Pharos - Leaderboard - May 2024

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UK - Audio manufacturer Audient has partnered with loudspeaker company PMC Speakers to unveil a new immersive audio studio located at Audient’s Hampshire headquarters.
Summerlea House has been designed from the ground up to offer Audient’s customers a modern demo facility. Built around Audient’s new purpose driven immersive audio interface and monitor controller Oria, the studio features a 9.1.6 PMC result6 speaker array with a PMC 8SUB. An additional two PMC6 active speakers offer clients the option to reference a mix in stereo as well as 9.1.6 Dolby Atmos and everything in between.
“Oria is the first truly purpose-driven immersive solution, designed to be the central control hub of an immersive studio. As such, many factors need to be considered when specifyin

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USA - As the cornerstone of its 50th Anniversary Season, the Orlando Ballet commissioned a spectacular new production of The Nutcracker, which debuted last December.
Billed as “bigger, brighter, and full of surprises” as well as the largest ballet ever created by an Orlando-based performing arts organisation, the production was staged in Steinmetz Hall at the Dr. Phillips Centre for Performing Arts. New choreography, all new sets, costumes, and an updated storyline by Jorden Morris, who also serves as the ballet’s artistic director, brought an exciting edge to a timeless classic, combined with a host of interesting and innovative staging elements including a lighting design by Joseph R. Walls.
Joseph incorporated Robe Forte moving lights and Footsie LED foot lights into his lighting scheme to bring extra vibrance and flair as the onstage action unfolded.<

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Iceland - Andrea Manzoni, Milan-based pianist, composer and sound recordist, represents a new generation of pianists take an innovative approach that blurs the boundaries of traditional music styles. Manzoni recently embarked on a transformative journey into the Icelandic wilderness to gather nature sounds for the sound design of Qivittoq, a theatrical production depicting a dystopian love story set in the solitude of the North Pole, in a world rapidly depleting its resources.
Working from a draft script from the director of the theatre show, Manzoni was keen to immerse himself in the ambience, and secured a 30-day residency in the remote town of Isafjordur in the Westfjords. Manzoni embarked on 12 excursions over the 30 days to remote locations devoid of human presence, to capture the raw environmental sounds with two Rycote HC-15 shotgun microphones.
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ETC Ministar

ETC introduces the High End Systems Ministar, a game-changer in our automated lighting product line. Ministar brings exceptional versatility and performance at an affordable price point; with a compact footprint, punchy output, and a professional feature set, Ministar fits the spec and budget for small to medium-sized venues.

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USA - Elation has announced William Irwin as a new regional sales representative for the U.S. Mountain States region.
William has been involved in production and systems integration since 2006, including as business development director for Clearwing Productions. Prior to joining Elation, he worked at GLP as a brand manager and product developer for Scenex Lighting, the company’s custom LED solutions division. He has also been active with IATSE, specializing in atmospheric and pyrotechnics for film.
William comments, “I’m looking forward to being a driving force behind a company that values cutting-edge excellence and innovation, while building relationships with our clients and end-users.”
John Dunn, director of sales at Elation, adds, “With William’s ambition and know-how, he’s set to play an instrumental part in forging a path of continued succ

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Europe TAF has introduced the new PA Vertical Tower 1 (PAV1). It’s designed for safely and securely hanging heavy speaker arrays at large-scale events. Through its versatile design, the PAV1 not only serves as an independent PA tower or part of the stage setup, but also as stable support for LED walls.
Utilizing TAF’s specially designed top section and heavy-duty HT44 or TT44 truss segments with quicklock connection system, provides certified loading up to 1,000 kg at heights up to 8m.
Stability is ensured by its robust base, which accepts ballast up to 2,000 kg and features strategically placed attachment points for guy wires or manual/electric hoists. Uneven ground is easily tamed by its four independent spindles for safe and stable horizontal levelling. Outriggers are available for additional stability when required.

