s international orbit.”
Reporting to sales director Denis Baudier, White will shoulder the responsibility for managing Nexo’s distribution network in the Far East.
“Over the last seven years, I have had a ringside seat to watch the cultural and economic evolution in this territory,” says White. “New government policies and investments into infrast

The Netherlands - Avnu Alliance has announced new members and ecosystem tools, while manufacturer members plan to demonstrate and showcase new Milan-ready products at Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 2019.
Milan is a standards-based, user-driven deterministic network protocol for professional media, that assures devices will work together at new levels of convenience, reliability and functionality. Created and maintained by members of the Avnu Alliance, Milan is billed as the first tangible solution for promising deterministic, reliable, and future-proof delivery of networked media. Milan combines the technical benefits of the AVB standard with pro AV market-defined device requirements at both the network and the application layer for media streams, formats, clocking and redundancy.
“Members of Milan have been diligently working behind the scenes for the last six mont

The Netherlands - Writing about electronic music star San Holo’s stop at New York’s Terminal 5 on his current tour in support of his latest album, a critic wrote, “San Holo acts like he is a part of the crowd, which makes us a part of him”.
This sense of connectivity has been repeated time and again around the world, as the Dutch artist, whose real name is Sander van Dijck, pours out his feelings in a deeply personal performance that seamlessly blends musical elements from the heaviest basses and trance beats to soft vocals and live guitar melodies.
Reflecting this sound in light and video is a 13-universe Manuel Rodrigues-designed show, powered by a ChamSys MagicQ MQ80 desk and video server.
Rodrigues, who worked with the tour’s creative director Thorwald van den Akker, comments. “In my designs I always try to go to the essence of the looks I want

Japan - When Clean Bandit elected to launch their What Is Love album in a temple in Kyoto with a live TV broadcast, they brought in Really Creative Media to supply their live visual content.
The band has developed an affinity with fans in the region, and following successful shows in Tokyo and Osaka earlier in the year they were keen to return to the East to launch their new album in Kyoto.
The temple’s ambience was accentuated with architectural lighting providing a stunning backdrop for the six-song performance. In addition, a raised two-level LED stage provided a visual centrepiece for the band’s live broadcast.
Really Creative Media’s creative director Jack James had previously worked with Clean Bandit’s show designer Rob Sinclair (fresh from Kylie’s Golden tour) and lighting designer Liam Griffiths on the band’s tour content, reuniting wi

World - Pink continues her Beautiful Trauma World Tour with Claypaky Scenius Unico and Mythos 2 fixtures shining a light on the American singer’s performances.
The tour is Pink’s seventh concert tour and supports her eponymous seventh studio album. The tour began in Phoenix in March 2018 and is scheduled to conclude in Rio in October 2019. Pink’s critically acclaimed show includes the now expected mix of singing, interpretive dancing and high-flying aerials.
“As with all Pink shows the lighting design needs to be versatile,” says Baz Halpin of Burbank’s silentHOUSE who is the lighting designer/production designer and director of the show. “Pink is equal parts rock show, theatre show and aerial cirque show. With so many facets to the treatment of each of the songs the lighting design and the fixtures chosen need to have enough flexibility to meet
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The Many Looks of Zeo

Delivering ultimate brightness and unique looks, Zeo’s distinct face design is defined by a central LED monolith and four reflectors, backed by four RGBW engines. As a blinder or strobe, Zeo promises powerful impact with 30,000+ lumens. With its sheer brilliance and playful effects, Zeo is ready to amplify the energy on any stage.

USA - Orlando-headquartered Professional Wireless Systems (PWS) has expanded operations to Nashville. The announcement was made by general manager Jim Van Winkle.
“We have experienced tremendous growth and success out of our Orlando office with customers located across the country,” explains Van Winkle. “Considering the number of current customers and partners we have in the Nashville area we thought it was time to have a dedicated team in the area for product support and services.”
The Nashville office will be headed up by RF technicians Ryan Stotts and Cody Heimann. Stotts began working in professional audio in 2001 at Sound Great Enterprises, Inc. in Ohio providing audio, communication and wireless equipment for the Magic of David Copperfield. In 2006 he was out with the U.S. tour of Stomp as FOH engineer. From there he worked with Spectrum Sound and

