New Zealand - When administrators at the Baycourt Community and Arts Centre in Tauranga decided to replace the loudspeaker system at the Addison Theatre, they opted for IS-Series from Adamson Systems Engineering. “The brief from the client stipulated a number of criteria, such as suitability for both musical theatre and touring bands, excellent clarity while retaining a warm sound, and even coverage throughout the entire venue,” says Mike Hughes of Intec Systems Ltd., an Auckland-based firm specialising in the design, sale, and installation of commercial audio, lighting, and video systems. “From our previous experience with Adamson and the IS-Series products, we knew those criteria would be perfectly met and exceeded.” The Addison Theatre features tiered seating for 582 patrons and an expansive stage measuring 46 ft. (14m) wide by 36 ft. (11m) deep. Throughout
Austria - Salzburger Festspiele has recently invested in a multi-surface dLive system for the performance of medieval play Jedermann, which has taken place every year since 1923 at the Domplatz (Cathedral Square) in Salzburg. With almost 700 performances in just under a century, the play is a central element of the festival’s identity and takes place throughout the summer. This year, the organisers have acquired an Allen & Heath dLive mixing system through suppliers, ATEC Pro Audio, which was purchased especially for the performance and are planning to acquire further dLive systems for their six other locations. Dr. Edwin Pfanzagl-Cardone (head of the sound engineering and acoustics for the Salzburger Festspielfonds) had considered several digital mixers prior to choosing dLive. He comments: “Having heard only good things about Allen & Heath from co
UK - At PLASA London (stand S61), UK immersive audio and showcontrol specialists Out Board will demonstrate the new TiMax 500S software for TiMax SoundHub, featuring StageSpace spatial rendering tools which instantly auto-calculate multiple adaptive delay-matrix localisation objects using 3D data imported from CAD files or entered directly. TiMax spatial objects can be rendered and adapted for a wide variety of stage, audience and sound system configurations, and fine-tuned in rehearsal by the user, because, as Out Board maintains “experienced sound designers will tell you its the last millisecond or dB of adjustment that really make the spatialisation work”. TiMax 500S integrated TimeLine and PanSpace resources allow quick and easy intensive programming and control of multi-layered immersive soundscapes, with intuitive and versatile task-based workflows tailored f
UK - AV technology provider BUK Solutions (formerly Brähler ICS UK) has announced an expanded product range, which now provides its customers with access to thousands of products from leading brands including Crestron AV, Polycom, Sony and BlackMagic. Simon Sainsbury, managing director of BUK Solutions, comments: “This exciting development brings us increased flexibility, enabling us to explore a wider variety of solutions that meet our customers’ exact AV requirements, no matter how complex, while providing more cost-effective solutions for customers.” Business development manager, Duncan Conway, adds: “It’s a win-win for all of our customers – not only do they have access to a vast range of excellent audio-visual solutions, but they’ll also benefit from all of our industry-leading expertise which we have built up over 30 years. We have recognised a d
Australia - Established in 1983 as Emmanuel Catholic School, with classes ranging from year one to year seven, the school went through a renewal process and changed its name to Emmanuel College in 1990. Then in 1995, a second renewal led to its discontinuation, but in its place two schools were formed: Emmanuel Catholic Primary School for students, year seven and under and Holy Spirit College for students in years eight through 12. As it works with so many schools, the sports hall at Holy Spirit holds more than just sports matches. The hall hosts numerous assemblies, from college band and choir performances to special ceremonies that include ANZAC Day, college mass, fashion shows, graduations, career expos, and much more. Greg Duncan, business manager at Holy Spirit College, explains: “Each of these events have their own requirements but the common thread to all is the ne
UK - FOH engineer Jim Ebdon (Maroon 5, Annie Lennox, Sting, Prince) is currently on a world tour with Sam Smith following the release of Smith’s new album, The Thrill of It All. To accompany him on the tour, Ebdon has chosen the Solid State Logic L200 console, supplied by Capital Sound, London. "A lot of the new album was recorded onto 16-track analogue, and then moved onto Pro Tools." says Ebdon. "I love the feel of the album, and I love the sound of it, and I wanted to recreate that. So the SSL was a no-brainer... It sounds like an analogue console, and it has a Save button!" The show itself has unusual staging, with the main stage projecting quite a way out into the auditorium, and PA system set up 'in-the-round' rather than as a traditional left-right system. Ebdon’s FOH mix position is to one side of the stage, facing a single line of d&b speakers,
Japan - Martin Audio Japan has been featuring the MLA loudspeaker array at Rock in Japan for eight years, and it has now become an essential item on the four principal stages. For the 19th edition of the festival, which took place in Hitachinaka Seaside Park over two consecutive weekends in August, MLA was again seen on the largest Grass Stage, the second Lake Stage, Park Stage, and Sound of Forest. From new, cutting edge performers to veterans, more than 200 artists appeared on these stages over the four days, enhancing the Japanese music scene, with tickets once again sold out in a matter of minutes. “It was back in 2011 when we first introduced MLA on the Lake Stage,” reports Shuzo Fujii, president of MSI Japan. “This is now the eighth year that the system has been adopted, and its high degree of control has become essential for the festival.
