Japan - Located in the east end of the Tokyo metropolis, opened in 1992, Katsushika Symphony Hills cultural centre serves the ward with a range of cultural programmes. The centre consists of two halls. The main 1,318-seat Mozart Hall, which was named in honour of the ward’s friendship city agreement with the Floridsdorf district of Vienna. The hall boasts some of the best acoustics among Japan’s numerous concert halls. Its smaller companion, the 298-seat Iris Hall, takes its name from the symbolic flower of Katsushika ward.
Both spaces offer classical and pop music concerts by Japanese and international artists. Along with dance, theatrical and art performances, the centre also offers a diverse range of events for people of all ages since its opening in 1992.
As the

Austria - AV Stumpfl has announced the creation of a new management position inside their screens sales department. On 1 January, Jan Walter joined the team as global business development manager, screens.
Walter began his AV industry career as a field application engineer and recently worked as a senior regional sales manager for an internationally known technology manufacturer. The focus of his new role will be expanding AV Stumpfl‘s international projection screens distribution network.
Walter comments: "Ever since I started working in the wider area of projection technology, AV Stumpfl screens have been a household name. I always associated their products with the highest quality possible and a great drive towards innovation. I see great potential for expanding the existing distribution network further and am looking forward to tackling this exciting challenge."<

UK - Production services company Full Production has appointed a new director of live events and touring. Marc Thornton steps into the role after several years as lighting director and programmer for artists including Foals, Charli XCX and Goldfrapp. He will be overseeing the live events and music arm of the business.
Marc is a BRIT school graduate who began working alongside Full Production MD Steve Richardson early on in his career, whilst they were both working at White Light. Marc worked with Full Production as part of a successful freelance career for the past eight years, before joining the company on a temporary contract in February 2021. He played an integral part in some of Full Production’s biggest projects of 2021, including the Warwick Castle Sundown Spectacular.
“I’m delighted to be coming on board full time with the team at Full Production,” adds
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LD Systems ICOA PRO series – high-performance coaxial PA speakers for professional demands

The popular ICOA PA systems have been further developed to include two active full-range coaxial speakers – ICOA PRO 12 A and ICOA PRO 15 A – as well as the active 21″ bass-reflex PA subwoofer ICOA PRO SUB 21 A. With its professional features and high output power, the ICOA PRO series is aimed at ambitious bands, musicians and DJs as well as hire companies and commercial customers looking for a compact, robust and powerful PA sound system. The ICOA PRO series is rounded off with modern connection and control options via Bluetooth 5.1 and the specially developed ICOA PRO app, for use on smartphones and tablets.

ld-systems.com/icoapro

UK - Solotech has announced two significant appointments to its UK management team. Ryan Thomas and Phil Goldsworthy have taken over UK sales and systems integration leadership for SSE Audio, Wigwam Acoustics, Capital Sound and BCS Audio.
Both will report to Solotech UK MD Bryce Jewell and work in close collaboration with Solotech Live Productions leaders as well as overseeing corporate functions. They take over after the departure of Alex Penn, who served as sales and systems integration managing director at SSE Audio before leaving to pursue other professional interests.
Goldsworthy brings over 17 years of experience at Wigwam Acoustics and two years as the UK Group’s systems integration manager to his new role as head of systems integration.
Thomas will serve as head of sales for Solotech’s UK companies. With over 20 years of experience in various pro aud
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ETC Halcyon Silent

High End Systems Halcyon Silent builds on ETC’s legacy of fanless automated fixtures by incorporating features from the highly sought-after Halcyon family. Halcyon Silent perfectly balances silent operation with brilliant output of 18,400 lumens and high-impact features. 

