Denmark - Owned by Danish national broadcaster DR and costing over US$300m, the new DR Konserthuset is one of the most expensive live music venues ever built. A state-of-the-art facility which offers four performance halls and a home to the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, it features cutting-edge technical and acoustic specifications.

A major requirement of the venue is hosting a wide variety of productions but, at the same time, addressing that most thorny of issues - amplifying classical and operatic music, while making the audience feel that what they're hearing is purely acoustic. With Yamaha digital mixing engines at the heart of its two main spaces, this has been very successfully achieved.

The two spaces in question are Studio 1 and Studio 2, seating audiences of up to 1,800 and 500 respectively. Both feature Yamaha DME units, a DME64N in Studio 1 and DME24N in Stud

Switzerland - The fourth St. Gallen Festspiele, including a classical open air opera, has earned its place among the finest of Swiss festivals and this year the production of Saint-Saëns' Samson and Delilah took centre stage in front of the backdrop of the Abbey of St. Gallen.

The monastery of St. Gallen is one of the few concert venues in Switzerland where the orchestra is positioned in an enclosed booth backstage, so sound has to be reinforced one hundred percent towards the audience. To pull off such a feat it is essential to have excellent sound quality, on a par with the carefully controlled acoustics in an auditorium.

M&M Hire AG, together with Habegger AG, the contractor, and Daniel Meyer from 2M Audio, d&b audiotechnik's distributor in Switzerland, provided sound engineering and acoustics expertise at the open-air festival for the fourth time in a row.

Countl

USA - In one of the highest-profile North American concert events of the season, the 2009 No Doubt Summer Tour culminated 11 August with a show at the Neal S. Blaisdel Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii. Building on its successful working relationship with No Doubt lead singer Gwen Stefani from her solo tours, rental firm Sound Image of Escondido, California supplied a JBL Vertec line array system for the tour, which was produced by Live Nation and featured special-guest Paramore and either The Sounds, Janelle Monae or Bedouin Soundclash as the opening act.

Commencing on 3 May at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the tour reunited one of the most successful rock groups from the 1990s, whose 1995 release Tragic Kingdom has sold more than 16m copies to date. In recent years, Stefani has enjoyed tremendous success as a solo artist. Sound Image supp

USA - American Music & Sound has confirmed that Phonic has joined the AM&S distribution network effective 1 September 2009. "Phonic has a fantastic Pro Audio and MI product lineup," says Lynn Martin, president of American Music & Sound. "We are very excited to bring them on board, and we are looking forward to great achievements with Phonic."

"Phonic's success in the US in the past few years outgrew our standalone Tampa office," says Stephen Wang, Phonic's chairman and CEO: "and prompted us to search for a local partner able to provide even greater support and faster fulfillment to users. American Music & Sound was chosen for its track record of brand development and its established distribution network that covers not only musical instruments but also the installed market. Phonic looks forward to expanding our US distribution with a trusted pa

UK - On their return to Football's Premier League, Burnley FC have treated supporters at their 22,000-capacity Turf Moor stadium to a fully integrated digital network public address system that is highly-intelligible and PA/VA compliant.

Acoustic consultants AMS Acoustics, had already implemented an earlier first phase upgrade last season to bring three stands into VA compliance. During the course of this exercise the capture of a full range of measurements was required and the resultant data, after analysis, was used as the cornerstone for an entirely new design the following year.

During the short close season AMS returned with ETA Sound to implant a complete Harman Pro solution, using a fibre-based signal network that would extend to the three main stands - the North (James Hargreaves) stand, the East (Jimmy McIlroy) stand and South (Bob Lord) stand.

The West (David Fishw

Serbia - Just in time for the World Student Games, which were held in Serbia in July, a new sports hall opened in Smederevo. The new 3,500-seat hall meets all the demands of today's major sporting events. Mega Music, Dynacord's partner in Serbia, was responsible for the installation of the sound system. Together with the new hall's management, Mega Music opted for a Promatrix 4000 system, all-in-one solution.

More than 160 Dynacord DL 96A and DL 84 ceiling loudspeakers round off the installation to ensure homogeneous coverage not only in the main hall but also throughout what is now Serbia's top indoor sports complex in areas such as the bowling alley, shooting gallery, passageways, staircases, and changing rooms.