USA - Electro-acoustics specialist Audio Precision (AP) has announced the passing of its co-founder and former president Bob Metzler, aged 84. Metzler founded AP in 1984 alongside Dr Richard Cabot, Bruce Hofer and Robert Wright. He served as the organisation’s president until his retirement in 1999 and was the face of the company in its early days, taking up marketing and sales duties as well as travelling internationally to engage with customers. His legacy includes authoring the Audio Measurement Handbook in 1993, which was widely read throughout the audio community and was used as a text in university-level courses. Metzler also wrote numerous magazine articles and application notes, edited AP’s newsletter, Audio.TST, and conducted seminars and
Australia - Out Board has announced tm stagetec systems as exclusive Australian distributor and support specialist for its immersive spatial audio and showcontrol products TiMax SoundHub and TiMax Tracker. As a result of the deal, tm stagetec systems staff have undertaken training for TiMax products in Sydney from Out Board director Dave Haydon. Mark Lownds, general manager at tm stagetec systems, comments: “We are thrilled to welcome TiMax into the tm stagetec systems’ suite of brands. The fit between our technology-driven ethos and the leading edge, high-quality technology offered by TiMax products is a perfect match.” (Jim Evans)
EMEA - Production Resource Group (PRG) and VER have completed their merger in Europe and the Middle East, becoming the largest entertainment and equipment and services provider. The entities will be controlled by The Jordan Company, GSO Capital Partners and PRG Management.Jere Harris will serve as chairman and CEO of PRG and VER, and Stephan Paridaen will be president and COO. Harris comments: “For more than 20 years PRG has been diligent in offering its clients the best production service and equipment in the entertainment industry. Growth across disciplines, markets and geographies has always been a key part of our strategy. Now, our ability to support all types of entertainment productions globally will take on new meaning, raising an already high bar to an unprecedented level.” According to a statement, combining PRG and VER’s strength will now offer
UK - Current RMS will be back once again exhibiting at PLASA London in September, where they’ll be showcasing their latest features built for the AV, lighting and staging industries, including a number of new updates. The team will be on hand to show how simple managing the entire rental process from start to finish becomes with Current RMS, thanks to the convenience and the ease of one cloud-based solution. See the real-time availability of your kit from any device, effortlessly create quotes and orders to send online to your clients, seamlessly scan to allocate and book out your kit, and manage your crew, transport and venues all from one system. Since the success of last year’s PLASA London show, the team has been working to implement some of their user feedback, based on votes on their open Customer Wishlist. New updates have included Choosing Accessories
Norway - Klubben i Røverstaden is a new venue in Oslo offering a broad range of concerts and club concepts. With its 750-capacity it has an intimate atmosphere, but at the same time caters for major touring acts, both national and international. Earlier this year, it took delivery of the first DiGiCo SD12 system to be installed in a Norwegian club, supplied by DiGiCo’s Norwegian distributor Scandec. Røverstaden, which directly translated into English means ‘city of outlaws’, is situated in the basement of a three-storey building in the city centre, in what used to be the slum of Oslo, an area that was famous for moonshine and brothels and where outlaws ruled. Its proximity to the royal castle prompted the demolition of the entire area, but in the 1960s it became a bohemian hang-out and the building housed Club7, followed by Sardine's. These were iconic venues and fro
UK - A vibrant village of custom-created performance spaces and entertainment zones, Farr Festival recently returned for another successful edition, helped by the sounds of Funktion-One systems used across the festival site. Woven around a wooded slice of countryside, just half an hour outside London in the county of Hertfordshire, Farr Festival is a wonderland of themed spaces equipped with quality designed sound systems. Dave Millard, founder and owner of Full Fat Audio (FFA), has been an intrinsic part of the event since its early years nearly a decade ago. In addition to running FFA, he holds a sizeable stock of Funktion-One loudspeakers, which he pairs with his own amps to create sound systems that are a perfect match for Farr’s bespoke aesthetic. Working with supplier support from Zion Audio, Millard uses this Funktion-One/FFA pairing to produce systems for al
