Robe - LEADERBOARD - Feb 2025
Doughty - Banner - from 15 May 2025

Business

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The Netherlands - TM Audio has completed a major audio upgrade at the GelreDome arena in Arnhem, the Netherlands, replacing the original amplification and control network. Nearly 70 Powersoft 3904 two-channel 1U amplifiers now drive the GelreDome's main audio system, with a new MediaMatrix NION system in control.

In the 13 years since it opened as one of the Netherlands' premiere multipurpose venues, GelreDome has hosted events from the Euro 2000 tournament to the annual Symphonica in Ross. Seating up to 35,000 for concerts, this versatile arena's dual design as a football arena also makes it the 26,000-capacity home of Dutch premier league football club Vitesse. Event specialists The Production Factory act as technical consultants for shows playing in the GelreDome, as they did during its original design phase.

Those 13 years had taken their toll on the original PA sys

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UK - LEE Filters has announced that its new website is now live. "The site is the result of extensive research undertaken with lighting professionals to find out exactly what our customers want from our website," the company says. "The feedback we got played a crucial part in the design, navigation and content of the site. We hope you like the improvements that we have made and that the site becomes an invaluable working tool for you."

(Lee Baldock)

Renkus-Heinz - Banner - May 2025

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UK - "Kids are used to the high production values of Lady Gaga. You can't fob them off with something else." So says Suzi Digby, internationally renowned choral director and conductor explaining her innovative new scheme, Vocal Futures, which she hopes will prove that youngsters from any background can form a life-long bond with classical music.

To prove the point, Vocal Futures recently created their first production, a staged version of Bach's St Matthew Passion performed in Ambika P3 - an old concrete laboratory in the University of Westminster on the Marylebone Road in Central London - featuring actors, singers including opera star Sir Willard White, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment plus 300 young Londoners aged between 16 and 22 who not only attended performances but also recorded a 'virtual choir' for the production.

Tasked with br

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UK - London's Harold Pinter Theatre, formerly the Comedy Theatre, had retained its original wooden grid and manual hemp flying system for over a century. The intervening years had taken their toll on the grid, with heavy steel-framed sets and moving lights causing major operational challenges for the theatre staff.

In 2009, the theatre's owners, Ambassador Theatre Group, commissioned Theatreplan consultants to prepare a detailed report on the existing flying system, and to suggest a new support arrangement to accommodate modern scenery loads. The task was complicated because of the presence of six large early wooden drum and shaft mechanisms, which had been listed; English Heritage and Westminster City Council wanted them to be retained.

Theatreplan produced a comprehensive 'heritage' report, a service in which Theatreplan's partner Roger Fox specialises. He said: "We stu

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UK - When Brixton Academy was built in art deco style during the cinema boom of the late 1920s, it never expected to be hosting high-octane rock bands like American supergroup, Chickenfoot (led by former Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar).

Within this Grade II-listed building ghosts of its cinema past remain, and the bulging balcony fascia has proved the downfall of many a sound system, returning the fire power off the stage, and bouncing the sound waves back at the band.

But Martin Audio was able to pull off a rare feat when their Multi-cellular Loudspeaker Array (MLA) made its debut there (via Capital Sound). To the amazement of FOH engineer Michael 'Ace' Baker, Martin Audio's Jason Baird and system tech, Mark Edwards, simply notched out this chunk of the coverage pattern in the dedicated optimisation software.

"Chickenfoot is one of the loudest bands that have played th

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UK - When the Royal Opera House installed Unison architectural lighting control for the stage and side stage areas as part of the original 1999 refurbishment, it was recognised that lighting control systems will be eventually replaced as new and better products are developed. When senior lighting manager Nick Ware and his team members decided it was due for replacement, they looked first at the updated version of the product: Unison Paradigm.

Lighting systems Manager Paul Hornsby explains, "The system has remained on 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the last 11 years, and has served us well. But it was time to consider replacing it.

"We talked to colleagues at other venues across the country, doing extensive research into the systems they were using and discussing whether a different system might serve our needs better, but always came back to ETC's updated arch

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Reasons To Be Cheerful - The UK music industry is celebrating after the Live Music Bill passed its third reading and report stage in the House Of Commons. The Bill, introduced by Lib Dem Peer Tim Clement-Jones and promoted in the Commons by Bath MP Don Foster, should now proceed to Royal Assent.

