USA - The Cutler Majestic Theatre at Emerson College is a historic landmark in the heart of Boston's theatre district. Built as an opera house in 1903, this intimate venue serves student, community and professional theatrical productions.

In 1999, AV systems integrator Boston Light & Sound was brought in to design and install a PA system utilising a pair of EAW MQ1364 MF/HF Array Loudspeakers on either side of an MQTD412 LF Array Loudspeaker with a single MQ1394 below and JF290zs for L&R Orchestra-fill. At the time, with the theatre's balcony closed, the system provided complete coverage of the venue's main-floor and mezzanine seating areas. In 2003, when the balcony was reopened after extensive reconstruction as part of the theatre's 100th anniversary, additional EAW AS690e fill speakers were added for balcony coverage, based on a consultant's design.

Over the summer of 2011,

UK - For 2012, the ABTT Theatre Show is moving to the 'Old Truman Brewery' a new venue for the event, located in the heart of a thriving and booming creative community in East London. The organisers say: "The move is in keeping with the creative and artistic roots of theatre and the ethos of the annual ABTT Theatre Show."

The 'Old Truman Brewery' where the ABTT Theatre Show 2012 will be staged on 13-14 June, is already home to art, design and fashion shows. It was created from the regeneration of 10 acres of once vacant and derelict buildings on the former brewery site and is also placed central to one of London's most exuberant and eclectic shopping and dining districts.

Event organiser Roger Fox explains: "Theatre people need to communicate face-to-face in a relaxed environment. In fact, the convivial atmosphere became so successful in the early days of the Th

Qatar - Continuing its success with rental companies in the Middle East, Unique Sound based in Doha, Qatar has recently acquired an HK Audio Elements system from Melody House. Distributors for the Middle East, Melody House have sold two complete systems that include the EF435 Mid/Top, EP1 Poles and the EA600 Active Subwoofers.

"The Elements is very successful with rental firms as it is a compact system that is also versatile to meet various kind of applications without compromising on the quality of audio," commented Amrith Verghese, HK Audio product specialist at Melody House. "In addition, the fact that the system is scalable allows Unique Sound to grow the system ad their business grows making it a great return on investment."

(Jim Evans)

Canada - wysiwyg software suite from CAST Software of Toronto was a winner at the 99th Grey Cup, the Canadian Football League's championship football game between the East Division champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the West Division champion BC Lions. The game was held on Sunday, 27 November 2011 at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver in front of a live audience of 54,313 and broadcast live to over 4.5m viewers.

The popular Vancouver-based rock band Nickelback performed for the Pepsi Max Halftime Show. Production designer for the halftime show was Robert Sondergaard and TV lighting director was Jason McKinnon, both of Electric Aura in Vancouver.

Sondergaard used wysiwyg R27 Perform during the whole design process to communicate the design look to the show producer, Patrick Roberge Productions as well as Nickelback. He explains, "In the lead up to the Grey Cup, there were a num

Spain - Lasting 1395 days, the siege of Sarajevo was one of the darkest episodes witnessed by mainland Europe since the Second World War. Revisited in a major exhibition at the Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA), Yamaha audio technology is helping to bring a powerful depiction of the siege to life.

The exhibition comprises a film, 1395 Days Without Red, by Sarajevo-born artist Šejla Kameri? and his wife, Anri Sala. Designed to be shown in adjacent rooms, each version of the film features the same events and narrative, but shot from different camera angles.

Throughout every day the 1992-96 siege, thousands of citizens had to cross a myriad of streets threatened by snipers and mortar rounds. The films bring the past and present together by following a woman - played by Spanish actress Maribel Verdú - as she follows her daily route through Sarajevo to a rehear

China The hit musical Mamma Mia! has recently broken new ground as the first western musical to be performed in Mandarin with a Chinese cast. After runs in Shanghai and Beijing, the show is currently playing in Guangzhou, with a DiGiCo SD8 at the helm.

Although western musicals have previously toured China, this is the first time that one has been performed by a local cast, with a translated script.

Mamma Mia! in China is produced by United Asia Live Entertainment Co by arrangement with Judy Craymer, Richard East and Bjorn Ulvaeus for Littlestar in association with Universal. Technically the approach for the audio was the same as it has been for all other recent productions of the show, including the DiGiCo SD8 mixing console. But a few hurdles had to be cleared regarding the supply of equipment.