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South Korea - Maris Stella, named after the patron saint of the busy port city of Incheon in South Korea, is a comprehensive senior care facility established in 2013 by the Catholic Foundation.
The first of its kind in the country, Maris Stella provides an integrated programme of pastoral care for its residents with an offering of social and cultural events and pastimes, plus the daily celebration of Mass in the facility’s dedicated 400-seat auditorium – which also hosts lectures, film screenings and live performances.
A decade on from its initial construction, the decision was made to upgrade the audio system to improve both quality and intelligibility. KV2 distributor, Daon SD collaborated with audio consultants Audio Control to supply and install a pair of ESR106 active column loudspeakers to elevate the worship experience and improve sound quality for all the

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Finland - Genelec has announced the appointment of Steen Tychsen to the position of international sales manager, with responsibility for SE Asia, Eastern Europe and Canada. With over 25 years of professional audio experience in a succession of senior roles, Tychsen brings with him a deep knowledge of the industry.
Tychsen’s previous high-profile roles at both DPA and Neumann have given him extensive experience of overseeing sales and business development in both EMEA and the US.
“I’m thrilled at the opportunity to represent a brand synonymous with excellence in audio technology,” comments Tychsen. “Genelec's commitment to innovation and superior sound quality aligns with my passion for delivering exceptional experiences to customers around the world.”
Genelec international sales director Ole Jensen adds: “I’m delighted to welcome Steen to the team
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Strictly FX Highlights

Strictly FX was founded in 1996 by industry veterans Mark Grega and Ted Maccabee. Our expertise and knowledge of the world’s leading pyrotechnic, laser, and flame manufacturers allows us to curate astonishing live events. With over 500+ shows performed a year, there’s good chance you’ve seen some of our work!

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Greece - Lighting designer and programmer Kostantinos Ntovas lit a 2.5-hour show by award winning singer Petros Iakovidis at Thessaloniki’s Club Vogue, one of the largest nightclubs in Greece. Ntovas wasn’t relying solely on the lights he controlled with his ChamSys MagicQ Stadium Connect to change perceptions. He also called upon the profound power of dark space.
Using a variety of off-centre light angles and creating distinct fields of bright and dark spaces around his sometimes-silhouetted client, the Greek designer created an engaging narrative that opened new perspectives to fans.
“In general, I really like putting the singer in black space between light beams,” said Ntovas. “In that way, I can create an extraterrestrial look in an infinite environment. These scenes will transport viewers, creating a different experience than what they find in usual show

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USA - Country music group Midland is out on the road with a lighting system provided by Bandit Lites. Comprised of Mark Wystrach (lead vocals, guitar), Jess Carson (guitar, vocals), and Cameron Duddy (bass guitar, vocals), Midland’s neotraditional country sound has led to their three studio albums resulting in seven singles landing on the Billboard country chart.
With two years of touring with Midland under his belt, lighting designer Drew Lombana was confident in his ability to both create something that was as unique as the trailblazing country band as well as his aptitude to ascertain their lighting preferences: avoid fixture pixels, pointless eye candy and instead focus on using lights to compliment the story within the music, and not simply the music itself.
“We determined a design that hid itself well was crucial, with the exception of the Circa Scoops,”

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USA - Ushio, parent company to Christie, has announced the appointment of Takabumi Asahi as chief executive officer of Christie Digital Systems USA. Effective 1 April 2024, Asahi will assume his new role, succeeding Koji Naito. Asahi previously held the role of managing executive officer and chief financial officer, Ushio. He has held positions of increasing responsibility since joining Ushio in 2017 as deputy general manager.
Previous to Ushio, Asahi worked for Oki Electric Industry, a Japanese information and communications services company, where he acquired global business management experience in various cutting-edge technology fields, including semiconductor, information and telecommunication technology, as well as office automation.
Asahi brings over 30 years of experience to the role, with a commitment to moving forward Ushio’s mission to promote the use of

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USA - Drake kicked off his touring season with an 11-week trek with J. Cole running from Florida in February to Colorado in April. Onboard for the It’s All A Blur Tour - Big As The What? is Demetrius Moore, on his 14th year as the artist’s front-of-house engineer.
Drake now has another distinction: he’s officially the first artist to take a new Clair Global-supplied DiGiCo Quantum852 console out on tour, starting 2 February in Tampa. “I was on the Quantum852 for two weeks before the first show, at rehearsals at Drake’s place in Toronto and then at the Izod Centre in New Jersey, and I have to tell you that it has made me an even bigger fan of DiGiCo - and I have been a huge fan of their consoles for years,” says Moore.
“It has an entirely new level of warmth and clarity. Right out of the box, the experience was like when we went from 48k to 96k. Every ins