As a result, small venues wanting to host live music events will no longer need a local authority entertainment licence - cutting bureaucracy and expense, and making it easier for pubs and clubs to host live performances.

Jo Dipple, acting chief executive of UK Music, the UK commercial music industry's umbrella body, said, "This is a great day for music. The Live Music Bill will make a real and positive difference to lives of musicians. There is no doubt that the current Licensing Act has created needless layers of bureaucracy - making it complicated and expensive for pubs and oth

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Russia - Innovason has confirmed the appointment of Imlight LLC as the brand's new distributor in Russia. Headquartered in Kirov in north-eastern Russia with offices in Moscow, Imlight is one of Russia's premier manufacturers and distributors of professional sound, lighting and staging equipment. They also have a large systems contracting division as well as a major rental division that handles some of the biggest tours and events throughout Russia.

Imlight has already got off to a flying start with Innovason with a number of concerts using Eclipse GT already under their belts and many more planned. Some of the biggest include a tour with one of Russia's biggest (and most controversial) singer/songwriter pop stars, Philipp Kirkorov. Imlight's rental department handled the sound requirements for the part of the tour that went through their region. According to Imlight's Pavel Zau

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USA - The Angus Bowmer Theatre at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) in Ashland has taken delivery of three Robert Juliat Lucy 1200W HMI followspots from Musson Theatrical, Inc. of Santa Clara, California. The OSF's recent emphasis on musical theatre prompted the acquisition, which expands the company's followspot inventory. OSF previously purchased a pair of Robert Juliat Super Korrigan 1200W HMI followspots for its Elizabethan outdoor theatre. The outdoor theatre seats 1200, and the Angus Bowmer Theatre seats 601.

"The superior brightness and optics of the Juliat spots made it easy to decide to go with the Lucy followspots for the Bowmer Theatre," says master electrician Noah Beauregard.

Lighting and video department manager Michael Maag worked closely with Musson's director of sales and marketing Dinna Myers to specify the best fixture for the job. "Every

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UK - Lincoln University has invested in 30 Chroma-Q Color Force RGBA LED fixtures for its two television studios at the campus's Media Broadcast Production Centre, which have recently been upgraded to full multi-camera and HD spec. facilities.

The University runs a variety of the UK's leading media orientated courses and the TV studios are used for full programme productions and an assortment of other associated functions.

The Chroma-Q Color Force 12" / 300mm multi-purpose fixtures and Color Force 72" / 1.8m battens have replaced all the studio's old soft lights and cyc lights, substituting approximately 43,000 Watts of power consumption with an expedient 3,700 Watts with the new LED lighting.

Chroma-Q Color Force was chosen after extensive research by studio engineer and technical specialist Steve Judge, who also teaches the practical and technical elements of cou

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The Netherlands - Since its launch, the compact DiGiCo SD9 has made a significant impact on audio rental and sound reinforcement companies who need a digital console for medium-sized productions. An example is Soundlink, a Dutch audio company whose SD9 has been in constant use since it was purchased a year and a half ago.

Owned by Bas Jansen, Floris Roelfzema and Hugo van Meijeren, Soundlink is based near the town of Roden, just west of Groningen. After five years of providing sound reinforcement as a hobby, in 2008 they turned Soundlink into a full-time business and have not looked back since.

"In the summer of 2010 we were in the market for buying a new analogue console and multicore," says van Meijeren. "We contacted TM Audio in Utrecht and they suggested that we look at digital consoles because of the advantages in size, weight, the convenience of a fibre op

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UK - Theatrical suppliers Hawthorns recently supported the Breakin' Convention International Festival of Hip Hop Dance at Sadler's Wells Theatre with a charitable loan of nine Clay Paky 1200 Profiles.

The top international line-up of dancers was lit by lighting designer Jonathan Samuels who said he was extremely pleased with the Clay Paky equipment. "I found the Alpha Profile 1200 to be one of the most versatile and easy-to-use moving lights that I have ever worked with. The features they provide allowed me to create unique lighting for the 20 or so companies that performed, without having to unnecessarily repeat looks or states."

According to Samuels, time was of the essence. "The time demands on the lighting designer of Breakin' Convention are immense and having equipment that can react as quickly as the ideas flow is a massive advantage. Finally - here is a t

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Namibia - Omalaeti is a name that is becoming synonymous with music, events and production in Namibia. The brand's events and rental wing, Omalaeti Events, has recently added more of the versatile HK Audio ConTour Array into their rapidly expanding arsenal of concert audio systems.

