Albania - Harman Professional has appointed Prosound of Tirana as distributor in Albania for its AKG, BSS, Crown, dbx, JBL Professional, Lexicon and Soundcraft product lines. As Prosound is also the existing Albanian distributor for Martin Professional lighting, the company is positioned to address all the key vertical markets where Harman Professional is active in the country.

Prosound began operations in 2006, beginning with a small rental system and growing its business every subsequent year. The company is involved in the most prestigious sound and lighting projects in Albania, serving customers, dealers and contractors as a one-stop solution.

"With Harman we are more solid than ever and we will elevate Harman's presence in Albania to the top - where it belongs," said Kliton Gjika, managing director, Prosound. "As Harman's regional distributor, we will deliv

Poland - Martin Professional has announced the appointment of PS TEATR as the new exclusive distributor for Poland effective 21 March 21, 2014.

Established over 40 years ago, TEATR is the longest serving industry leader, specializing in some of the most complex project installations throughout Poland, whilst managing exclusive distribution for a portfolio of world class brands.

Commenting on the appointment, Marek Guminski, CEO of PS TEATR, stated, "We have followed the dynamic development of Martin closely, especially since they joined the Harman organization. Martin's products are an ideal companion for TEATR's portfolio and expectations of the Polish market. We know the excellent service and support Martin provides combined with our experience and market position will allow us to exceed our markets needs and demands."

Echoing this sentiment, Matt Hallard, busine

The Netherlands - A State Of Trance (also known as ASOT) is the title of a weekly radio show hosted by prominent trance DJ and producer Armin van Buuren. The success of the show has also spawned several live dance events around the world. The show is celebrated live each year in different locations around the globe with a lineup of the most exciting trance artists, and recently took place at Utrecht in the Netherlands. This year the show (A State of Trance 650 - New Horizons) will be staged in eight more cities ranging from Moscow to Buenos Aires.

Lighting designer André Beekmans relied on three grandMA2 full-size and one grandMA2 light consoles for lighting control in Utrecht. He commented, "For all our big jobs we're requesting grandMA2 consoles. We're open for all the other platforms but grandMA2 works best for us. Especially for large setups, it's so stable and i

UK - Robe teamed up with top lighting designer / director Dave 'Bickie' Lee to make the latest moving light technology available for 'The Concert Lighting Project', a practical module being taken by students on the BA (Hons) Lighting Design course at leading UK theatre and performance college, Rose Bruford.

The initiative was co-ordinated by Hansjorg Schmidt, programme director for lighting design at the Kent based college and by Ashley Lewis and Petra Sefton from Robe UK in Northampton and was also supported by rental company Siyan - who themselves have a reputation for nurturing emerging young LD talent - and console manufacturer, Avolites

Says Hansjorg, "With Robe and Siyan getting involved this year the students were able to have a much larger lighting rig to work on and it was a fantastic opportunity for them to test drive the absolute latest Robe kit as well as work

UK - When theatre consultants Charcoalblue were enlisted by Canterbury Christchurch University to assist with the relocation of the performing arts teaching facilities from Folkestone to the Canterbury campus, the company brought Doughty Engineering on board to create a low cost, low weight and reliable system for overhead rigging in the campus' Anselm Hall.

The performing arts and technical production courses at the university require carefully designed spaces for teaching and research and Anselm Hall, a space previously used for exams, presentations and lecture style teaching, fitted the bill with its small technical infrastructure and raised stage.

Ian Stickland, theatre consultant project manager at Charcoalblue said, "We were tasked with creating a more suitable space for the students and research fellows in the performing arts department. As such the existing Anselm

Belium - Belgian pro audio and lighting specialists, ARC-Productions, have confirmed the purchase of 16-enclosure Martin Audio MLA Compact and Mini PA rigs - the first company in Belgium to do so.

Based close to Ghent in Flanders, Marc De Baets' sales and rental company, which also provides stage management as part of a full technical solution, has a long history with Martin Audio dating back to the purchase of a W8 Compact in around 2001. He has subsequently invested in WT2, LE1200 and 1500s, WS 218X subs and W8LC.

"His complete speaker inventory has been made up of Martin Audio for many years," confirms Steven Kemland of FACE, the manufacturer's Belgian distributor, who serviced the recent order.