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Hungary - Máté Lukacsovics and Ale Geszler from Budapest-based lighting design studio Highlight Studios created the design for a high-profile one-off sold out concert by Hungarian artist and pop-rock band Valmar at the 12,500-capacity Budapest Arena.
It was the band’s largest concert to date, and the brief was to create a memorable lighting design that met the occasion and thrilled everyone involved, from the artist and his production team to his enthusiastic and ever-growing fanbase.
Máté and Ale utilised over 150 Robe moving lights – a combination of iFORTES, Pointes and Tarrantulas – to help energise the show.
Their starting point for lighting the show was the production design idea from show director Roland Mák who imagined the stage as a gigantic time machine, with the concert designed as a two-hour gameplay session hosted by an AI character lurk

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Italy - From 2-26 March, the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma hosts the Richard Strauss opera Salome with its famous Dance of the Seven Veils, based on the play by Oscar Wilde.
Stripped of lavish scenery, this pared-back production directed by Marc Albrecht with conductor Barrie Kosky invites the audience to focus exclusively on the characters, the dialogue and the music, with sound therefore playing a role of heightened importance.
At some moments of the production, the voice and movements of the performer on stage are required to generate a dynamic effect in the auditorium, with the echo of a higher voice propagating from the stalls to the gallery.
AV technology specialists AMG were approached early in the production development phase to configure and install a sound system that could deliver the complex sound design.
Stacks of five Nex

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Taiwan - Seapower Technology is to distribute 1 Sound in Taiwan. Seapower met with 1 Sound’s APAC sales executive, Leonardo Dani, who visited their headquarters in New Taipei City where they were able to make the partnership official.
Dani discussed the 1 Sound pro audio and fully outdoor IP55 loudspeaker catalogue and offered deeper training with the brand’s products, including their Mono+Stereo Technology, cardioid columns, robust and sleek accessories, and more.
Seapower Technology is an establidhed distributor for a number of brands including Powersoft, Sennheiser and Allen & Heath. Their team of engineers has training experiences from experts around the world, allowing Seapower to offer strong engineering technical support using audio design and test equipment, including TEF, SMARTT, EASE.
“Seapower is thrilled for the exciting new partnership wi

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UK - Birmingham’s latest high-adrenalin attraction – the new F1 Arcade in Chamberlain Square – has become the latest venue to benefit from a high-quality AV solution supplied and integrated by TVC Technology Solutions.
F1 Arcade is an F1 racing experience with no fewer than 53 bespoke full-motion racing simulators that can cater to every level of driving skill – and all in an environment that also offers a range of food and drink.
TVC delivered a comprehensive multi-zone audio system from KV2 to help create the pulsating energy of the race circuit. The experience is completed by an array of huge TV screens so that fans can watch the ‘real’ motor racing with live commentary, entertainment and the guarantee of an absolutely electric atmosphere.
Having installed the F1 Arcade in London, the world’s first official Formula 1 simulator racing experienc

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South Africa - ChamSys has appointed Audiosure to be the exclusive distributor in South Africa of its line of lighting control consoles, software, and networking devices.
“We are very familiar with the excellent level of professionalism and customer service that have become trademarks of Audiosure, given that they are one of the oldest distributors of all Chauvet brands,” said Stéphane Gressier, international sales director of Chauvet and ChamSys. “Over the years, we have witnessed firsthand, how the Audiosure team has gone the extra mile to ensure customer satisfaction.”
Part of the First Technology group of companies, Audiosure was established over 20 years ago to address the needs of the professional lighting and audio market. The company represents Chauvet lighting, as well as a variety of leading audio brands.
Headquartered in Johannesburg, Audiosur