The company has contributed to large scale projects in Namibia such as the Mixa Live Concerts, cultural events, various music concerts and also provides technical support at Zoo Park in Windhoek.

Andrew Sorrill, specialist for HK Audio at suppliers Proaudio, says that he is thrilled about Omalaeti's success. "It is exciting to see how these event companies expand from humble beginnings, and we at Proaudio are glad that we are able to contribute in some way toward their growth."

Tawanda Munyawiri, who is the operations manager at Omalaeti Events, has enjoyed HK Audio's product range throu

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UK - Milton Keynes based Impact Production Services (IPS) has added the new Prolyte H40R Truss to its extensive rental inventory. The truss has been supplied with a powder coated black finish. Launched at PLASA 2011 in September, and arriving now in the UK, this innovative product combines the compact dimensions of Prolyte H30V Truss, with the loading capacity of the larger H40V truss.

Manufactured by Prolyte Group, the H40R Truss has three sided webbing with thicker braces on the bottom side allowing easy mounting of fixtures- allowing weight to be evenly distributed on the truss, and avoiding the complications getting hook clamps in the correct chord spacing along the sides of the truss. The H40R also has a clever spigot orientation to enable the truss to be easily fitted together on the floor before rigging.

Jon French, head of rigging at IPS who took the H40R out on its fi

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Germany - Coemar's international representation continues to grow with the appointment of Feiner Lichttechnik of Regensburg as new distributor for Germany.

Feiner Lichttechnik will take on distribution of the Coemar led product range, including the award-winning Reflection series and LEDko products, Lite Led series, and the expanding architectural range.

Filippo Frigeri, European sales manager at Coemar, said, "We are excited to partner up with Feiner, a company known throughout the German installation market for its sales of quality products and for the technical experience to support those products."

Feiner Lichttechnik's owner and CEO, Gerhard Feiner, said, "We have been fans of the Coemar technology for many years, since the excellent theatrical products in the late '80s, and even more today with products such as Reflection LEDko and StageLite LED. It is a

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UK - The Green Lighting Social took place on 18 January 2012 at The Globe on Bow Street. Organiser Robin Barton of The Royal Opera House says: "The aim was to get lighting people together to carry on the discussions which are inevitably cut short at formal meetings during the year. Hopefully, with more time, these discussions will evolve and lead to more action and combining of efforts. A lot of the discussions revolve around reducing waste, rather than just trying to be traditionally energy efficient - i.e. turn things off when not needed; specify the right kit - for example, if you have a 4k HMI that never runs at more than 50% could you use a 2.5k. What started out as a niche topic has now become mainstream and provokes much discussion."

The first Green Lighting Social brought together people from across the lighting industry to share their experiences in an informa

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Slovakia - Robe MMX Spots were among over 50 Robe moving lights supplied by Slovakia's top technical production rental company, Q-99, to lighting designer Martin Kubanka for STV1's new music series, Slovakian Legends of Pop, aired live during Friday night prime time on national TV channel STV1.

The nine-week Legends of Pop series was recorded at STV's studios in Slovak Republic capital Bratislava. It culminated in the presentation of songs from one of the most famous bands from the Czech/Slovak region, Elán, whose 40-year career went 'meteoric' back in the 1970s.

The format of the show each week highlighted the work of one legendary artist or band. Seven of their most popular landmark songs were reinterpreted by today's top stars, and the original artist would then close the programme with two of their greatest hits. It has been a massive success and has celebra

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Denmark - Guitarist and producer Peter Brander has left his unmistakable fingerprints on dozens of the most well-known Danish rock classics.

It all started 34 years ago with the Rock Tape studio - a humble facility that quickly became the studio to be at if you wanted the right rock sound. The studio was pure analogue but the studio produced albums with such a clear sound that everyone actually believed that it was digital recordings.

"I have always been very keen in my choice of recording gear and have learnt to get the most out of it. With Rock Tape it was all based on old equipment and a good spirit to tweak it and get the noise away - so it sounded more modern", says Peter Brander.

To step out of the rock image the studio changed its name to Medias Sound Studios and began to upgrade the studio with additional mixing rooms and added a lot of new equipment and di

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Sweden - When noted theatre consultant Dick Hasselblad developed specifications for a new performing arts centre named Spira, Swedish for sprout, he made sure that his design would match the building's spectacular modernistic exterior and include the latest and control technology.

