USA - In March 2009, Cirque du Soleil officially opened the doors of its new training centre based at the company's Resident Show Division (RSD) in Las Vegas where technical staff can advance their skills in the use of the high-end lighting, audio, rigging, and automation equipment behind Cirque's extravagant, multisensory theatrical spectacles.

Meyer Sound, whose audio technology supports all of Cirque's resident productions, has expanded the company's worldwide education programme to include regular Matrix3 audio show control and CueConsole training sessions at RSD.

The RSD facility is the brainchild of Kim Scott, technical show support training manager, with Sylvain Brisebois, head of audio of Cirque du Soleil's Zumanity, coordinating the programme logistics with Jerry Placken of Meyer Sound. Other Cirque audio department leads are also in

UK - It was 1978 when Jeff Wayne released the epic Musical Version of The War of the Worlds, and the Martians caught a cold on Primrose Hill and had their eyes pecked out by hungry crows. This year they decided to have another go at our fragile planet - in arenas around the UK and Europe in The War of The Worlds - Alive on Stage.

With RG Jones supplying a complex Synco by Martin Audio based sound system, the touring production was as grand a concept as the original record. Creating the spectacle were a 10-piece band, 36-piece string orchestra, five singers, a flying bridge, an 80' wide video screen, a 3D holographic projection of narrator Richard Burton and a 10m high Martian fighting machine with pneumatic legs, all supported by nine trucks and 44 crew.

Mixing front of house was RG Jones engineer Simon Honywill, who comments: "I've been attempting to convey

USA - Shure Incorporated has introduced three new professional headphone models, the company's first over-the-ear headphones designed specifically for studio applications. The SRH840, SRH440, and SRH240 join Shure's lineup of professional and home recording equipment, including the recently introduced X2u, XLR-to-USB Signal Adapter and PG27USB and PG42USB Side Address Condenser Microphones to offer a complete recording package for studio engineers, musicians, and home recordists.

"Recording engineers need three critical things: flat, natural audio reproduction, comfort during extended wear, and gear that can stand up to the rigors of everyday use. To perfect those attributes, we combined Shure's legacy of working with sound engineers and recording artists with the depth of experience we gained with our consumer line of Sound Isolating Earphones," said Scott Sullivan, S

USA - Technomad LLC, reports that Chattanooga Sound, a sound contractor based in Chattanooga, Tenn., has installed two Berlin weatherproof loudspeakers on a new soccer field for the Tennessee State Soccer Association in the nearby town of Cleveland.

The Berlin is the most powerful loudspeaker Technomad offers. According to Charlie Rhodes, president of Chattanooga Sound, the soccer association approached him to procure and design the end-to-end system after discovering Technomad online. The Berlins are mounted on opposite sideline poles, one pointing in each direction toward the field to cover the entire venue.

"The Berlins offer a very high SPL and a two-inch driver that makes a world of difference when projecting spoken word over long distances," said Rhodes. "These are full-range loudspeakers that reproduce lows, mids and highs very well, and the two-inch driv

Belgium - Rental company Photonics took delivery of the first trailer built by Element Labs. The award winning Cobra 16 display of 17sq.m is Europe's largest display on a trailer.

Bart Van der Beken of Element Labs says, "Thanks to the features of the Cobra platform, we were able to build such a large LED surface in 16:9 layout on such a small trailer. Cobra is ultra thin - ultra light - and has extreme low power consumption, which are all helping in designing our Cobra trailer. In addition, we offer a four LED pixel product (RGBC) to improve the picture quality which delivers a true virtual 8 mm resolution in combination with our Vizomo processor."

Pieter Lambert of Photonics says: "We are very proud to be Element Labs' first mobile trailer customer. The Cobra 16 display looks stunning and we bring a new quality standard and display size to the market of LED tr

USA - Rat Sound recently installed a new sound system at West Hollywood's Whisky a Go Go, which comprises Xi loudspeakers, TG amplifiers and an N8000 controller from Electro-Voice. At one time or another over the last 45 years, virtually every major rock act has appeared there, including The Who, The Byrds, The Police, as well as Frank Zappa, who recorded a live album at the club.

The centrepiece of the installation are the four Xi-1153s and Xi1122MHA loudspeakers from Electro-Voice, driven by two TG7 and 10 TG5 power amplifiers with integrated RCM-26 DSP modules. System control is via a NetMax N8000 matrix controller running under IRIS-Net.

