USA - After more than two years of construction, Beverly Hills' first performing arts centre, the Wallis Annenberg Center - or simply 'The Wallis - officially opened in mid-October with a star-studded, invitation-only gala featuring a concert by Natalie Cole. Since then, the centre's primary performance space - the 500-seat, proscenium-arch Bram Goldsmith Theatre - has been hosting a steady line-up of world-class theatre, music and dance performances sonically reinforced via the venue's new L-Acoustics amplifier and loudspeaker system.

The sound system was designed and installed by the Burbank team of Electrosonic, Inc., which handled AV design and integration for the entire complex - including the adjacent 1933 Beverly Hills Post Office, fully restored and repurposed as a grand l

UK - Creative Technology (CT) has supplied a video control system and LED screens package, crew and pre-programming services for Jessie J's epic diva-style tour Alive!. Complementing the pop sensation's considerable stage presence, Vince Foster's set and lighting design offered a vivid mix of stunning lighting looks, and pyrotechnics, while Paul Caslin's mix of video production delivered sparkling video effects.

The look and size of the show was ambitious. Caslin's pre-recorded content was mixed with live camera feeds, directed by Steve Price, and broadcast across three portrait hung Flyer 12 touring LED screens positioned centre stage. In addition, two portrait I-Mag screens, also using Flyer 12, were hung either side of the stage taking care of the live camera close ups of Jessie J. All screens were provided from CT's inventory in London.

Over 300 of Barco MiStrips se

Spain - Robe moving lights continue to be involved in some of the highest profile international music awards shows, the latest being the 2013 Premios 40 Principales event, where lighting designer Juanjo Beloqui specified 30 Robin Pointes and 30 LEDBeam 100s for the show staged at the Palacio de Los Deportes in Madrid and attended by 15,000 enthusiastic music fans.

Los 40 Principals is Spain's most important and influential music station, and its annual Premios (awards) recognise some of the very best contemporary music in Spain across 15 different categories. The show featured a number of live performances and was aired live on Divinity TV and also broadcast on Cuatro TV.

Beloqui was lighting Premios 40 Principales for the seventh time, and similar to past years, his creative starting point was the set design, this year completed by Paco Redondo.

Madrid-based Beloqui has use

USA / UK - City Theatrical will host a free webinar on Tuesday, 7 January 2014 (11:00a.m. EST, 4:00 p.m. GMT) entitled Using Specialized Antennas With Wireless DMX at www.citytheatrical.com.

This is the fifth City Theatrical webinar on the subject of wireless DMX and will teach lighting users how antennas work, as well as how using specialized antennas such as panels and yagis can improve the fidelity of wireless DMX broadcasts by overcoming some of the most typical problems faced by lighting technicians, including long broadcast distances or interference from other radio users.

All lighting users interested in improving their skills in the field of wireless DMX are invited to attend this free webinar.

Anyone interested in learning about the technology of wireless can access the first four City Theatrical wireless

USA - The Carolina Opry Christmas Special, The Christmas Show of the South, at the Calvin Gilmore Theatre in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, has brought the spirit of Christmas to life with music, comedy and dance for over 27 years. Adding a fresh visual element to the stage, and helping to transform the theater into a winter wonderland, is a large backdrop LED video screen made up of Elation Professional EZ6 LED video panels supplied by Elation dealer JR Lighting Design, Inc.

JR Lighting Design president Jason Reberski discussed LED video product options with The Carolina Opry's Paul Sweetman, lighting designer on the show. "I recommended the Elation EZ6 product since Paul and The Carolina Opry team was looking for a relatively high resolution video system," Jason stated. "They were originally planning on it coexisting with digital projection in their show a

Australia - The team at Technical Direction Company (TDC) delivered spectacular projections at multiple iconic locations during December 2013 including St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney, Melbourne Town Hall and the Old Post Office, Newcastle.

"We are delighted to have the opportunity to transform and bring these beautiful buildings to life to celebrate the festive season", says Kain Jones, TDC's special projects manager. "TDC are the video projection experts who work behind the VIVID festival so are familiar with lighting up and transforming Australia's most famous landmarks."

In total, TDC supplied a total of over 30 high brightness Barco digital video projectors incorporating Barco's latest 26,000 lumen HD projectors, in addition to Barco 22K and 20K projectors along with all control and media server equipment and expert technical support.

"TDC's painsta

Singapore - Team 108 has been appointed the Singapore distribution partner for Pan Beam, the advanced steerable audio specialist from Wolfenbüttel in Germany. Pan Beam's range of self-powered, DSP controlled column loudspeakers are designed "to provide an outstanding solution for speech and music even in the most difficult of surroundings, delivering optimum sound quality in halls and other reverberant spaces".

Kevin Nair, MD of Team 108 explained their choice of Pan Beam, "With steerable columns being established in the market place over the last 10-plus years, there are several companies having engineered their own solutions as part of their product line-up trying to get their slice of this growing market. We from Team 108 have been looking at the different systems appearing in the market and they all had their strengths and weaknesses.

