Robe - LEADERBOARD - Feb 2025
PLASA Show 2025 - Banner - June-Aug 2025

Business

Details
The Netherlands - Located in the historic centre of Haarlem, Netherlands, De Toneelschuur is a theatre and cinema which has a diverse approach to the performing arts. Recently its Yamaha digital mixing inventory has seen two CL1 consoles added, which are helping to ensure that its sounds are as innovative as its sights.

De Toneelschuur puts on shows and films designed to inspire a wide audience. Independent and 'art house' films show alongside family movies and cinema classics; experimental theatre, mime, cabaret and drama are produced alongside contemporary plays and comedy. This diversity has led to it being regarded as one of the Netherlands leading arts venues.

Designed by artist Joost Swarte, the current building was opened in 2003 and features two theatre spaces and two cinemas. However, De Toneelschuur has had a long and happy relationship with Yamaha digital mixing bef

Details
UK - AKG has continued its support of Red Bull Studio for the third series of Launched At Red Bull Studios - the Channel 4 programme featuring conversation and performance by up-and-coming bands and singers, introduced by Annie Mac.

The first of five episodes was aired on 8 January. Building on the success of the first two series, this time Launched interviewed artists like Rudimental, Rita Ora, Mark Owen, Yannis Philippakis (Foals), Malay, Guy Lawrence (Disclosure), Will Kennard (Chase & Status), Tom Odell and Bastille front man Dan Smith about why they were tipping the new talent featured in the latest series.

"The DMS700 V2 and IVM4500 IEM systems proved invaluable during filming and were utilised by the majority of acts on the show," reports studio manager & head engineer, Brendon Harding. "The feedback on these systems from both the artists and their

Doughty - Banner - from 6 June 2025

Details
Denmark - In late 2013, Martin Professional put out a call to lighting designers around the world, whether a professional lighting designer, small-venue producer or industry newbie, to share their passion for the lighting industry. With hundreds of entries, a one-minute-long video from 22-year-old Ricardo Dias from Portugal managed to convince Martin he was the most passionate member of the lighting industry. His creative approach to lighting earned him, along with his father, a round-trip visit to Martin headquarters in Denmark for a two-day tour of a lifetime.

Dias' creative approach to lighting design was the most impressive point of interest to Martin. The recession continues to impact the lighting industry in Portugal, so the lack of proper equipment forces Dias and his crew of four friends to be creative when hired for a gig. During events, the team has to make on-the-fly

Details
UK - One of the biggest-selling artists in the history of classical music with over 80m albums sold to date, and one of the very few classical artists to achieve crossover acceptance into the mainstream, Andrea Bocelli is probably the most popular classical Italian singer in the world today.

In November 2013 Bocelli performed two sold-out UK shows at the First Direct Arena in Leeds and Glasgow's SSE Hydro. His long-time FOH engineer is fellow Italian Andrea Taglia, who is a devotee of Outline's GTO system and has been using it with Bocelli throughout his 2013 US tour. Both UK shows featured an Outline GTO-based loudspeaker system, specified by Andrea Taglia, facilitated by Britannia Row Productions and with Outline's UK distributor CUK Audio providing operational support).

Forty-five GTO enclosures were flown as three hangs of 15 each in variants of Taglia's preferred mono L-C

Details
UK - Screeching tyres, burning rubber and hi-adrenaline action was enjoyed by up to 5000 petrol-heads, speed freaks and performance car enthusiasts per show, courtesy of XL Video's spectacular 90m wide projection in the Live Action Arena at the 2014 Autosport International exhibition.

Staged at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham UK, XL has been involved with the popular Haymarket Exhibitions' show for several years. Following the massive success of the widescreen projection last year - the first time in this format - it was back again right at the heart of the production design for the show under the Creative Direction of Malcolm Forbes.

XL was again working for the Live Action Arena's technical production co-ordinators, Network Productions. XL's project manager was Toby Evans.

The giant moving backgrounds were made up from a six-way blend of six stacks of two Barc

Details
UK - Two Audient ASP4816s were delivered to dBs Music, one each for its Plymouth and Bristol-based facilities, with a view predominantly "to encourage students from our range of courses to explore the sonic benefits of working and mixing with an analogue desk and outboard," says Matt Bernard, the centre manager in Plymouth.

The analogue desk there is wired in line with a ProTools 16 i/o HD system with a range of outboard and full patch-bay, teamed with Adam A8X monitors and various outboard, together with a selection of studio classic mics. "Our requirements were for an analogue signal path to replace a digital control surface that wasn't getting a huge amount of use. It also balanced up the analogue/digital balance in our main teaching studios in Plymouth," Matt continues.