Whisky a Go Go's Leonard Contreras and Jason Hines originally favoured a line-array solution, but after numerous test runs, none of the solutions demonstrated convinced the duo. It was David Brown of Electro-Voice who then suggested removi

UK - The prestigious Gottelier Award will be presented for the third time at this year's PLASA Show.

Named in honour of the late designer, developer and commentator Tony Gottelier, this award aims to recognise the product developers who have made a significant contribution to the development of the equipment and tools that enable our entertainment technology practitioners to continually push the boundaries of event production, presentation and installation.

The process of identifying the winner by peer voting will again consist of two distinct phases, but with a few subtle changes.

In the Nomination Phase, industry professionals will again be asked for their choices, but will also be asked to identify the specific product contributions that make that nominee a worthy contender. Based on the nominations received, a panel of industry expert judges will then be asked to decide

France - L-Acoustics Rental Network agent Arpege has deployed its K1 system on Jean-Michel Jarre's World Arena Tour. With branches in Paris and Nice, the rental company joined the K1 pilot programme in March.

Jarre's current spectacle has been created for arenas and stadiums, featuring his greatest hits in a show merging analogue synthesisers with huge video projections. As the K1 system is behind the video screen used for the projections, experiments have been carried out on the left-centre-right system in unusual configurations.

For example, in the Vorst national forest in Brussels, the system comprised three clusters of eight K1 cabinets and four K1-SB, with eight SB28 subs flown behind the centre cluster. The K1 system is being driven by LA8 amplified controllers mounted in LA-RAK touring racks.

The K1 pilot programme will carry on into 2009 in collaboration with

UK - Kave Theatre Services supplied all lighting, sound, AV, set and crew requirements on a large scale production for a dance school client. The show was choreographed around some of the most famous movie soundtracks in history. The set design brief was to deliver something "unusual and exciting" for the dancers to interact with.

Kave project manager Dave Singleton created a dynamic design utilising the company's Alistage Staging System. The visible set frontage was covered with Pulsar Chroma Panels with Thomas Pixelline 1044 battens placed in between them and lined with several strips of Colour Kinetics I-cove.

The client had a requirement for large staircases that could be moved on and off with relative ease. The solution was to once again use the company's Alistage products which produced a lightweight, easy to manoeuvre end result. Each tread was then lined with

Azerbaijan - Resplendent underneath a massive crystal chandelier, the MTN Theatre in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, is an intimate 400-seat venue that exudes the luxury of a bygone era, yet it also offers advanced 21st century AV technology, including a discreet Meyer Sound system based around M'elodie line array loudspeakers, custom-painted to match the decor.

Alas, for the casual tourist, this architectural jewel is not open to the public. Built more than a half-century ago during the Soviet era, the deteriorating theatre was painstakingly refurbished before it was turned over to the MTN, Azerbaijan's national intelligence agency. (MTN's closest English alphabet transliteration is Milli Tehlukesizlik Nazirliyi.) MTN now uses the venue for hosting high-level government conferences and for entertaining foreign dignitaries on state visits.

"With such important audiences

India - Since Dhanashree Electronics took on distribution of HK Audio in India, the German pro audio brand has been gaining in popularity there. As HK product specialist with Dhanashree, Calvin Baker reports that rental firm Aeros Sonic in the coastal city of Goa recently acquired two HK Audio Projector systems and four F.A.S.T. active monitors.

"We were looking for a new system that could be set up in minutes and managed by a crew of just two men," say Oswin Vas and Andre Paul Sousa, the owners of Aeros Sonic. "Dhanashree Electronics suggested the Projector systems and the F.A.S.T. monitors to us, and they were exactly what we were looking for. We're really happy with our new systems, as they have solved all our problems. We can set them up very quickly and the sound is outstanding."

(Jim Evans)

The Netherlands - Distributing high quality audio over an outdoor area covering more than 2200m by 118m is a massive challenge, but one which has been made a great deal less problematic by the advent of digital audio. And recently the need to replace the 20 year old audio system at Amsterdam's Bosbaan rowing lake has seen a comprehensive Yamaha installation.

Bosbaan (meaning Woods Course) is the oldest artificial rowing course in the world, built in 1936, enlarged in 1954 and again in 2001. Owned by Amsterdam City Council's Dienst Maatschappelijke Ontwikkeling (Social Services department), the facility hosts a wide range of rowing events, from local to international competitions.