Italy - There was a large crowd for the traditional concert held in front of Milan cathedral to welcome the New Year, animated by singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Francesco Gabbani and his band, the energy of the Bluebeaters, with their infectious ska and rocksteady rhythms, RDS radio personality Paolo Piva, comedian Dario Vergassola and a DJ set.
The big challenge to be faced this year was ensuring acoustic coverage for 20,000 spectators without the use of delay systems, as explains Sacha Bozzo, head of Show Technologies from Recco (Genoa), the event’s rental company: “It was of fundamental importance for us to ensure everybody a great show, and at the same time meet all the security regulations an event of this type involves, so we decided to approach the project without taking delay systems into consideration, as they would have probably ended up blocking s

USA - The stars came out in force for I Am the Highway: A Tribute to Chris Cornell, a fundraising concert held at the Forum in Los Angeles on 16 January.
The five-hour show was anchored by extended sets from members of three of the bands that Cornell fronted - Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, and Audioslave - and featured performances by Metallica, Foo Fighters, The Melvins, and others. Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, the show also featured an extensive list of guests, including Jack Black, Brad Pitt, Brandi Carlile, Fiona Apple, Josh Homme, Miley Cyrus, Adam Levine, Chris Stapleton, and Ziggy Marley, who all paid tribute to the musician who suffered from depression, which led him to take his life in May of 2017.
Rat was asked to participate in the benefit and has a long history of working with Soundgarden, dating back to the band’s tour with Danzig in 1990. "The event

Record Takings - West End theatres enjoyed record box office takings of £766m in 2018, up 8.6% compared with the previous year. This was driven by ticket sales for musicals such as Hamilton, with revenue from the genre increasing by 15.4% in 2017 to £504m. The average ticket price paid for musicals was £53.27. A recent survey by The Stage revealed that the average top-price ticket for a musical in 2018 cost £153.54.
As well as having the highest box office revenue since records began, West End theatres also had record audience attendances of 15.5m, up 3%. However, while audiences for musicals were up, attendance for West End plays dropped by 6.5%.
Commenting on the figures, SOLT president Kenny Wax says: “London’s world-leading theatre industry is attracting larger audiences than ever after another record year. Increasingly, people seem to want t

UK - Joe Beardsmore is lighting designer for Tom Odell’s current Jubilee Road tour. Using an impressive collection of Chauvet Professional Maverick and Ovation fixtures, Beardsmore is supporting his chart-topping client’s music with a diverse lightshow that weaves colourful silhouettes, starburst backlighting, gentle top washes, blindingly intense specials and a host of other dazzling effects into a seamlessly integrated visual package.
Controlling the 15-universe show is a ChamSys MagicQ MQ80 with a Stadium Wing and a PC Wing Compact. A double-draped backdrop ties this multi-faceted panorama together.
“I have been working with Tom Odell across the world in many venues,” says Beardsmore. “When he asked me to devise a new design to take out on his Jubilee Road Tour, he pretty much gave me free rein. However, he had a red drape backdrop that he wanted. I didn

The Netherlands - Robe Lighting will present a selection of its latest moving light and LED technologies, both from Robe and sister architectural brand Anolis, on a newly-designed stand at ISE expo in Amsterdam.
Featured Robe products will include the new T1 Profile, the RoboSpot remote followspotting system running together with Robe’s BMFL FollowSpot, the Tarrantula LED wash, the popular multipurpose MegaPointe, the new IP65 rated iParFect, the LEDBeam 150 and the CycBar 15.
Examples of all these fixtures will be integrated into the booth design itself, and these products have been chosen for their appropriateness for installations and a wide range of integrated lighting solutions.
Anolis is using the strategic importance of ISE as a technology showcase for the worlds of architainment and architectural lighting to launch its new Divine 72 narrow beam LED was

The Netherlands - AV equipment manufacturer Work Pro Audio is expanding the SoundNut range of pendant speakers for installed sound applications.
The SoundNut originally debuted at ISE 2018 as a prototype design for a new kind of pendant speaker with a variety of housings in different textures and colours, the principle being to make installed sound speakers as visually discreet as a light fitting. Following a positive response, the first in the SoundNut range made its first official appearance at InfoComm 2018: the 400W SN-8, featuring an eight-inch coaxial driver.
Four more SoundNut models are being launched in Amsterdam to complete the range: the SN-3, SN-6, SN-10, which feature three-, six- and 10-inch drivers respectively, and the SN-8SUB, an eight-inch subwoofer for low-frequency enhancement. All use the same basic design concept as the original SN-8.
"The