Marc De Baets had been operating under his own name before setting up ARC-Productions at the end of 2008, and had been in conversation with Kemland about the MLA from it

UAE - Melody House, a sole distributor of Primacoustic in the Middle East, has recently supplied SAE Institute Dubai with high performance acoustic materials including wall panels and tiles, bass traps, pitch diffusers and an instant vocal booth.

SAE Institute has equipped its four recording studios with thirty two Control Columns, fifty Broadband Panels, forty ThunderTile ceiling tiles, two MaxTrap Corners - mount bass, eight RX9 Recoil Stabilizers, one FullTrap Wall - mount bass trap, four FlexiFuser pitch diffusers, two Flexi-Booth Wall mount vocal booths, three VoxGuard Ambient field controllers and sixteen Cumulus Tri-corner traps.

SAE Institute Dubai was founded in 2005 in order to bring expert training and education to the fields of audio and film in the Middle East, providing a local base for a global outlook on the new media industries.

"The brand provides easy

UK - London gay venue has upgraded with the installation of Emto's Mambo 8 LED screen by the Buckinghamshire UK based LED specialist.

Emto's Wes Matthews was contacted by the venue's Manager Chris Amos who was searching for a reputable screen provider who could provide a cost-efficient visual solution to go at the back of their DJ booth...and happened upon the Emto website.

They discussed the requirements and then Matthews spec'd the screen. "They wanted a product with great clarity that was robust and hard-wearing," explains Matthews. Following an initial site visit, he recommended the 8mm screen from their hire stock which is waterproof on the LED side, and easy to wipe down in case of any liquid spillages.

This has proved a winner in bar and club environments where the screens are often very close to the audience.

The screen is configured as a 3m wide by 1.5m

UK - Part of London's Southbank cultural complex, Topolski Bar & Café - situated in the arches under the Hungerford Bridge, which carries pedestrians across the Thames - has undergone a complete refit, including a new Martin Audio AQ loudspeaker system.

CTS Productions carried out the technical upgrade at the venue - previously the studio and gallery of Polish born artist, Feliks Topolski, whose stunning works are featured throughout. The high railway arches, lined with exposed scaffolding, bare wood, combine with a huge bar and servery to create an impressive visual feast.

The venue itself is constructed around the two arches and a smaller more intimate space to the rear, with Martin Audio AQ enclosures specified throughout to ensure comprehensive coverage.

CTS Productions owner, Carl Broadhurst has deliberately given each space a different feel; Arch 1 features the

Lighting designer Rob Sinclair has incorporated 87 of SGM's new X-5 LED strobes into the set for the current Miley Cyrus Bangerz tour, which visits Europe in a few months' time - and he has been relishing the experience of working with them.

"It's the first time I have used these strobes and also my first time working with Miley - and it's been great fun," he reports.

Introduced to the tour by production designer, Es Devlin, the experienced LD has been joined by lighting director/programmer Sean Burke, making this the perfect team to deliver Devlin's powerful and strident creative concept.

Describing the show as "a high gloss, high fashion, very geometric wild ride" Sinclair adds, "I knew we needed to fight against an enormous LED wall so chose the brightest fixtures I could and grouped them into blocks.

"We went through many changes on the same basi

Italy - The Bride of the Zar, directed by Dmitri Rcherniakov, has developed different narrative plots on Teatro alla Scala's stage. Beside the music masterfully conducted by Daniel Barenboim and the ability of the singers, another protagonist of this opera layout has been for sure the use of technology.

The scenic organization set on a turntable allows the spectator to see different points of view and along with the music and the dramaturgy, is characterized and enriched from the first act to the very last one by projections implemented by Meeting Project srl, using Hippotizer media servers, the world's best solution for real-time media playback.

This work has been conducted my Meeting Project srl, technical sponsor of Teatro alla Scala of Milan. The technical skills of Fabio Fraomene and Marco Piva met all the requirements of the director, who wanted to add meaning to

Germany - At this year's Prolight+Sound Show in Frankfurt, Hans Günter Dünkel from Motion in Fürth, received a special award to commemorate the purchase of their 1000th SGM P-5 wash light.

"Over a short period of just 18 months since the product was launched, Motion has purchased more than 1,000 devices, and thus has the largest dry hire inventory worldwide," says Thorsten Sattler, director of SGM Deutschland.