Mega Music's Davor Tomovic comments: "We had meticulously prepared the whole installation in advance and the system worked flawlessly from the start. All we nee

UK - Arcstream AV was commissioned by music video directors Between the Eyes to create the visual laser effects in the video for Sugababes new single Get Sexy.

The video sees the singers enclosed in a cylinder of mirrors and Arcstream AV had to devise a way of creating the special effects within the cylinder. By installing a 10 watt RGB laser and diffraction mirrors within the cylinder and feeding the lasers and a camera through a small aperture in the side of the cylinder, the action within the enclosed area could be captured without disrupting the laser stream.

Wayne Haxton, director of Arcstream AV explained: "Capturing the images was a challenge due to the tight space restrictions, so we used defraction mirrors to bounce the laser beams within the cylinder allowing them to be directed."

(Jim Evans)

The Netherlands - The audacious, ambitious in-the-round touring spectacle that is Britney Spears' Circus World Tour has been wowing fans in the UK before heading off on its latest international leg in Europe, North America, down under and beyond. Literally at the heart of the giant production is a mammoth circular Stealth LED video curtain, raised and lowered with millimetre precision several times every night by an XLNT Advanced Technologies CyberHoist motion control system.

The complex, three-ring, non-stop show is a cornucopia of aerial action, with acrobatics, nine automated lifts, and a central 5.18m (17ft) diameter rotating device, all contributing to the Circus theme, and with over 100 lift cues there's not a moment to draw breath.

The concept is the work of co-lighting designers Nick Whitehouse and Bryan Leitch, with tour director Steve Dixon and show director J

UK - Electro-Voice line array systems have made their way down to the extreme south-west of England, recently appearing at the annual summer picnic festival for the Plymouth Jazz Club. This concert marked the debut for a new XLD system purchased by Light Years Light and Sound, complete with EV amplifiers, system controllers and microphones.

Light Years Light and Sound, from Tavistock, has been servicing the events of the Plymouth Jazz Club for many years, and chose the annual outdoor festival at National Trust property Saltram House as the first outing for its all-new EV inventory.

"Our old point-source system just ran out of steam," says Anthony Plumridge from Light Years. "The criteria I had for a new system was that it should be compact, quick and easy to set up, with superb sound quality. We went over to Shuttlesound's demo facility in south London and liste

USA - Dating back to 1904, the Ravinia Festival is the oldest outdoor music venue in the US, hosting a series of marquee performances every summer from June to September. Ravinia offers open-air concert experiences within its park-like 36-acre site near the shores of Lake Michigan, including the summer residency of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Ravinia Music Director James Conlon.

While the site's 3,200 seat main pavilion could well be called the centerpiece of its lush, tree-lined setting, Ravinia's lawn is a place where concert-goers are encouraged to claim a space with an outspread blanket and have a picnic. One of the few venues in the country that permit full meals and alcohol to be brought in and consumed at its concerts, Ravinia is accordingly visited by patrons toting lawn chairs, coolers packed with food, lawn accessories of all descriptio

Germany - To commemorate its 15th anniversary, Meyer Sound Germany will host an industry-wide open house event at its headquarters in Montabaur on 9 and 10 October.

The audio-focused programme will bring together touring, installation, and event production professionals, and will highlight a range of technical presentations and discussion panels on "the hottest topics in the professional audio business, such as the emerging IEEE 802.1 Audio/Video Bridging (AVB) networking standard".

A highlight will be a demonstration of the self-powered JM-1P arrayable loudspeaker, a system designed to provide precise and seamless coverage in tight-packed arrays.

In addition to exchanging industry information, attendees are invited to take a close look at the latest developments from Meyer Sound's active R&D department at the Berkeley, Calif. headquarters, and join a behind-the-sc

Australia - ARX Systems has announced the appointment of Rio de Janeiro based Sterling Do Brasil as its distributor for Brazil.

ARX managing director Colin Park comments: "Nestor Almeida, director of Sterling Do Brasil told me he is especially excited by the prospects of introducing our USB DI Series products and the new USB I/O Universal Transformer Isolated USB Interface to the Brazilian market, as well as the MSX series of Signal Distribution products, the AudiBox series of audio toolbox essentials, and the rest of the ARX signal processing range."

Alongside ARX, Sterling Do Brasil currently represents BARIX, Gefen, AVT Audio Video Technologies and BEL Digital Audio.