The dBs Music centre in Berlin already had experience of Audient in the shape of an

Details
UK - Welsh language TV Network S4C commissioned the return of popular entertainment series An Audience With which was produced in co-production by Boom Pictures and Mr Producer in late 2013.

The series was recorded at Cardiff's Enfys Studios over the course of a week. Each programme contained musical artist from Wales, plus their guests in front of a live studio audience. Boom Pictures engaged their regular lighting director Steff Jones and his team on the production. Steffan was also asked to consult on the design of the LED and screen technology used to form the set.

Originally, the series was to be produced at ITV Wales's Studio 1 facilities but due to unforeseen last minute circumstances, Boom Pictures had to relocate the production to Enfys Studios.

"Originally we were set to be loading into ITV Wales, which is a much larger space than Enfys Studios," s

Details
Benelux - With the start of a new year comes the start of a new arrangement for Robert Juliat in their distribution network as AED Distribution takes on the role of official distributor for the Benelux countries.

The agreement came into force on 1 January 2014 when AED Distribution took on responsibility for the Netherlands, having represented Belgium and Luxembourg since 2011.

AED Distribution will cover all markets but are especially excited at the prospect of supporting the theatre market with Robert Juliat products.

"We are very happy to bring the full range of Robert Juliat products to the BeNeLux territories, and in particular to the theatre market", comments Hans Vanderheijden, MD of AED Distribution HQ. "From single lens luminaires and profiles to followspots, Robert Juliat's range covers every requirement from the smallest to the largest venues."

Details
USA / UK - PLASA has announced the launch of its International interactive job board. With its focus on the creative industries, the PLASA Job Board offers its members - and the creative industries at large - an easy-to-use and highly targeted resource for online employment connections.

"We're very excited about the PLASA Job Board because we know how critical it is for employers in the industry to attract first-rate talent with a minimum expenditure of time and resources," said Kacey Coffin, Director of Membership for PLASA worldwide. "And it's important for us to help enable smooth career transitions for our members and those seeking industry jobs."

Both members and non-members can use the new PLASA Job Board to reach qualified candidates with members receiving special pricing. Employers can post jobs online, search for qualified candidates based on speci

Details
Italy - An all-Robe moving light rig took its place in the ring for the 2013 Golden International Circus Festival which ran over three weeks through December and January at the Theater Tendastriscie in Rome, Italy.

Lighting designer Massimo Tomasino added his own touches of magic and spectacle to the various high energy performances with 24 x Robe Robin Pointes and 24 x Robe Robin 600 LEDWashes.

Some of the best international circus acts in the world were presented by Liana Orfei in the show produced by Golden Production Srl to thousands of delighted circus fans as the event celebrated its 30th season.

Tomasino takes up the story, "I chose to combine these two excellent Robe products because I knew their potential was exactly what I needed."

He's used LEDWash 600s many times before on tours, concerts and musicals, however it was his first time incorporating Robe'

Details
South Africa - Syzygy, a dance production by the Break Thru Dance Company and in particular, the work of choreographer Taryn Makaab, ran at the Izulu Theatre at Sibaya Casino in Durban from the 25 - 28 September 2013.

Lighting the show, which consisted of a range of dance styles from contemporary to ballet and hip hop, was a beautiful experience for Vimal Rawjee of Insane Sound. "It was a theatrical production and included many cues with about 40 dancers participating," said Rawjee, who plotted on an Avolites Tiger Touch.

With a great turn out and well over 300 guests attending per evening, it was a proud moment for Rawjee to receive positive feedback on his lighting design. "It was different to lighting a concert," he said. He used multiple cues with slow black out fades to create contemporary looks. "It was out of the box, not our usual and it

Details
USA / Germany - Audinate, the inventors of Dante, have entered into a licensing agreement with ESI, one of the leading vendors of professional and semi-professional audio equipment worldwide. ESI will incorporate Dante into future products.

Built on existing networking protocols and standards, Audinate's Dante is a plug-and-play networking solution which delivers ultra-low latency and tightly synchronized media, while simplifying installation and configuration of digital media networks.

ESI has been making professional audio products for over a decade which are manufactured and distributed worldwide by ESI Audiotechnik GmbH, located in Leonberg, Germany. Their ESI branded and various OEM products are well known and used daily by hundreds of thousands of customers all over the world.

"We believe that Dante is the solution to provide affordable and competitive networking

Details
UK - The BBC deployed an Allen & Heath iLive digital mixing system for the Friday Night is Music Night Christmas Special on Radio 2, to provide the live FOH mix. The system comprised a MADI-enabled iDR-48 MixRack, which is part of the BBC's OB equipment stock, along with an iLive-T112 Control Surface.