Motion GmbH is one of the largest dry hire rental companies in Germany with a customer base extending to the surrounding countries. The P-5s are being ordered both in quantities of 16-32 pieces for smaller jobs, while large-scale exhibitions such as the IAA (International Motor Show) or IFA (International Radio Exhibition) in Berlin may require the complete inventory. Similarly, the catwalks of Milan Fashion Week will be illuminated with Motion's newly acqui

Spain - The Mobile World Congress in Barcelona is the largest trade exhibition in the world for the mobile phone industry. Manufacturers and service providers spend huge sums on their stands to present the best possible image to the attendees, so they must be immaculately presented with the lighting perfectly integrated into the design.

Two of the largest stands incorporated a total of 130 of MilTec's highly successful Batten2 LED battens. MRL Productions of Clacton supplied lighting, truss and rigging for the Qualcomm Inc. stand via design and build specialists The 3D Factory. Push Hires Ltd. from Eastbourne supplied 2LK Design Company for the Intel/Airwatch stand with the battens, moving heads and conventional lighting as well as sound equipment and hundreds of meters of truss (c/w chain hoists). Push also used the Miltec 360WZ moving head LED zoom wash for the conference set.

UK - Britannia Row Productions Training is introducing a new way of accessing its professional industry-based training in Live Sound Technology.

People who already work as live sound technicians and do not require a comprehensive training programme, are able to book individual topics as one-day sessions from Britannia Row Productions Training's 12-week Live Sound Technology course. This allows to selectively address gaps in knowledge and skills and provides the opportunity to gain confidence in all aspects of Live Sound Technology.

This new scheme will first be available on the April course offering a schedule of selected topics available between early April and the end of June. Participants booking individual days will join the Live Sound Technology class for those days and will attend sessions comprising of teaching and practical activities with access to relevant equipment

Qatar - The Gallowglass Group has opened a new overseas office - in Qatar. Heading up Gallowglass Middle East is general manager François Perron, previously deputy operations director with GL-Events for the 2012 London Olympics, and before that, general manager with Cirque du Soleil for over 20 years.

François Perron said, "We're delighted to be finally opening our doors in Doha. The Gallowglass Group's UK head office has been establishing commercial links in the Middle East for some time now, and had already delivered one major project in Qatar last year."

At the end of October 2013 Gallowglass supported the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE). Contracted directly by the Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC) over 40 technical staff, ranging from riggers and stage managers to translators worked on the summit, which was the largest event to be held at the

Germany - Cadac brand development manager, Richard 'Fez' Ferriday outlined a series of highly significant developments for the company in a keynote presentation to press and industry professionals at the Prolight+Sound exhibition.

Opening the event he stated, "On our booth you will already have noticed the biggest changes for Cadac in some time, with new people and more new products, including a high performance network infrastructure that makes our flagship CDC eight a real-world proposition."

Introducing, publicly for the first time, his colleagues in the new marketing and brand development team - marketing manager James Godbehear and UK sales manager Rob Hughes - he announced that, with appointment of Hughes, the company was forming its own UK distribution operation, stating, "From 1 April Rob Hughes will oversee a select dealer network for the UK, out of our

In Liquidation - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang producer Michael Rose has put his principal production company into liquidation, leaving venues and suppliers, including the Ambassador Theatre Group and the Belgrade Theatre, hundreds of thousands of pounds out of pocket.

The company, Michael Rose Limited, has debts totalling £1.12m owed to 21 creditors, with ATG due the largest sum of £247,500. Entertainment lighting company White Light is owed more than £31,000 and two venues, the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry and Malvern Theatres, have been left around £7,000 and £1,600 out of pocket respectively.

Other creditors include Arena Structures, which is yet to receive its payment of £57,000, PRG Europe, which has been left without £40,000, and Stage Technologies, owed nearly £12,000.

Before The Dawn - Kate Bush has announced s

USA - It may have been a bitterly cold winter night in the South, but inside Nashville's Municipal Auditorium some of music's greats gathered to perform and honour those being inducted into the Musician Hall of Fame. Bandit Lites and Mark Carver worked to illuminate the evening hosted by Chip Esten of ABC's Nashville.

Inductees included guitarist Peter Frampton, Randy Bachman, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Capps, Will Lee, Velma Smith, Corki Casey O'Dell and country legend Barbara Mandrell, the first woman inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame. Posthumous inductions went to Ben Keith, Stevie Ray Vaughan and his band Double Trouble while Roy Oribison was honoured with the first Iconic Riff Award. Additionally, Mike Curb was awarded the first ever Industry Icon Award.