UK - Evolutionary Arts Hackney (EartH) will become the first European venue to install L-Acoustics’ L-ISA hyperreal sound system. The project, a multi-purpose arts hub to launch in the restored Savoy cinema in Dalston in September, has been created by the team behind Village Underground in Shoreditch, founded by Auro Foxcroft. EartH will be curated to span art forms and a multitude of genres and voices encompassing an international live music programme, performance art, special talks and debates, comedy, and film. The venue’s theatre has installed the L-ISA system to offer audiences enhanced clarity, more natural sound, and a wider sound panorama. The L-ISA set up comprises a frontal system of five hangs of seven Kara flown equidistantly across the front of the stage, with a central sub system of four KS28 flown in end fire configuration in front and above
USA - DAS Audio of America has appointed Edwin Guerra to the position of US marketing manager. In his new role, Guerra will be responsible for all US tradeshow coordination from concept to execution, social media management and content creation, supporting the company’s sales staff with a variety of marketing initiatives, and overseeing the creation of related marketing collateral. Guerra is stationed at the Miami office. Prior to joining DAS, he served as production director for Battlefrog Race Series of Miami, where he consulted on all audio equipment purchases in addition to overseeing the deployment of equipment for events. He was also an AV installation technician for AVED of Miami. Reflecting on his new role with DAS Audio, Guerra comments: “I’ve been very fortunate to work with music and sound in several different areas and, with DAS Audio, I now have the
Lithuania - Audiotonas, Martin Audio’s Lithuanian distributor, recently installed one of the manufacturer’s newest line arrays - the Wavefront Precision Compact (WPC) at Jonava Cultural Centre. The venue, which seats almost 700 people, organises various events, which have already become annual fixtures in the calendar, such as the Midsummer Day (Joninės), contemporary art forum Homo Ludens, national festivals of choirs, street musicians, children’s pop choirs and others. Thus, the demand for a good PA system was high. After surveying the site, Audiotonas’ sound engineers, under the project management of Vytautas Stasiukaitis, considered that eight flown elements per side of the WPC array would provide the best solution because of its optimised coverage and outstanding overall performance. The WPC is a new breed of optimised line array featuring scalabl
Europe - Belgian creative engineering specialists WIcreations are involved in the design and fabrication of three bespoke set elements - all optimised for air freight - to be used on a series of epic outdoor shows on Roger Waters’ current Us + Them world tour, which launched with two seminal shows in Rome and Lucca, Italy. A pair of 16.6m-high circular PA towers grace the stage, complete with integral tracking systems on the onstage side for the rigging of 10 moving light fixtures, and on the downstage side for the sound cluster’s wind brace. The second WI object is an industrial style stage roof - ‘roofette’ as it’s known on the tour - comprising a set of imposing cantilevered steel beams which can be fitted with clear roof skins in case of rain. The third area in which WI is involved is a truss and beam rigging system, devised to securely rig
USA - Founded in 2012, Opera NEO hosts 30-35 aspiring young performers each summer, providing intensive operatic training, mentorship, and invaluable performance experience. The 2018 Opera NEO Summer Opera Festival included performances of Franz Lehár’s The Merry Widow and Mozart’s Idomeneo, each presented with a live orchestra in a unique open-air amphitheatre in the hills of San Diego, California. The 2018 season marked the first year the festival utilised Coral Canopy for sound design and audio production services, which centred around an Allen & Heath SQ-5 digital mixer at front of house. “The SQ is a beast and I continue to be amazed at the capabilities of the console,” says Alan Chang, principal of Coral Canopy. He adds: “With mics across the orchestra and a large chorus of performers on stage, I relied heavily on the Chromatic chann
USA - Harman Professional Solutions reports that Tommy Vext, lead vocalist of heavy metal supergroup Bad Wolves, has joined the Harman Professional Solutions Ambassadors Programme. Bad Wolves released their debut album Disobey on 18 May and are preparing to embark on a 32-date summer amphitheatre tour across the U.S. with Five Finger Death Punch and Breaking Benjamin. “I’m beyond excited to partner with Harman Professional Solutions and represent legendary brands like AKG and JBL as we continue our wild and exciting journey,” says Vext. “Bad Wolves brings an incredible amount of energy and focus to our shows, and we need rock-solid gear that works as hard as we do. Harman brands have set the standard for professional performance for decades, and I’m honoured by their support.” The Harman Professional Solutions Ambassadors programme gives lead