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Funding Cuts - West End stars and creatives including actors Beverley Knight and Sheridan Smith and playwright Jack Thorne have called for local arts funding to be protected, warning that "terrifying" cuts will be irreversible and damage services such as youth theatre. They join Andrew Scott and Imelda Staunton, in speaking out about the importance of the arts – particularly at local level – in the face of swingeing cuts that have seen venues warn that they will have to scale back their operations.
In recent weeks, Nottingham City Council and Birmingham City Council have both announced 100% cuts to arts funding, following a previous cut to Suffolk County Council’s funding for the arts. The Nottingham Playhouse said: "The cut is approximately the same cost of running our Shine youth theatre groups or providing very low-cost and free tickets through our 50:50, HotHouse a

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USA - The American Society of Theatre Consultants (ASTC) has announced that Keith Friedlander, Kascey Haslanger and Paul Whitaker have been approved for membership in the organisation. The Board of Directors admitted the new members at the ASTC annual meeting which occurred during the 2024 USITT Conference in Seattle. In addition, new directors of the board have been elected and new officers have been selected.
The three new members are experienced theatre consultants and meet the qualifications for membership.
Before joining Schuler Shook Theatre Planners in 2015, Keith Friedlander spent 15 years working as a lighting/video supervisor and master electrician at major regional theatres in addition to technical direction at the college level. As a theatre consultant, he has planned and developed theatre systems for venues ranging from significant major performing arts c

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USA - The Warner Theatre, close to the White House in the American capital city, has since 2013 offered its visiting engineers, performers and artists the sonic advantages of an Outline Butterfly system tuned and maintained by house sound engineer Ishai Ratz.
Originally opened in 1924 and having hosted everyone and everything from Frank Sinatra to ZZ Top and from Vaudeville to cinema, since a full restoration in the early ‘90s it is an established showcase venue for the DC area.
Jason Farah of Outline’s US office describes the genesis of the new installation: “Following on the success of Butterfly and wanting to maintain the high performance-to-small footprint ratio, it made perfect sense to upgrade to Butterfly’s successor, Superfly. Superfly provides extended low-end response and improved rigging, while maintaining the same voicing that Butterfly excelled at.

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Germany - At Prolight + Sound 2024, Highlite International, celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, took the opportunity to present a number of new products from their brands Infinity, Showtec, DAP, DMT, Showgear and Wentex.
From Infinity, no fewer than four new IP65-rated Raccoon models were introduced: three Pars (P7/7, Junior P4/7 and Junior P7/4) and a strobe/wash combo (S420/4). The P7/7 is a high-quality RGBCALDB Par that features seven custom-made 7-colour LEDs with maximum brightness and maximum colour quality modes offering versatility. The Junior P4/7 is a more compact version of the P7/7 with four custom-made 7-colour LEDs. Then, there is the Junior P7/4; it also has a compact housing and uses seven 4-colour LEDs. All pars share the same sophisticated control software with advanced calibrated xy colour mixing, extreme colour stability with temperature compensa

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USA - If you’re looking for a place to hear live country music day or night while enjoying a meal on the Vegas Strip, Ole Red is your ticket. The recently opened restaurant, bar, and live music venue in the heart of Las Vegas features a Clair Global Integration (CGI) and an innovative lighting design by Bryant Woelk, owner/ senior lighting designer of FXLighting LLC, featuring lighting from Elation.
The Blake Shelton inspired Ole Red, operated by Opry Entertainment Group, offers patrons a full experience with live music, delectable dining, and a vibrant bar scene. The first Ole Red opened in Shelton's hometown of Tishomingo, Oklahoma, in 2017 with Las Vegas the entertainment chain’s sixth location.
Clair Global Integration procured audio, lighting and backbone control for the new venue and handled system design, installation and programming. Bradley Cronenwett, se
  1. DiGiCo in the mix for Ballad of the Canal
  2. Claypaky lights Skindred’s Wembley debut
  3. Christie debuts CineLife+ RBe projectors
  4. LAMDA invests in Shure Axient for training
  5. Prolights Smart BatPlus visit Buckingham Palace
  6. ALPD details Awards for Excellence for 2024
  7. In memoriam: Andy Ciddor
  8. Elation debuts fanless Fuze Teatro
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GLP - MPU - May-June 2024

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