(Jim Evans)

USA - When the University of North Carolina School of the Arts' (UNCSA) School of Design and Production ran into a unique challenge for its recent performance of Sunday in the Park with George, it turned to Aviom's 6416Y2 A-Net Interface Cards for a solution.

The School of Design and Production teaches students to manage all aspects of a theater production by giving them hands-on experience. The school's five theaters do not have permanent sound systems. Students design and install a custom system from the ground up for each production.

To complete these builds, students rent items from the school's equipment shop, a process that mirrors that of professional audio rental shops. What made this production different from other musicals produced at UNCSA, however, was the unusual set design made up entirely of various-sized, rear projection screens. These screens, positione

UK - Delta Sound has invested in Navigator Systems HireTAG automatic equipment tracking system, an integrated RFID solution specifically designed for the events rental industry.

"We've been looking for a quick and easy way to track our ever increasing stock of equipment," says Delta managing director Paul Keating. "We believe that HireTAG is the ideal solution for us."

Each item of stock is individually tagged with easily fitted, specially designed components that have a unique ID, with a HireTAG Arch placed in a convenient location within Delta's warehouse.

Items are walked through the Arch, either singly or in a flight case, unique radio signals are read by the Arch's structure, processed and recorded on easy-to-use Rental Management Software.

"Although RFID tags have been around for some time, not only was the cost prohibitive, but the high meta

South Africa - System Solutions, part of the Gearhouse South Africa Group of Companies, has been awarded a 39 million South African Rand contract by the City of Johannesburg to supply and install a High Definition IPTV, digital signage video distribution system as well as two large format, high resolution outdoor LED screens at the brand new flagship Soccer City Stadium venue.

Offering a 95,000 capacity, Soccer City is located near Soweto, and will see a major part of the 2010 FIFA World Cup action, including the Final and the tournament's Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

The two 86sq.m Lighthouse R16i/o-II screens will comprise 224 lightweight LED panels, fed by a Vista Spyder video control system, running in conjunction with Christie Digital's newly released Vista Universal Routing Switcher (URS-1608). The control system has been designed for maximum flexibility, with all com

Rwanda - With the help of Brighton-based studio manager Dicken Marshall, a Rwandan charity has built a recording studio to help improve the lives of genocide survivors, choosing to install two Allen & Heath ZED-R16 Firewire recording mixers in the new facilities.

Solace Ministries was established in 1996 to help provide comfort to widows and orphans of the 1994 atrocities through counselling, childcare and development support, healthcare, farming associations and supportive programmes.

"Music is a fundamental part of Rwandan life, and for many people it is one of the few comforts they have left," explains Marshall.

Marshall decided to offer his expertise to provide a recording space for the charity's music development programme, which includes a full choir. He raised funds in the UK to buy all the necessary equipment, personally installed it, and trained the venue'

Germany - German rental company and L-Acoustics Rental Network Agent Sirius Showequipment AG provided an L-Acoustics K1/Kudo system for Pyromusikale 2009, three firework displays with musical accompaniment at the Tempelhof Airport, Berlin. Sirius is one of several international companies participating in the L-Acoustics K1/Kudo pilot program.

The total system provided by Sirius comprised 48 K1 line source cabinets, 12 K1 SB subs, 72 Kudo units, 24 SB28 subs and six ARCs, all driven by 78 LA8 amplified controllers in LA-RAK touring racks.

The challenge of this unique event was to synchronise the three firework displays with live jazz, pop, rock and classical music across the large area of the former Berlin airport. "The four K1 towers were very far away from each other," says Wolfgang "Schabbach" Neumann, CEO of Sirius Showequipment. "The K1/Kudo system

Spain - Renovation of an early 20th century building which was once the main slaughterhouse in Valencia recently transformed the building into a point of reference for cultural and athletic facilities in Valencia's capital city. In keeping with current demands and needs, the complex's nearly 13,000sq.m have been appropriately refurbished to adapt to a variety of athletic and cultural activities.

Among many attributes the complex boasts a magnificent multi-purpose hall with room for more than 300 people and an integral professional sound system provided by D.A.S. The system was installed by Megafonía Torres, S.L., industry pioneers with over 60 years' of professional experience in the sector.

Like many auditoriums or halls with a similar layout and acoustic profile, the use of compact array speakers was an ideal set-up in order to achieve optimal levels of sound pressure and c

UK - Defying the economic gloom mongers and with more than a week still to go, PLASA09 pre-show registrations currently match last year's record-breaking total of 15,000, the organisers report.