Hosted at the BBC's Mermaid Theatre, the event was presented by Ken Bruce, and featured performances from singers Louise Dearman (Wicked) and John Owen-Jones (Phantom, Les Miserables), top West End vocal group Capital Voices, readings and poetry from Samantha Bond and Kenneth Cranham, and the BBC Concert Orchestra.

The BBC also owns an iLive-R72 rackmount surface, which was purchased in preparation for Wimbledon this year, and has subsequently been used on several BBC shows.

(Jim Evans)

Details
USA - The Harvest Bible Church in Cypress, Texas, had a challenging agenda: allow its 1,000-seat sanctuary to have an intimate ambience yet still have both speech and music fill the entire space intelligibly and coherently, despite a relatively low 18-foot ceiling and highly reflective surfaces on the walls and floor. And one more criterion: keep the PA system's profile minimal and as invisible as possible.

It might have seemed difficult to meet all of these goals, but a RoomMatch loudspeaker system from Bose Professional Systems was just the right solution.

Covenant Communications, an AV systems designer and integrator in Houston, used two RM12020 modules, one RM12010 module and an RMS215 subwoofer in each of two L/R arrays, all powered by three Bose PowerMatch PM8500N eight-channel amplifiers. That was all it took to fulfil all of the needs of this complex acoustical space.<

Details
USA - Calvary Church of Naperville, located in the western suburbs of Chicago, recently wrapped up a five-month sanctuary renovation that increased seating from 2500 to 3000 without moving any walls. As part of the project, the church also underwent a full AVL system retrofit, which was designed and integrated by CCI Solutions of Olympia, Washington.

CCI church relations director Duke DeJong said the client put a premium on the audio portion of the project. "From the very start, the church was very intentional about making sure the new sound system would be more than a home run; it had to be a home run with fireworks," he says. "They were very specific in saying that the audio needed to be intelligible, powerful and flexible - spectacular in every sense."

With this as their directive, CCI senior systems consultant Mark Pearson and his team turned to three l

Details
UAE - Sennheiser Group reports another year of significant double-digit growth for its Dubai-based Middle East operation. The company attributes the growth to increased regional adoption of conference and translation systems, the Middle East broadcast industry's ambitions to match global standards in audio systems design and deployment and an increased usage of wireless audio systems in smart classrooms.

The company recorded a 62% year-on-year (YOY) increase in gross profit in the region owing to a number of project wins in the education and hospitality sectors and a notably strong performance in the consumer electronics segment in which the company saw revenues increase by 52% in 2013.

Mig Cardamone, sales and marketing manager at Sennheiser Middle East believes that the fresh wave of spending in the region presents a huge opportunity for the company. "There is no doubt

Details
USA - Maryland Sound International (MSI) employed some of its inventory of 200-plus Powersoft K Series amplifiers to drive the PA systems for the Countdown and Nivea stages during New York City's iconic New Year's Eve festivities in Times Square, which are attended by an estimated one million people and watched by a further one billion worldwide.

This year's celebrations at the 'Crossroads of the World' also marked the debut of MSI's new proprietary BB30 subwoofer, which incorporates Powersoft's revolutionary, patented M-Force linear motor technology and delivers a frequency response that is flat to 20Hz, the company says. Each stack of BB30s was topped by a pair of MSI's new side-fills.

This was the sixteenth year that MSI has provided production sound for the New Year celebrations in Times Square. According to Bob Goldstein, owner, MSI: "One of the many reasons we use P

Details
Mexico - Ending their 2013 El Objeto tour in style, well-known alternative rock Mexican band Café Tacuba played their last show of the year at the Palacio de los Deportes arena in Mexico City, for first time using 14 new Robe Robin Pointes, recently purchased by local rental company, Meridian Pro S.A de C.V. The Pointes were located right behind the band forming a line upstage.

The band's producer Sergio Serrano - who also has his own lighting and video company, LED Project, in the same city - commented that they are always looking out for the newest products that will keep the company at the forefront of the latest technologies.

"I saw the Pointe and proposed we used these for the last show to the band's German LD, 'Tiffy' Castellanos, who agreed and also really likes them. It's a fixture far better than others available on the market, and that's what we al

Details
Italy - Although ground broke for the construction of Milan Cathedral in 1386, it was only in the last decade that its construction was declared complete. The massive architectural project took over six-hundred years. Milan attracts two million visitors a year, and almost all of them visit the famous cathedral.