"Because of China's import laws, we realised that it would b

UK / Spain - Cadac Holdings has announced the appointment of Adagio.pro as exclusive distributor of its new range of analogue and digital compact consoles in Spain and Portugal.

Headquartered outside of Barcelona, Adagio.pro is the pro-audio distribution arm of Grupo Adagio, which also incorporates an extensive MI distribution division and owns a chain of music and pro-audio stores throughout Spain and Portugal; including the Music Gallery stores within the leading El Corte Ingles chain of department stores in Spain. The company owns exclusive distribution rights to some of the leading pro audio brands in the region.

Commenting on the agreement, international sales development manager Vincenzo Borrelli stated, "Adagio.pro is an ideal distribution partner for our new line up of analogue and digital consoles, which are aimed at the general pro audio and live sound sectors,

Europe - Pixled has been appointed as the official distributor for LED display manufacturer Radiant's Linx range of products in key European countries as of 1 January 2012.

For almost two years, Pixled and Radiant have been involved in an on-going 'co-development' agreement, with Pixled selling Radiant's 'L-Series' Linx products badged as Pixled F-37L / F-30L, etc.

For continuity, Pixled has now renamed its four current L-Series products to carry the same name. The Pixled Linx-18 / Pixled Linx-25 / Pixled Linx-30 and Pixled Linx-37 all have the suffix 'by Radiant'.

Pixled's general manager Bart Van der Beken says, "We're delighted with this official appointment which recognises that Pixled has the right contacts, resources, infrastructure and mind-set to take the Linx brand forward. In the past 12 months we have sold high volumes of this very lightweight, ultra-flexible

Italy - Several years ago, the Amerigo Vespucci Airport's terminal building in Florence was equipped with an RCF sound system.

But by the time it came to equipping the new terminal earlier this year, new regulations for security and evacuation, coupled with an evolution in sound system technology, meant that while RCF was once again chosen as the preferred supplier, the company was now required to deliver a far superior solution, in keeping with the new regulations.

Work began on the project in mid-August 2011 under the supervision of RCF project manager, Aristodemo Preda, and the whole system became operational in mid-December.

At the submission stage, various acoustic simulations were carried out, necessary to determine the efficiency of the system and necessary compliances. In addition to meeting the normal requirements of speech intelligibility (public messaging), backgr

USA - GLP German Light Products Inc. has announced that it has reached a successful conclusion to the legal situation that occurred with Global Truss America LLC. At the conclusion of matters, GLP remains the exclusive distributor of its trussing products throughout the Americas, and has announced its new name, Cosmic Truss.

Dealers and customers will be very familiar with the established logo that Cosmic Truss bears, showing its heritage and track record, says the company.

The manufacturing of Cosmic Truss, by Taiwan Georgia Corporation, is done at the very same place that has been supplying GLP with its truss products under the previous name. This facility has been making TÜV certified truss and accessory products for many years and has attained worldwide recognition for its attention to detail and quality of work. The entire product range is available within the Americas t

Serbia - Effective immediately, Philips Vari-Lite has appointed Svetlost Teatar as its new distributor for Serbia. Specialising in the installation of entertainment technology for theatres and other related venues for over 20 years, Svetlost Teatar has operations in Moscow, Skopje and Belgrade.

"Philips Vari-Lite is delighted to welcome Svetlost Teatar as our Authorized Vari-Lite Dealer for Serbia," comments Matt Hallard, Philips Vari-Lite European sales manager. "The company already has a proven track record as a longstanding distributor for Philips brands Selecon and Strand Lighting.The company's reputation for high standards in design and installation, across all sectors in its region and abroad, from theatres to schools and cinemas to arena venues, make it ideally placed to grow the Vari-Lite presence in Serbia and beyond.

" With new products now shippi

UK - The Institute of Professional Sound (IPS), formerly the Institute of Broadcast Sound, has announced details of its annual training weekend, which is being held on 4-5 February 2012 at the National Film & Television School in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire.

The weekend will be divided into two day-long workshops; on Saturday 4 the focus is on audio for outside broadcast at the London 2012 Games (comms and links), while Sunday's event will cover live music production and mixing, with a variety of live bands. Dinner will be available on Saturday evening at a modest additional cost.