There will be more for visitors to see, too, as a further 10 new exhibitors have signed up for the show at Earls Court on September 13-16, bringing the total of new and returning exhibitors to 50. The seminar program has also been expanded, with two new audio-related sessions on Tuesday, 15 September.

Another major new addition to the show is the Supply2.gov.uk Lounge, a central feature area giving exhibitors and visitors the chance to get advice from Supply2.gov.uk - the portal that helps SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) gain access to public sector contract opportunities, typically worth up to £100,000.

PLASA is investing in this new feature area to raise awareness am

Finland - Clay Paky's Alpha Beam 300 recently aided a dynamic mix of choir-meets-rock'n'roll at Kuorosota (Battle of the Choirs) in Lahti, Finland. The format is similar to a singing contest, although the participants are not what you would expect. If you're picturing a stoic and formally robed choir singing hymnals, you're way off. After all, this is Finland.

The concept of the program is that choir leaders, who are already established in the music industry, pick ordinary people for a choir from their respective hometowns. The choirs then compete with popular songs during a six-week live television broadcast, with long hair and rock music a common theme. TV viewers vote and determine the winner, and each week another choir gets voted off. The final winner gets to select a charity from their town to receive 40,000 Euros. Approximately half a million people watch every week - rou

UK - The Gosport Waterfront Festival which took place from 28-30th August saw the UK festival debut of a pair of Innovason Eclipse consoles and a Tannoy VQ Live system supplied to PA company Technical Services by Red Square Audio.

A total of 28 bands took to the stage with an average attendance of 4,000 people on each of the show days. Headliners included the Kenny Jones Band, Alan Price, Maggie Bell, Angelo Starr, and Chichino. Red Square Audio's Paul Nicholson took charge of front-of-house duties with Andy Reeves on monitors.

Paul says: "We set up a generic 42-channel plot for the entire event and just picked what we wanted for each band. With the flexibility that the Eclipse offers it was the easiest three days I've ever had behind a console. I configured 10 VCAs and ran the onboard 64-track MARS recorder to multitrack a dozen or so bands which we then used for virtual

USA - ESTA (Entertainment Services and Technology Association) is pleased to announce the finalists in the second annual Rock Our World Awards to be presented at the ESTA Annual Dinner & Awards Ceremony at LDI 2009. The ESTA Rock Our World Awards were created to honour groundbreaking achievement by its members and to acknowledge the genius of both the creator of the technology and the designer or integrator who applies it in a real world environment. The finalists for the second annual Rock Our World Awards are:

Cobra Display - Element Labs, Inc.
DMXIS - ENTTEC
P3-100 System Controller - Martin Professional
OPTI Trilite V-Truss - Optikinetics Ltd
Bad Boy Luminaire - Production Resource Group
SRI ProPlus Fall Protection Systems - Sapsis Rigging Inc
Helix P1 in Marco Borsato's Wit Licht (White Light) Concert Tour - Element Labs, Inc
The Grand Mosque, Abu D

France - The European Space Agency hosted a spectacular celebration on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing at the Citadelle, an ancient fortress high above St. Tropezon 29 July, 2009.

As a highlight of the evening's festivities, an audience of around 1,200 invited guests from around the world experienced a laser performance by tarm Showlaser GmbH. A 15-minute collage of video projections and laser effects above the Gulf of St. Tropez and St. Maxime motivated attendees to rousing standing ovations.

Buzz Aldrin, one of the three astronauts who, on 20 July, 1969, were the first human beings to set foot on the moon, thanked the host organization with the words "a wonderful evening with an outstanding show."

(Jim Evans)

UK - HSL once again supplied lighting and power distribution to C venues' performance spaces at the 2009 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. C venues is the home to the largest theatre and new writing programme at the event, featuring a busy schedule of physical theatre, drama, comedy, dance, music, musicals, mime, opera, children's shows, visual arts and more.

HSL project manager Mike Oates worked closely with C venues' production manager Richard Williamson co-ordinating the requirements for their 16 different performance spaces spread across five buildings in central Edinburgh.

Williamson says: "HSL has been great to work with as always - they are efficient, flexible, and extremely quick at sorting anything if the need arises. They are not the cheapest option, but we wanted a quality and level of service to suit our extremely busy and demanding production schedules."

The

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