For more information visit us at www.etcconnect.com

USA - LEA Professional has announced the immediate availability of Connect Series amplifier speaker tuning data for Renkus-Heinz CX and TX Series loudspeakers. LEA Connect Series speaker tunings provide integrators with the DSP settings they need to optimize system performance for speakers that pair with LEA amplifiers.
“We work hard to make sure our products offer the best and easiest amplifier solutions available, and our support doesn't end after the install,” says Bradley Drummond, director of application engineering and consultant relations at LEA Professional. “Integrators and end-users alike need quick ways to customise their systems for optimum performance. Our Connect Series speaker tunings are a big part of that continued service, and we're delighted to bring this feature to Renkus-Heinz CX and TX Series loudspeakers.”
The LEA Professional Connect Ser

Canada - The team at Audio Process in Toronto are long-time Lectrosonics users, and recently made the leap from their Digital Hybrid Wireless to the fully digital D Squared line.
Their cart and bag rigs run the gamut of digital receivers: DSQD four-channel, DCR822 dual-channel, and DCHR compact stereo units. Sending signal to these is a host of DBSM body-pack transcorders, the DPR-A plug-on transmitter for boom work, and DCHT camera hop transmitters. Communications are all-digital as well, thanks to the M2 Duet system’s four-channel M2T transmitter paired with M2R beltpack receivers.
“We dove into the Lectro digital world headfirst,” says lead location recordist Rob Morrice. “This past summer we did a show which follows a teenager who wins a singing competition, not unlike The Voice. It covered the behind-the-scenes of his life and the other contestants
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Create new traditions – Cameo P6 - High Output Full-Spectrum Ellipsoidal

Cameo's P6 is a future-proof LED profiler with a powerful 600 W RGBACL engine and 16,000 lumens. It’s an energy-efficient replacement for 2.5 kW halogen profile lights in theatres and venues. With excellent light quality and natural colour rendering, it fits perfectly in theatres, musicals, TV studios, congresses, and live events.

With an LED life of 50,000 hours and low power use, the P6 cuts energy costs and supports the EU’s ‘Green Deal’ goals for climate neutrality by 2050. It also meets updated eco-design rules for lighting.

www.cameolight.com/p6profile

UK - In August 2020, Harrogate Town FC were promoted to the English Football League (EFL) for the first time in their history. With promotion came new responsibilities.
The League’s regulations precluded the use of the club’s Wetherby Road (EnviroVent) stadium’s synthetic pitch, and, as a narrow window of time did not allow the work on a replacement to be completed before the start of 2020/21 season, Harrogate Town arranged a temporary ground-share at Doncaster Rovers’ Keepmoat Stadium. Comfortably maintaining their new League status during a season largely played in empty stadiums due to COVID-19 restrictions, the club, with work on a new grass pitch completed, prepared to return home.
Other EFL infrastructure criteria also had to be met at the EnviroVent, one of which was provision for a permanent public address system, which according to the League’s regul

Japan - Martin Audio Japan (MAJ) recently staged an outdoor showcase demo at the ancient ruins of the Ama Site Park in Takatsuki, Osaka. This park was newly opened in 2021, having refurbished the land that was previously used as a university campus. Now the park is open to everyone.
Martin Audio Japan had been unable to hold any demo showcases over the last 18 months due to COVID19 restrictions. Once the pandemic calmed down the company restarted its activity programme - and planned something special.
Director of MAJ, Sam Yamashita, explained the rationale. “Holding the demonstration outside ensured there would be sufficient space for the social distancing as well as fresh air. We had originally wanted to introduce WPL to customers back in 2019, but due to COVID it was postponed.”
In any case, he concluded that showing the capability of WPL to its optimum pot

South Africa - Professional audio, AV and broadcast specialists Stage Audio Works has launched AV Distribution, a new company dedicated to "managing those markets chiefly served through a reseller/integrator channel". Anything that is project-based will remain the remit of Stage Audio Works.
The executive and management teams of the Stage Audio Works group remain unchanged and the company continues to invest in the market with the ongoing development and expansion of local manufacturing under its Stage Plus and Pixel Plus brands.
According to SAW CEO Will Deysel, the decision to form AV Distribution was a logical evolution of the process already started in March 2021 when the company restructured its sales operation into two distinct verticals - namely projects and distribution. The creation of a separate company sees the process through to its conclusion.
“We