Because of its high profile, often involving television and radio broadcasts, Bosbaan's audio system is required to fulfil a wide range of uses, including crowd and commercial announcements, live repo

UK - Midas and Klark Teknik have appointed a new distribution company, Quad Professional, for Singapore and Malaysia, with immediate effect.

"The Singapore market is strategically very important in the Asian concert sound business and it is vital that our distribution channel has the right people in place to service and support our customers there," says Midas and Klark Teknik's sales and marketing director, David Cooper.

"The team which have set up this new company, Vincent Tan, Chung Wah Khiew and their new product manager have over five decades of pro audio experience between them, which includes many years of working with the Midas and KT brands already. I am really happy that these talented people will be working with us to support present and future Midas and Klark Teknik customers in Singapore and Malaysia."

"Quad Professional was set up with

UK - On Madonna's Sticky and Sweet World Tour which is nearing its one-year anniversary, the superstar and her backing vocalists are all using Sennheiser SKM 5200 wireless mics with ME 5005 super-cardioid heads, all linked through the new Sennheiser EM 3732 receiver, and ew 300 IEM G2 in-ear monitors. In addition, her guitarists and musical director and keyboard player are all employing evolution radio systems and ew 300 IEM G2 in-ear monitors.

"I chose the evolution systems for backline, as their RF is rock-solid, the transmitter units are small and reliable and they are very competitively priced," explained monitor engineer Matt Napier. "And I couldn't imagine giving Madonna another monitor system, she has become so accustomed and comfortable with the IEM G2. And of course, Kristy Jo Winkler in the USA and Mark Saunders and Dave Hawker at Sennheiser UK ar

UK - The Manchester International Festival, which ran from 2 to 19 July this year, hailed itself as "the world's first international festival of original, new work and special events". Events included a collaboration between Manchester's symphony orchestra The Hallé, Mancunian composer Joe Duddell and one of the city's favourite rock bands, Elbow.

In keeping with the local talent theme, Elbow front of house engineer Danny Evans worked with Manchester-based sound solutions provider Audio Alliance, who supplied all audio and communications requirements for the show at Bridgewater Hall, as well as for a relay to Manchester's waterside Castlefield area.

"We were asked us to supply orchestra sub mixes and a separate mix for the relay," explains Audio Alliance's Oliver Driver. "The main FOH mixing console was requested by Danny, a Digidesign Profile,

UK - Since its appointment as a Bose Pro-Partner in 2007, PEL Services - through its Music & Media Division - has proved itself to be a valuable and efficient associate, completing numerous Bose Professional installations around the UK for prestigious customers.

Installations completed have included prominent retail outlets such as Marks & Spencer, Fortnum & Mason, Harvey Nicholls, Harrods and Oakley stores, through to the Sheraton Skyline Hotel, as well as schools, showrooms, new style McDonalds restaurants and even a high end art gallery.

Ken Faulks, managing director of PEL Services, comments, "PEL made a strategic decision to apply to become a Bose Pro-Partner. We were already a leading UK systems company designing, supplying, installing, commissioning and maintaining public address, music and AV systems. We had the experience and reputation in place, which made us a

UK - The Yamaha LS9 digital console continues to be a success in regional theatres across Europe. One of the latest UK venues to adopt it is Scotland's Adam Smith Theatre.

Located in Kirkcaldy, on the north bank of the Firth of Forth, the Adam Smith Theatre serves a wide catchment area which ranges as far afield as Edinburgh, Stirling and Aberdeen. Previously a council-run venue, it is now run by the Arts & Theatres Trust Fife, along with the Rothes Halls (Glenrothes), Lochgelly Centre (Lochgelly) and Carnegie Hall (Dunfermline, not New York - although both were founded by the same philanthropist).

"We put on a bit of everything here," says Paul Robertson, the Adam Smith Theatre's head of sound. "From films and stage shows with just a few sound effects, choral performances where we just need a few floor mics and radio mics, through to major musicals with multipl

UK - Adlib Audio sent out two Soundcraft Vi6 digital mixing consoles - and two sound technicians to babysit the systems - when they took over the production of feature stages at this month's Latitude Festival.

In charge of the Uncut Arena was the experienced Walter Jaquiss, while simultaneously the same furious schedule, with back-to-back changeovers, was taking place in the Sunrise Arena, where Otto Kroymann was based.

While bands were turning round within 15 minutes at the stage end, sound engineers were setting up their patches with equal alacrity at front of house. In each case a Soundcraft Vi6 digital mixing console awaited them alongside their two mentors.