On Day 2, Sunday 5 February, a number of live bands, each playing in a different musical style, will be present throughout the workshops, allowing those taking part to gain hands-on experience at producing and mixing a live sound event.

Seminars will include: An explanation of the different kinds

China - Martin Professional Hong Kong held three M1 lighting console seminars in Beijing and Guangzhou recently with focus on operation and application.

Product manager of Martin Professional's Asia-Pacific region, Jeffrey Ong from Martin Singapore, was on hand to lend his rich experience and thorough understanding of the popular M1, as well as Martin lighting fixtures and equipment. Senior technicians were also present from Martin's Hong Kong, Beijing and Guangzhou offices.

The first seminar was held on 15 November at Beijing Constellation Digital Technology Ltd., the sole distributor of Martin lighting in Northern China. Participants included lighting designers from Beijing BeiAo Group Corp., Ltd and CCTV, along with technicians from the DaFeng Company of Zhejiang Province, and personnel from Beijing Constellation.

The next M1 seminar was held on 16 November 16 at the Cent

USA / Sweden - LumenRadio AB, TMB and City Theatrical, Inc. have entered into a Confidential Settlement Agreement that settles all current litigation between the Parties and resolves all of the claims and counterclaims that the Parties asserted against one another.

As part of the Settlement Agreement, LumenRadio AB has obtained a license from City Theatrical, Inc. to United States Patent No. 7,432,803 (the '803 Patent) and all patents in the '803 Patent family that covers all LumenRadio wireless lighting control products that have been sold in the past and that are currently being sold, including those sold to LumenRadio's OEM customers.

(Jim Evans)

UK - SES have completed and shipped the first truck full of distribution to Aggreko for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The units shipped form a part of over 1000 distribution units that Aggreko awarded to SES, with a schedule going thru to the end of April this year.

Aggreko Is The Official Temporary Energy Services Supplier To The London 2012 Olympic And Paralympic Games.

SES have been selected by Aggreko to supply part of the SES custom designed, HDPE power pro range. Director of SES Mark Cooper said, "SES are relishing this amazing once in a life time opportunity to be part of the supply chain in the London 2012 Games."

(Jim Evans)

UK - The education, simulation and training industry is proving to be profitable for specialist image processing, warping, scaling and processing equipment manufacturer, Calibre UK who this month has added Simulation Displays, a division of Paradigm AV, as its channel partner for Europe.

Simulation Displays will supply Calibre UK products to integrators and solution providers in the simulation, education and training industry.

Fresh from attending the I/ITSEC show in Orlando, FL, Greg Jeffreys, MD at Bedford, UK-based Simulation Displays says, "We've brought in Calibre UK as our image scaling, warping and blending technology offering. Their technology is highly regarded for its accurate, powerful and reliable performance creating a perfect product partnering to complement our offering of screens and projection based equipment that meets the requirements for collaborative

Germany - Installation experts Klartext have given The Evangelische Kirche (Lutheran Protestant Church) of the parish of Wahrenholz in northern Germany a new audio system featuring Tannoy loudspeakers, including their new VX Series.

When specifying the new system, the Klartext sound reinforcement engineers faced a number of challenges, in that the system had to be able to cope with all of the requirements of a modern and forward thinking house of worship. The services held here are beyond the 'conservative' type, and include many types of live music, even gospel, alongside spoken word sermons.

Due to its wooden construction, the room itself has good natural acoustics, with a warm reverb that sounds neutral over the acoustic spectrum. Because of this, the installation didn't require beam-steering or line-array speakers to achieve a clear speech reproduction, but it still requir

UK / USA - HHB Communications has announced the appointment of Burlington Audio as the new distributor of its Recording Media products in the US, Latin America, South America and the Caribbean, effective 1 January, 2012. HHB Canada, which has distributed HHB's products in Canada since 1997, will continue to do so in that territory.

The addition of HHB branded media products means that Burlington will now offer an even more diverse range of CDRs, DVDRs, ADAT and DTRS tapes and MiniDiscs.

HHB's international sales manager Matthew Fletcher comments, "We are very pleased to announce this new partnership with Burlington Audio. HHB Recording Media has always been particularly successful in the U.S., and Burlington's expertise and experience in recording media will only bolster the popularity of these products."