USA - In mid-December, Metallica celebrated its 40th anniversary with four days of events dubbed the San Francisco Takeover, culminating in two concerts for fan club members only at the city’s Chase Centre arena. As with nearly all Metallica shows in recent years, the band relied on a Meyer Sound reinforcement system - here a massive 286 loudspeaker in-the-round configuration.
The longstanding Metallica - Meyer Sound relationship has evolved into a partnership between musical artists and a technology supplier, a collaboration that has pushed the technology envelope for large scale audio production.
“We have never worked with a vendor or manufacturer where we’ve had the kind of close, collaborative relationship we have with Meyer Sound,” says Dan Braun, Metallica’s creative director and production designer. “They are not simply equipment providers, but real

Belgium - Dining-out long since ceased to be about simply eating. The modern restaurant seeks to provide its customers with an ‘experience’; often investing significantly in specialist designers to assist the creation of a unique atmosphere and ambience that reflect its particular vision. Amongst the plethora of ideas and styles that characterise the sector, one aspect is common to virtually every setting. Music, of whatever genre in a restaurant environment, is fundamental to the vibe, and as such, demands the best possible audio provision. Two examples of new restaurants which recently opened in the Belgian ‘capital of cool’, Antwerp, support the principle that good sound is an essential ingredient for the dinner table.
Erwin Nuyts, co-owner of Antwerp based audio and lighting integrator Discostore, was called on to create systems for both Sergio Herman’s “New I

UK - Touch technology specialist Zytronic has introduced the ZyBrid edge touch sensor technology, developed to "create stunning multi-screen interactive video walls and tables".
Designed to mirror the narrowest bezel video wall monitors, the glass sensors feature an ultra-narrow border (anywhere from 3mm to 0mm), creating a sleek appearance by using the maximum display area. The sensors can be innovatively linked when used with the associated all-new ZyBrid edge controller to enable seamless touch transition between screens, with potentially no gap whatsoever between adjacent active areas.
Typically, AV installers fix a huge protective glass over the entire interactive video wall. They then often use a clip-on infra-red or camera-based touch detection system around the outside of the tiled screens. This arrangement creates a large, unsightly, protruding bezel around th

USA - The 2022 New World Rigging Symposium, taking place virtually on 5-7 April, will bring together professional riggers, engineers, manufacturers, venue managers, educators and students to further their rigging knowledge, hear about challenging projects, get up to speed on new technologies, discuss current industry challenges, and get their questions answered.
The session line-up features an array of subject matter experts sharing their knowledge on: Rope 201, Load Monitoring Systems: Know Your Limits, Rope Access in Entertainment: Training and Usage, Performer Flying Case Study: It Happened at Wembley, Hosting Road Shows at a University, What the Engineers Want You to Know, Touring Overseas: Getting Your Ducks in a Row, Rigging Challenges: Infrastructure Case Studies, Women Riggers of ETCP and Intro to Mental Health First Aid.
The three-day symposium will also inclu

USA - At the 183-year-old Connection Pointe Christian Church outside Indianapolis, a refurbished lighting rig and a fresh approach to design have brought a new level of immersion and engagement to services.
Last year, the multi-generational church replaced most of its lamp-based fixtures with a new all-LED system featuring many of Chauvet Professional’s latest and most advanced product, including the Maverick Force S Spot.
The new LED rig was only one of the changes, however, that would redefine lighting at Connection Pointe. Along with the upgraded fixtures, the church also got a brand new LD, one with experience lighting houses of worship as well as entertainment venues. Alexander Lehman joined the church’s team and became part of a new design philosophy that emphasized building engagement with set pieces.
“I took on the LD role here in Indianapolis tow

USA - In early April 2022, Main Light will be opening a new facility in Nashville this spring. This will expand Main Light’s operations to a third location, joining Main Light East in Wilmington and Main Light West in Las Vegas.
The new 70,000sq.ft. Main Light South shop will be located at 12630 Old Hickory Blvd, Antioch, TN. Locally, Main Light South will be led by rental account manager Cathie Berbena Lloyd (pictured, right) and operations manager, Jim Gregory (left).
“We found that choosing Nashville makes it much more efficient to support our clients in the area,” explains Main Light general manager, Randy Mullican. “There was a lack of a dry hire options in this market, so it just made sense to open here, where we already have a number of clients. Now with moving into the right space for our facility here, along with the knowledgeable and experienced peop