In a place filled with such immense talent, it would have been a shame to not indulge in some jaw dropping performances, a

Italy - Martin Professional has appointed Leading Technologies as the exclusive distributor of Martin products in Italy. Leading Technologies has been working with Harman since 1995 and this partnership will serve to enhance the sales, distribution and support of Martin Professional lighting solutions in the Italian market.

"The addition of Martin to our current portfolio of Harman Professional products allows us to provide an even more comprehensive array of audio/visual solutions to our customers," commented Marco Porro, vice president and CEO, Leading Technologies. "We are committed to bringing this expanded offering to new and existing customers while also ensuring they receive the same level of service and support that they always have from our team."

Commenting on the partnership, Steen Matthiesen, vice president of EMEA sales, Martin Professional, sa

Chile - The 55th edition of the world famous Vina del Mar International Song Festival in Chile was staged in the city of the same name in the Valparaíso region of Chile, with 48 of Robe's Robin Pointes onstage at the Quinta Vergara's amphitheatre.

The six-night event featured an array of local and international artists like Ricky Martin, Laura Pausini, La Ley, Ana Gabriel, Carlos Vives, Rod Stewart and many others.

Full lighting production, media server support, lighting design and realisation was provided - for the fourth consecutive year - by Santiago-based Producciones Órbita.

Spanish LD Luis Pastor has been in charge of lighting design at Vina del Mar since 2011 and explains that all the creative processes start at local TV channel Chilevisión, the Festival's official broadcaster for the last four years. This year, they wanted to emphasise the historic spirit of the f

UK - Calrec Audio has confirmed its acquisition by Electra Partners. Calrec will become a sister company to Allen & Heath, which Electra acquired last year.

"When we made our initial investment in the professional audio sector by supporting the buyout of Allen & Heath, Electra provided all of the new financing to ensure flexibility with respect to further acquisitions in the sector," said Alex Fortescue, chief investment partner of Electra Partners. "The acquisition of Calrec shows the benefits of this approach, and both companies are well-placed to accelerate growth as a result."

"We are delighted to have funded the acquisition of Calrec," said Charles Elkington, investment partner of Electra Partners. "Part of our investment strategy in the professional audio sector is to acquire additional businesses to create a group of market-leading pro

USA - Free registration is now open for the PLASA Focus: Baltimore 2014 Professional Development Programme, a two-day programme of free educational seminars and workshops, running alongside the PLASA Focus: Baltimore exhibition, at the Reitz Arena, Loyola University, Maryland, on 8-9 May, 2014.

The programme includes talks from some of the industry's leading talents who will discuss the latest trends, technologies and techniques, and is a unique opportunity for visitors to further develop their industry knowledge and take part in discussions.

Designer Maurice "Moe" Conn will discuss what skills a theatre technician needs to acquire for a successful career in Start Small, Go Big. Conn, who is technical director and designer at CCBC Cantonsville Centre for the Arts Theatre, recently won the award for Best Scenic Design at the Maryland Theatre Guide's Readers' Ch

USA - Solid State Logic is continuing to build its US dealer network to support its new Live console with the appointment of Firehouse Productions in Red Hook, New York. A 2014 TEC Award winner for its support of Peter Gabriel's Back to Front tour, Firehouse provides sound reinforcement and complete sound systems for every aspect of live production, including high-profile television performances.

"We are excited to become a dealer for the new SSL Live console and to add it to our rental inventory," says Bryan Olson, owner/president of Firehouse Productions. "Where excellence and quality are concerned, we are sure this console is a powerful option."

"Firehouse Productions is a well-respected leader in live audio," says Jay Easley, SSL's vice president of Live consoles in the Americas. "Having them as part of the SSL Live network was ver

Belgium - Genk based creative lighting practice Painting With Light (PWL) has designed a complete bespoke interior, exterior, foyer and house lighting scheme and control for the brand new 1400 seater luxury Plopsa Theatre, located at the Plopsaland de Panne theme park and business centre in West-Flanders, Belgium.

PWL also engaged in a consultancy role for the stage lighting specification and installation, and has a relationship with the park and its operators, The Plopsa Group, that dates back over a decade to when the Park was first opened in 2000.

The striking Plopsa Theatre foyer which occupies 13,000sq.m with over 12m of headroom is also used as a multi-purpose event space to accommodate anything from gala dinners to special presentations.

This expansive open area required lighting that was as flexible as possible to facilitate a myriad of different activities and uses.

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