Jan Alan, President of Burlington Audio, states, "We al

USA / Europe - ETC is now accepting video submissions for its 'Show us your ETC' student video contest. Student participants can post their videos to YouTube, fill out ETC's submission form at showusyouretc.com, and show off their 'ETC' - enthusiasm, talent and creativity.

ETC will give away three demo stock Eos line lighting control desk prizes: one to each of the three best student-submitted videos. The homemade videos will be judged for their 'ETC-ness' (enthusiasm, talent and creativity) and their use of ETC as a theme and motif. Each video must be under five minutes and appropriate in subject matter.

The 'Show us your ETC' challenge ends on 21 February, which is the final day for video posting/form submission. Throughout the submission period, a panel of judges - ETC's Jon Ironside (the contest's originator), as well as ETC's CEO Fred Foster, industry luminary Richard Pil

UK - The Royal Shakespeare Company's new adaptation of Roald Dahl's Matilda arrived in London in November after opening in Stratford last year - and the show has immediately been hailed as a five-star smash by the critics and audiences alike.

The show has been created by the long-established team of director Matthew Warchus, designer Rob Howell and lighting designer Hugh Vanstone. Vanstone described his aim as being to make the lighting "playful and colourful, to extend the wonky angled Flintstone-like quality embedded in Rob Howell's superb design."

The show was first created on the thrust stage of the RSC's Courtyard Theatre; some re-thinking was therefore required for the show's transfer into the pros-arch Cambridge Theatre. "While the spirit of the design remained the same, given the opportunity for a re-vamp I re-shaped and improved my design as we m

Oman - Occupying an eight hectare site, the new Royal Opera House Muscat (ROHM), built at the behest of Sultan Qaboos Bin Said, was officially opened in October. The complex, consisting of a concert theatre, auditorium, formal landscaped gardens, cultural market with retail outlets and luxury restaurants, is an arts centre for musical, theatrical and operatic productions, and has been designed to reflect contemporary Omani architecture.

Despite being classified as an opera house, the main performance space converts from a theatre setting into a world class concert and organ recital hall.

The technical infrastructure of ROHM has now been further boosted with the delivery of an Optocore optical fibre network system which will enhance connectivity and route signals to the many different performance spaces within the complex. At the same time a MADI bridge will enable recording fr

Germany - After the major success of X-Factor 2010, the German version of the popular talent show has just completed its second season, which ran between 30 August and 6 December.

Among those lining up for casting, the new impression Wash One appeared on all eight live televised shows for the first time, with LD Jerry Appelt and his team responsible for the show's lighting design.

Appelt had already used impression series moving heads for several projects in the past - more than 300 impression 90 and impression XL fixtures featured at the European Song Contest 2011 in Düsseldorf - and again Jerry turned to the energy-saving features of the GLP devices. At least 40 impression Wash Ones were integrated in the stage design this time around.

"The Wash One is a real all-rounder," observes Jerry Appelt. "You can use it to create crunchy beam colours, but als

UAE - Nicolas Kyvernitis Electronics Enterprises, distributors of ClearCom in the United Arab Emirates for the Live Sound market segment have recently supplied Delta Sound with the new Tempest wireless intercom system.

Delta Sound has also invested in an Eclipse Median matrix frame, an array of the V Panels, in addition to an Encore Partyline Master Station, which were used at the recent official UAE National Day ceremonies held at the Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

"Delta Sound have been involved in some of the most sophisticated and complex events in the UAE such as the opening of the Burj Khalifa, Atlantis at Palm Jumeirah, etc where communication is critical for the success of such high profile events," commented Chicco Hiranandani, business development manager at NMK.

"Their current ClearCom inventory gives them the option to communicate within the team both

UK - International Outdoor Event Expo (IOEX) has launched a research project which aims to provide an insight into the event industry in 2012, with predictions for the year and the issues facing event professionals.

Event Industry professionals are invited to take part in the survey which investigates the changes in the profile of events taking place in the UK, areas of investment for 2012, and how event organisers source their suppliers.

The online questionnaire takes a snapshot of the UK events industry and highlights important factors for the future, including the impact the Olympics will have on the industry in 2012 in terms of equipment investment and legacy planning.

Mark Gordon, UBM sales director explains, "We designed this survey to gauge the feeling of the industry from both an organiser and supplier perspective ahead of this very exciting year for British eve

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