"Adlib were conscious of having to put out a desk that everyone could mix on easily," stated Walter Jaquiss. He set up a regime in the Uncut Arena where all show files were created off-line. "Fo

Once in a Lifetime - Acts including U2 and Aretha Franklin are to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at two concerts. The gigs, set to take place in New York in October, will also feature inductees including Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton and Metallica. Both Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel and rock trio Crosby, Stills and Nash are lined up to perform together. The concerts have been billed as "once in a lifetime" events. Jan Wenner, chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, said they are "designed to celebrate the artists and their music".

The proceeds from the concerts will go towards permanent funding for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation and Museum, established in 1984 by Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun who died in 2006.

Dublin Protest - People who live close to the Croke Park stadium in D

Germany - Opus 600 is the latest in a long line of wireless microphone systems from beyerdynamic which began with the invention of the very first wireless system, Transistophone, in 1962.

The Opus 600's key features include interchangeable capsules, more than 20 hours battery life, "true diversity" reception, up to 16 compatible channels and switching power-supply. This system is available in five pre-configured sets, Lavaliere, Neckworn, Dynamic vocal, Dynamic vocal & speech and condenser vocal & speech versions. beyerdynamic is distributed in the UK by Polar Audio.

(Jim Evans)

Germany - The theatre performances of the Vorpommersche Landesbühne Anklam on the Ostsee-Bühne (Baltic Sea Stage) Zinnowitz have become a popular tradition during the holiday season. The content of the plays is the history of the town Vineta which is, according to the legend, sunken into the sea of the island Usedom. The performances, a mixture of acting, dancing and music, are strikingly supported by light, pyrotechnics and laser effects.

As a part of the reconstruction the sound system has been renewed as well. audioone gmbh based in Berlin undertook the planning and installation of the new reinforcement system. After an on-site meeting to analyse the spacial and acoustical conditions and a detailed planning and simulation the decision went to the K.M.E. line array system PANO with Line Source Units QL 906 and QL 1215 on the left and right side of the stage as well as VL 10

Australia - ARX Systems has announced the appointment of Tallinn based Eventech OÜ as their new Distributor for Estonia.

ARX Managing Director Colin Park commented:" Eventech's Tõnu Susi and I have been discussing the possibilities of working together in Estonia for some time, Tõnu thought with the release of new additions to our USB DI product range the time was right to expand ARX's presence in the Estonian market.

"Tõnu and his sales team also felt our range of Interface and Signal Processing Products was a very complementary fit with the other lines they currently represent, they were especially excited by the new Products we released at the recent Frankfurt Pro Light and Sound Exhibition."

Along side ARX, Eventech represents companies including Meyer Sound, XTA, Lab Gruppen, Formula Sound and Robert Juliat.

(Jim Evans)

UK - For the fourth consecutive year, Adlib Audio supplied a sound system and crew to the King Tut's Wah Wah Tent at T in The Park Festival at Balado, Kinross-shire, Scotland.

The line-up included Daniel Merriweather, Jason Mraz, The Pet Shop Boys, the Noisettes, Friendly Fires, Jamie T, The Saturdays and many more over the three days.

James Neale led the Adlib team of five and also oversaw the FOH operation. With Ben Booker keeping monitor world in check, the omnipresent Richy Nicholson looked after the stage & patch, assisted by Otto Kroyman and Michael Flaherty. The operation was project managed in the Adlib offices by Dave Jones.

This year, the length of the King Tut's Wah Wah tent was extended by about 30m, making the tent approximately 120m long, which needed additional PA and delay stacks to ensure an even sound all around.

The main left and right hangs consi

UK Nearly 600 drummers got their chance to be in the global spotlight on 13 July 2009, as they raised funds for a leading UK multiple sclerosis charity, setting a new world record into the bargain. And helping to keep them all in time was a Yamaha M7CL console.

Part of the National Rock and Pop festival, which also incorporated the Guitarfestand Drumfest trade shows, the Stick It To MS world record attempt was hosted by comedian and actor John 'Jazz Club' Thomson - himself a drummer - and saw a total of 582 drummers in Birmingham's National Indoor Arena attempt to achieve a new world record of tub-thumpers playing in the same place at the same time.

The record required that all the drummers played together for at least five minutes, producing an average sound level of 105dB, peaking at 130db. "It was quite an experience," says front of hou

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