UK - Outdoor Digital Productions (ODP), a collaborative enterprise between ADI, JA Productions and Outdoor Places Unusual Spaces (OPUS), has been chosen to deliver the official Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Festival Live Sites.
ODP aims to transform multiple city locations from large capacity venues, such as Smithfield, to civic and community green spaces, into accessible hubs for cultural placemaking and collective celebration during the 2022 Commonwealth Games. The Live Sites will include showpiece creative staging, participatory activations and live arts performances with a focus on locality and sustainability.
Emily Muirhead, Live Sites project manager at Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, commented, “We’re excited to have the Outdoor Digital Productions team on-board to facilitate our Live Sites during a momentous occasion for Birmingham and the surrou

Norway - Bose Professional has been selected as the solution provider for Telegrafen Oslo. Located in the heart of one of Europe’s fastest-growing cities, Telegrafen offers a mixed-use experience in the Nordic Baroque-Nouveau landmark building. With almost 270,000sq.ft, the historic building provides a place for visitors to enjoy a range of activities from an upscale restaurant to meeting spaces - easily navigating between business and leisure.
“We needed a partner who could ensure high-quality sound in big, flexible spaces, larger educational facilities, restaurants, bars - in other words, we needed distinct solutions suitable for everything from fun, experiential sound to clear audio for conferencing,” explains Steffen Johansen, technical project manager for system integrator Bravo. “We needed a provider that could deliver products that met all of our needs, and Bo

Coachella Returns - Billie Eilish, Harry Styles and Kanye West - known as Ye - will headline this year's Coachella festival. It's being held for the first time since 2019 after the 2020 festival was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The festival runs across two weekends in April in Indio, California, with the same line-up appearing on them both. Swedish House Mafia, Flume, Megan Thee Stallion, Disclosure, Doja Cat and Run the Jewels will also perform. Billie Eilish will become the festival's youngest ever headliner.
Celtic Connections - The organisers of Celtic Connections have launched a ‘hybrid’ online version of the musical festival after shows had to be cancelled due to Covid restrictions on crowds. Performances will now be shown online with some screened to smaller audiences at Glasgow's Royal Concert Hall. A small number of larger-scale shows will b

Europe - zactrack International has welcomed Alistair Smyth, a long-time veteran of the industry, as the company’s new brand manager.
After earning a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering from Kingston University London, he has worked for Vari-Lite, High End Systems, Christie Lites, A.C. Entertainment Technologies and Flashlight. Most recently, he was a technical sales advisor at Elation, where he was responsible for product demonstrations, sales support and technical communication.
Reflecting on his new role, Smyth says: “I am proud to join the Lightpower family of companies and be a member of the zactrack International team. I look forward to meeting our valued distributors, customers and users. The zactrack products are amazing and we believe they will revolutionize tracking in many areas of our industry. As part of the team here, we can work together to h

USA - Amber Solutions has announced that its AC Direct DC Enabler is now available as a demo kit for technical evaluation by consumer, commercial and industrial electrical products manufacturers and semiconductor companies, such as Infineon Technologies, who have already announced an alliance around Amber.
This breakthrough Amber AC direct power system enables DC extraction directly from AC Mains without the use of transformers, rectifiers, or filtering. It eliminates many of the old-tech electromechanical components that are still standard today, enabling a dramatically smaller size footprint, while simultaneously delivering a much more dynamic, configurable power delivery capability. The result is an unprecedented opportunity for manufacturers and semiconductor companies to reinvent how electricity is leveraged, designed and feature-scoped in all electrical products, accor

Belgium - Audiofocus has released a new range of installation loudspeakers. The Belgian manufacturer has developed dedicated installation versions of its point source, constant curvature, line array, subwoofer and stage monitor designs. As part of the development process, touring features such as grab handles and rigging systems have been removed or simplified to make the new variants cost-efficient without compromise to their audio performance, while aesthetic changes enable the speakers to blend discreetly into installed environments.
Both passive and bi-amplified options are offered for most of the new installation models.
“Audiofocus built its reputation for audio fidelity and high return on investment in the touring world, but we have always enjoyed strong relationships with integrators who wanted to carry those same benefits into their fixed installation proje

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