"As we were looki

Kazakhastan - Portuguese audio manufacturer Next-proaudio has confirmed distribution arrangements for Kazakhstan. With immediate effect, Sound Light Systems (SLS will handle the exclusive distribution of Next-proaudio products for Kazakhstan.

"For Next-proaudio it will be good to be distributed by SLS because they are a very professional company that is growing rapidly. It is fantastic to see their enthusiasm," says Andre Correia, Next-proaudio assistant manager.

"After the first time I listened to Next in Palme Expo China, I couldn't sleep all night thinking about the possibility of being their distributor in Kazakhstan - finally the dream came true," says Azat Kaniyev, SLS CEO.

SLS is an established high-end distribution company, based in Almaty, distributing a number of leading brands in the professional audio and light sectors.

(Jim Evans)

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UK - London-based design company Immersive has signed to 'creative excellence' production company Partizan - twice listed over the past decade as the Gunn Report's 'Best production Company in the World'.

Immersive has become part of Partizan's 'Darkroom' stable, an imprint of the company which offers creative, integrated and digital production through a variety of bespoke platforms including: immersive and experiential events, app design and activation alongside brand partnered short films and online content. Collaborating with clients to develop both their consumer interaction and engagement Partizan works seamlessly across fashion, film, events, and digital content.

Immersive will initially be bringing its expertise in 'experiential marketing' to the company's repertoire.

"A mutual friend introduced us, and the rest fell seamlessly into place," explains Immersive

USA - Elation Professional recently challenged students and young lighting designers in the US to create a stage or club lighting design using its Capture Polar design software. Winners of the "Designing Vision Contest" were announced on December 20th with Patrick Boozer awarded the top prize, an Elation-sponsored trip for two to InfoComm 2014 in Las Vegas plus Capture Polar Extended Software (a $4,000 value).

Second place went to Mike Berger, who won Capture Polar Basic Software, with third place going to Joason Tollefson, who takes home a Capture Polar Solo Software package. Contest entries were judged on originality, aesthetics and functionality of design.

"We were very excited to offer students and young designers this opportunity and were very impressed with the detail and imagination that went into all the designs submitted," stated Elation sales dire

The Netherlands - Marc Kocks has taken up the position of director at Sales-All in Bemmel, the Netherlands. Kocks, who previously spent over 20 years with the Ampco Flashlight group's sales companies, where he was managing director of TM Audio and Lightco, will be responsible driving Sales-All forward, as well as business development for Sales-All and Fairlight.

His initial goals are to open new markets, expand Sales-All's presence in the Benelux region, its product portfolio, set up an international network for second-hand sales and establish a European working network for private label products, such as CLF. He will also focus on the design, supply and installation of systems.

"I am looking forward to working with this professional team to expand sales at both Sales-All and Fairlight," says Kocks. "The well-structured and very healthy financial position of the

USA - The Rondileau Campus Centre Auditorium at Bridgewater State University in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, has been part of campus life since it was built in 1970. Named for retiring president Adrian Rondileau, the centre boasts several ballrooms and conference rooms, a large cafeteria, several common areas, an open access computer lab and a small dining room.

It also houses offices for the Center for Multicultural and International Affairs, the Student Government Association and Visitor Information. But the heart of this multi-use building is its 1,300-seat auditorium, which is used for concerts and theatrical presentations. The auditorium's sound system was in need of an upgrade, and the university put out a request-for-proposal. The system chosen to take the auditorium into the future included RoomMatch loudspeakers and PowerMatch amplifiers from Bose Professional Systems.

UK - The Association of Sound Designers (ASD) has announced the debut of a new training scheme which consists of an intense, week-long seminar series on theatre sound, from 27-31 January 2014, at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

Each day of the ASD Winter School features a theme - such as Content Creation, Radio Mics, Electro-Acoustics and Emergent Technologies - with between three and five seminars on that theme each day. The seminars cover a huge range of topics and are led by industry experts. The seminars are free to attend for any student in full-time education, and of course, for all ASD members.

ASD Chair, Gareth Fry said: "The aim of the Winter School is to give attendees the opportunity to learn more in one week than you could in the rest of the year! The seminars assume no previous knowledge on any subject but take you to a deep understanding of eac

Denmark - The SOHO Lounge & Music Bar in Holbaek, Denmark has installed a versatile Meyer Sound system for musical reinforcement. Anchored by the self-powered UP-4XP 48V loudspeakers, the system was supplied and installed by Copenhagen-based PRIME A/S.

"People come to enjoy a beer or a glass of wine in the afternoon, meaning that the audio system only needs to provide low-key reinforcement during daytime hours," says Lars Christensen, venue owner. "At at night, appearances by live bands and DJs call for something altogether more powerful. The system had to be truly multi-purpose, and I am delighted that the Meyer Sound equipment fits the bill perfectly."

Peter Petersen, productions director for PRIME A/S, provided the venue's main lounge space with 12 UP-4XP loudspeakers, four UPA-1P loudspeakers, two 600-HP subwoofers, and three MM-10XP 48V subwoofers. Pow

Singapore - Fashion TV venues are hyped all over the planet with Singapore recently celebrating the opening of the first Fashion TV Club in late October. German company auxweg.com designed the club and technically equipped it with a state-of-the-art sound and lighting package from ADJ Group that includes Elation Professional lighting fixtures and LED video panels.