USA - Elation Professional has announced the next chapter in the evolution of Obsidian Control Systems with release of ONYX, a lighting control platform that is backwards compatible with all M-Series lighting control products. ONYX is a rebranding of the well-established M-Series control platform and is designed for use with all M-Series hardware (M-DMX, M-Touch, M-Play, M2PC, M2GO, M2GO HD, M1, M1 HD and M6). The first software release, ONYX 4.0, includes improvements and library updates and marks a foundation for new features and functions to be available in the near future. ONYX software is available from a newly launched website for Obsidian Control Systems, www.obsidiancontrol.com, where lighting pros can learn more about Obsidian lighting control products and the ONYX platform while staying up to date on the latest news and developments. The website also include
UK - Audio specialists tube uk followed their sense of adventure, love for the unusual and challenging site-specific installations to Cammell Laird Shipyard in Birkenhead, Merseyside, where, working for live event production company Mills Media Creative, they supplied a sound system for the launch of the RRS Sir David Attenborough. The 128.9m-long vessel which has a 24m beam and a draft of 7m, is owned by the Natural Environment Research Council and will be operated by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). It replaces two existing ships and will be engaged in essential research and logistical support for the Survey. The event at Cammell Laird saw the distinctive red hull (number 1390) launched following an impassioned speech by Sir David Attenborough himself, who focussed on the importance and centrality of the work undertaken by the BAS for the benefit and the lo
USA - Adamson Systems Engineering has confirmed Livella Brand Group as the latest U.S. addition to the Adamson Network. Headquartered in Lenexa, KS, Livella is now Adamson’s manufacturer’s representative covering Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, and Southern Illinois. "Adamson is committed to continuing our strong year-over-year growth in the Americas, and by welcoming Livella Brand Group to the Adamson Network, we’ve further strengthened our U.S. sales force with an elite partner,” says Marc Bertrand, managing director, Americas for Adamson Systems Engineering. “Adam’s team has a wealth of experience and a strong market position when you combine their individual strengths and their impressive line card,” adds Adamson’s U.S. sales director, Lin Buck. “I’ve been close with Adam Livella and his family for over 20 years and have never been surprised b
USA - The Howard Hughes Corporation (HHC) recently opened the doors on a new development located in the South Street Seaport district. Pier 17 offers dining, retail and entertainment options along with a large 1.5-acre rooftop concert space that can hold 3,400 for its standing general admission shows, or 2,400 seated, with the Brooklyn Bridge as the stage’s backdrop. HHC brought in SIA Acoustics to identify and design a system that would deliver pristine audio quality while keeping the sound contained to the listening area. After reviewing multiple products, it was determined that an Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW) Adaptive sound reinforcement system was the only solution. It would not only reduce the amount of audio that would impact the adjacent neighbourhoods – Wall Street to the west and Brooklyn to the east – but also produce sonic clarity beyond expectations.
UK - Theatres Trust Conference 18: Adapt & Thrive will take place on Tuesday 16 October at the Lyric Hammersmith, London, exploring how changing artistic, business and operating models in the theatre sector are impacting on how we build, adapt and run theatres. Through a mixture of inspiring plenaries and lively breakout sessions, the conference will look at how we can ensure our theatres remain viable in challenging economic times and how we can continue to invest in renewal of our theatre infrastructure. Joining Michael Ellis MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Arts, Heritage and Tourism and Cameron Mackintosh, producer and theatre owner will be speakers from Bristol Old Vic, arguably the country’s oldest continuously operating theatre and Manchester’s Factory, probably the newest, discussing how they are adapting to new artistic and busines