The Netherlands - Bose Professional is introducing ArenaMatch DeltaQ array loudspeakers and ArenaMatch Utility loudspeakers for outdoor installations.
The ArenaMatch arrays incorporate DeltaQ technology, “to bring improved sound quality, consistency, vocal clarity and flexibility to outdoor installations - sports stadiums, arenas, outdoor entertainment centres, and more”. Featuring an IP55 weather rating, ArenaMatch DeltaQ modules promise durable and reliable outdoor performance whilst bringing consistent, intelligible sound.
DeltaQ array technology allows directivity, or “Q,” to vary in each module to more precisely match coverage to audience area. With nine coverage patterns available, designers can choose from modules with 10-, 20- or 40-degree vertical coverage and easily swap between 60-, 80- or 100-degree horizontal waveguides - even in already-assembl

The Netherlands - At ISE, Elation will be showing the Rayzor 760, a compact yet powerful LED wash effects luminaire with SparkLED pixel effect technology.
The Rayzor 760 is available in a compact and lightweight weather and dust protected IP65 version, the Proteus Rayzor 760, for use in any environment.
Elation will also introduce the Proteus Smarty Hybrid, a compact CMY hybrid fixture with true IP65 rating. Encompassing the same full feature set and using the same efficient Philips MSD Platinum FLEX 200 lamp with 6000-hour lamp life as Elation’s Smarty Hybrid, the Proteus Smarty Hybrid’s IP65 protection means this versatile effect can be used indoors or out, says the company.
The Artiste Van Gogh framing wash LED luminaire provides up to 16,000 total lumens from an efficient 380W high CRI LED engine and is capable of concentrated beams to wide washes for u

The Netherlands - At ISE, Apex will introduce the Class D SMA-1 amplifier module, which offers a customisable turnkey solution for all two-way active loudspeakers.
SMA-1 is a purpose-built, fully-featured amplifier module that is easily adapted to customer requirements without the need for a long and expensive custom development process. It combines a switch-mode power supply, two Class D power amplifiers (1 x 500W + 1 x 150W), powerful integrated DSP and all the necessary analogue circuitry optimised for the best sonic performance on a single, extremely compact and lightweight PCBA module.
The most basic customer implementation comprises a single Line input, a Link output, a volume knob and status LEDs for signalling power, signal and limit. customisation is achieved via the versatile input connector on the PCB which enables the addition of extra input sources such a

The Netherlands - BroaMan is launching a standard version of its popular Route66 configurable router series.
The Route66 family had four members, designed for high performance customised video/audio designs. The new fifth version is suitable for simple and cost-effective standard cable management usage, specifically for the AV market and AV-friendly data centres and server rooms.
The new 2RU design makes Route66 applicable to standard smart fiber patchbay applications. This smart patchbay allows routing of fibre/copper cables by software instead of a manual patch, enabling automated IP workflows and remote cable management. It also allows fibre/copper conversion without external devices.
The Route66 platform provides single channel, non-blocking 40 x 40 router ports, and the new standard version of Route66 will offer 40 SFP+ slots for 40 hot-swappable bi-direct

Spain - More often viewed as a summer holiday destination, the Canary Islands are also an exciting place to spend the Christmas holidays. The winter festivities began on 29 November 2018 with a spectacle, filled with light and colour, in the form of a show lit by lighting designer Jonay Díaz and produced by Las Palmas-based L.F. Sound S.L.
Las Palmas, capital city of Gran Canaria, shone resplendently with an opening party of song and dance in which Ayrton Ghibli LED spot luminaires stood out as the main fixture, delivering bright colours and textures to complement the many different musical acts.
Under the control of lighting designer Jonay Díaz, and with the production by L.F. Sound S.L, a significant number of Ghibli fixtures were used to project large gobo images onto the facade of the historic Casas Consistoriales building which was used as a backdrop for artist

UK - Pinewood MBS Lighting delivered LED support to gaffer Martin Smith on the new Michael Bay action adventure, 6 Underground.
Filmed with cinematographer Bojan Bazelli, principal photography has wrapped on 6 Underground having taken the crew across a number of international locations, including multiple sets in Italy and the United Arab Emirates.
Speaking about lighting the project, Martin Smith says: “For 6 Underground we had terrific support from the production’s lighting equipment provider, Panalight. We also had additional assistance from the team at Pinewood MBS Lighting, particularly with the Chroma-Q Brute Force and the huge amount of control equipment that we used throughout the shoot.”
Having discussed the project with the gaffer, PMBS invested in a fresh batch of Brute Force fixtures, built specifically for the production.

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