The global fashion network teamed with investors from the US and Germany and placed the chic night spot in Clarke Quay at the heart of Singapore nightlife. A complete renovation of a previous club, Elation Platinum Beam 5R Extreme moving heads, Rayzor Q12 LED lights, Platinum Spot LED Pro IIs, Design Wash LED Zooms and EPV6 LED panels feature prominently in the club's two main rooms.

Auxweg.com was involved every step of the way from market analysis and concept development to opening and operation. Working on a tight

Italy - With effect from 16 January 2014, Prase Engineering, located in Venice, Italy, will become the exclusive Shure / DIS distributor in the country. A long-time distributor of DIS conferencing products in Italy, Prase Engineering is one of the leading audio distributors in Southern Europe. Sisme, Shure's current distributor, will continue representing the line until 15 January 2014.

"Prase Engineering is a well-established and highly-respected distributor in the market. Their business focus and strengths aligns well to our strategy in the country and positions us well for future growth, in particular, in the system integration market," says Ron Marchant, Shure EMEA's general manager of sales.

Ennio Prase, CEO of Prase Engineering, adds, "We are tremendously excited about representing Shure in Italy. The addition of Shure's broad product portfolio complements

USA / The Netherlands - The Blizzard and Cyclone enclosures from Tempest (ISE 2014, hall 4, stand V28) are designed to protect digital projectors outdoors from dust, sand, salt, oil, water, snow, sleet and smoke, and from impact and theft. Through its innovative Goldilocks system, Tempest enclosures eliminate overheating and condensation - the real enemy of delicate equipment outside - and are available in sizes for projectors from 3,000 to 40,000 lumens.

Tempest HUSH enclosures make it possible to use even the largest - and noisiest - cinema projectors inside, in complete silence. Whether a meeting room, classroom, live theatre or boothless cinema, Tempest has a HUSH enclosure for every application, virtually eliminating projector noise without having to build a projection booth. All Tempest enclosures are compliant with relevant European standards.

"Whether inside or ou

Austria - Elation Professional EU has announced the hiring of Karl Lager as the company's new sales representative for Austria. Karl, who starts in the new position this month, is tasked with using his extensive industry knowledge and customer network to build a strong Elation dealership structure in Austria.

Karl comes to Elation from industry trading company Licht-Lager, which he founded along with two partners in 2003. Born into a theatrical family that worked in Vienna's Burgtheater, the Austrian National Theatre, where he gathered a wealth of technical and sales knowledge, his years of experience working with lighting companies gives him a unique insight into the Austrian market and its key players.

Marc Librecht, sales & marketing manager at Elation Europe, commented on the hiring, "We are very happy to have Karl join the Elation team in Europe and are confident his

USA - Bandit Lites recently wrapped up another Warren Hayne's Xmas Jam with a two day event that kicked off 13 December and featured performances from Gregg Allman, Widespread Panic, Michael Franti, OAR, Gov't Mule, and Grace Potter and the Nocturnals.

Preston Hoffman, who has designed the lighting for the event for three years now, was tasked by producer Joe Dindas to create something spectacular for the 25th anniversary.

"The idea behind the show was to do something that we had never done and that would push the show over the top," explained Hoffman. "This is always a tricky subject because every dollar I spend for this show is one less dollar that goes to Habitat for Humanity, so I tend to want to simplify and get the best bang for my buck."

While the US Cellular Centre has what Hoffman refers to as "special eccentricities" (in regards to the

Brazil - The cost of taking traditional exhibition space prevents some manufacturers from exploring the Brazilian market, so the APRS is offering a base on the floor of the AES, Brazil ((May 13-15, Sao Paulo) exhibition that allows a company rep to visit the show to scope the event and the market without taking space.

For just £1000, UK manufacturers wishing to visit the show but who prefer not to take exhibition space can utilise the meeting room and translation facilities of the Great British Audio Embassy and have their brand logos displayed in a British Brand Gallery, share in the networking events organized with the UKTI in Sao Paulo and participate in the bi-lingual brochure to be available on the booth.

The APRS, working with PLASA and the MIA, have helped a number of UK manufacturers to put a toe into the water of the Brazilian market.

Peter Filleul, the APRS E

Belgium - Genelec has confirmed the appointment of a new distributor in Belgium for its professional active monitors. XLR is a newly created company based in Brussels and brings together a team of pro audio professionals. Well known in the pro audio industry, both Jan De Brucker and Louis Lukusa have previously been sales manager at ASC, which for many years was handling the distribution of Shure, L-Acoustics and many more product lines in Belgium.

Jarmo Masko, sales manager for Western Europe and Africa at Genelec says, "The XLR staff all have a long personal track-record in the Belgium and Luxembourg audio market and we look forward to working with this enthusiastic team of people."

Jan De Brucker and Louis Lukusa at XLR comment, "The choice to distribute Genelec was made for business reasons, the high quality of their product offering and also because of thei

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