To convey the epic story of its construction and to raise additional funds for Milan Cathedral's costly upkeep, the Cathedral Museum opened in 1953. In keeping with the long timescale of the cathedral's construction, the museum closed for five years and only recently re-opened, completely refurbished and ready to accommodate contemporary revenue streams. Among its new offerings, the museum added a conference room that can be rented for meetings and dinners. To keep costs low, but functionality and fidelity high, the conference AV system uses an Ashly Pema 4125.10 100V out

Details
USA - With a soaring roof that's distinctively shaped like a nine-point star, Valparaiso University's Chapel of the Resurrection is a fabled landmark to passing motorists on nearby US Route 30. By some accounts the largest collegiate chapel in the US, boasting a 98ft high circular chancel, the 55-year-old structure is also 'big' in terms of the interior illumination challenges it presents - which is why Jeff Hazewinkel, director of the Centre for the Arts at the Indiana university, specified Chauvet Professional's award-winning Ovation E-190WW LED ellipsoidal for a recent lighting upgrade to the facility.

The Ovation E-190WW units made their debut in grand fashion, illuminating the 2013 Valparaiso University Christmas Concert, a beloved musical tradition in the community for more than 80 years. Attended by some 2,500 individuals, the concert featured the Valparaiso University Ch

Details
South Africa - Durban's Barnyard Theatre, found in the Gateway Shopping Centre, Umhlanga, has thrilled audiences over the past year with one good production after the next. This steady flow has enabled the well run theatre to recently purchase additional gear including a grandMA2 Port Node, 10 Longman Stagebars, six Longman LED parcans and 80 new connectors and cables.

"Since the equipment arrived, we have received great compliments," said Eduard Biermann, who heads sound and lighting. The fixtures have been used to light the backdrop on stage, and it now jumps out."

The gear was purchased from Nick Barnes from DWR Distribution, Durban. The Stagebars in particular, with the colour changing LED properties and strobe effects, has created eye candy to jazz up shows. DWR's Nick Britz provided training for the grandMA2 Node, giving Biermann a boost of confidence.

H

Details
The Netherlands - Alcons Audio has appointed FACE as Pro-Ribbon Partner for the Netherlands. At CUE 2014, The Netherlands main sound and light show, Alcons Audio and FACE jointly announced their sales cooperation for the Dutch territory. The appointment of FACE as Pro-Ribbon Partner for the Netherlands means the sales and support for the rental and installation market will be handled by the Dutch branch of FACE.

Tom Back, managing director of Alcons Audio comments: "Over the last few years the international expansion of Alcons Audio with factory-owned subsidiaries in the US, India and Germany and Partners in over 30 countries, have shown that as a manufacturer, we have our hands full on supply and support on an international level.

"Up until now, we supported the Dutch market directly from our headquarters in Zwaag, but with our structure, couldn't fully "work&q

Details
USA - It wouldn't be Christmas without Mannheim Steamroller. The distinctive ensemble is marking the 29th anniversary of its Christmas concert tours with a multimedia display featuring a light show and big-screen images and videos synchronized with their music. Lighting designer Richard Jackson has included Clay Paky Sharpy Washes in his rig for the first time.

Mannheim Steamroller debuted their first Christmas album in 1984 combining the group's signature mix of baroque instruments and rock 'n roll beats to give a fresh twist to holiday classics. This year two tours of six-member ensembles played 80 dates on a Christmas tour running from mid-November to late December.

Francesco Romagnoli, Clay Paky area manager for North and Latin America, commented: "It's great to see our Sharpy Washes added to such an iconic show. I'm glad that Mr. Jackson is getting good use out of th

Details
Canada The Cirque du Soleil's Varekai, which has been touring the world since 2002, returned to Montreal, Quebec in December 2013 for its re-launch as Arena Shows. The production team proposed to lighting designer, Nol van Genuchten the deployment of the BlackTrax realtime tracking solution from CAST BlackTrax Ltd for moving light tracking of performers.

"As lighting designer for the very first edition of Varekai, it's great to be working on it again as it evolves. With the new arena tour, Varekai is hosted at a different location each week and presents its own lighting challenges allowing me to adapt the lighting to 'the arena' of each new environment," said van Genuchten.

"We introduced BlackTrax as an operational efficiency and cost saving tool as well as a way of calibrating lighting highlights to track performers on the stage area. Blac

  1. grandMA2 at the circus in Sydney
  2. Wicreations in spectacular performance
  3. Jands Vista controls Royal Albert Hall spectacular
  4. Clay Paky celebrates with Lady Gaga & friends
  5. A&O celebrates in Dubai and Doha
  6. Elation Platinum beams on Broadway
Page 1563 of 1804
Astera - Large MPU - June 2025
Sennheiser - MPU - June 2025

Latest Issue. . .