Fully RDM (Remote Device Management) capable signal distribution and lighting systems surfaced as an absolute requirement at an early stage of the design process. LumenRadio's CRMX Nova wireless DMX/RDM units with the accompanying SuperNova software became key ingredients of an extensive control and monitoring network that spans four stages. A large number of the CRMX Nova units throughout the building now allow centralised real time management and monitoring of all connected RDM equipment.

This facility is believed to be the first of its kind in Europe to be built from the ground up with an all enco

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UK / Germany - Medium Germany and Peerless-AV have announced that Medium Germany has entered into an agreement with Peerless-AV, as of 1 January 2012, to promote and sell Peerless-AV's extensive offering of professional mounting solutions in Germany.

Gordon Dutch, managing director of Peerless-AV Europe explained, "Medium Germany is recognised as one of Europe's leading AV and IT distributors and their desire to partner exclusively with Peerless-AV is the best indication of just how far Peerless-AV has come since entering the European market back in 2009"

As part of the agreement, Peerless-AV will supply Medium Germany with a comprehensive offering of professional mounting solutions as well as provide local support and launch a new product website that is completely translated into German.

Reinhold Imdahl, general manager and founder of Medium Germany confirmed, &q

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USA - RC4 Wireless, manufacturer of the RC4Magic Wireless DMX and Dimming System, has relocated from Ontario, Canada - to a new home in Raleigh, North Carolina. Just minutes from Research Triangle Park (RTP), RC4 Wireless has joined one of the most technology-savvy regions in North America, the silicon-valley of the east. RTP is home to Cisco, Dupont, Ericsson, IBM, and many other international tech leaders.

"We've been in business for 21 years," says James Smith, president of RC4, "and last year we were so busy with projects, designs, and the deadlines that go along with them, that I didn't realise it was our 20th year - a real milestone. Luckily, this month I did notice that we've moved."

Surrounded by unpacked boxes and disassembled furniture, Smith's veneer of humour does not entirely mask the scale of the shift his company has undertaken. The entire RC

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The Netherlands - Crestron is extending its training programmes and will be launching its first ever consultants' summit at ISE 2012. Catering for the specific needs of the CI consultant, Crestron has tailored the content of this session to reflect the roll consultants play in specifying a control system.

The summit will be held on 31 January form 13.30 - 15.00 in room G109 at the RAI and Crestron will be providing lunch to all attending delegates. The session will cover the latest product offerings from Crestron and how each can contribute to complete integrated solutions for all projects of any size, residential and commercial.

Leading the session will be Fred Bargetzi, VP of technical sales, and Stijn Ooms, director of technology, Europe.

"We are forever taking on board the feedback from the integrators, end users and consultants and following ISE 2011 we recognised

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Europe - Philips Vari-Lite has announced the strengthening of its European Service Network with the opening of four new European Service Centres - Entertainment Equipment Supplies,S.L. (EES) in Spain, FACE in Belgium, Lightco in The Netherlands, and White Light in the United Kingdom. As Authorized Service Centres, EES, FACE, Lightco and White Light will work with end users and technicians throughout Europe "to ensure the complete and timely service of any Vari*Lite automated luminaires".

"As we build our relationships with dealers and technicians worldwide, we are excited to open EES, FACE, Lightco and White Light as our newest European Service Centres," said Julie Smith, director global support services for Philips Vari-Lite. "We have worked extensively with their technicians and staff members to ensure they have the tools needed for success, and we are

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UAE - Each year on 1 December, the United Arab Emirates celebrate their independence. The celebrations were especially lavish in 2011, as 2 December marked the formal 40th anniversary of the coming together of the seven emirates to form the UAE. A comprehensive programme of cultural and sporting events kicked off on 1 December to make this a true jubilee event.

The organisers entrusted responsibility for providing the sound reinforcement at two of the most important functions to Sound On Stage Events. The Dubai-based company was responsible for prestige stage productions in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, where well-known Arab artists performed with ensembles of up to 45 musicians.

The event in the Abu Dhabi Exhibition Centre in the nation's capital drew over 10,000 visitors. The main PA comprised 12 Electro-Voice X-Line line array elements and six Xsubs, whilst 14 XLD281 compact line a

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GLP - MPU - Feb, Apr 2025

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