Austria - One of Vienna's finest concert houses, the Konzerthaus, recently upgraded the public address system serving its Great Hall and Mozart Hall, selecting Meyer speakers and Allen & Heath's iDR installation matrix mixers.

Installed by ATEC Pro, the new system is designed specifically for voice reinforcement. The iDR DSP systems comprise an iDR-4 matrix mixer for the Great Hall, and an iDR-8 for the Mozart Hall, with a PL10 8-channel rotary panel for remote control, and a PL-8 logic box installed in the Mozart Hall for interfacing to external systems.

Control of the entire sound system is via the iDR-8 and additional PL10 controller, including management of a hand-held radio mic and CD players for playback. The system default is Stage Manager mode, enabling limited access and control of settings for simple use.

The iDR-4 and iDR-8 units can be switched in both room

UK - Following a year which saw White Light expand both its expertise and resources, the company is now launching a new platform from which its extensive range of lighting, audio, rigging and video equipment will all be available to purchase: ShopWL.

The site, www.ShopWL.com is now live and has more than 5,000 products available for purchase, with more than 1,000 of these ready for next-day delivery. The site will offer every type of entertainment technology from state-of-the-art lighting and loudspeakers to the essential consumables such as batteries and tape.

Peter Threadgold, WL's customer services director, comments, "As a company, WL is renowned for providing complete production solutions. We wanted this reputation to be evident with our online shop hence the launch of ShopWL. As more customers than ever before are making their purchases online, it is important tha

UK - To celebrate five years since the formation of The Aloud Charity - www.thealoudcharity.com - which comprises Only Men Aloud, Only Boys Aloud, and Only Kids Aloud, a one-off concert - Aloud @ 5 - was staged at the Wales Millennium Centre in late 2015.

The charity offers free choral tuition and membership for young people from deprived backgrounds, and the chance to perform in some of the world's largest productions. These have included Britain's Got Talent, The X Factor, and the Queen's Jubilee Concert.

With a total cast of around 350 singers, the sold-out show was recorded by Orchard Entertainment for broadcast on Welsh language channel S4C on Christmas Day.

Founder of the Aloud choirs is artistic and musical director Tim Rhys Evans, and together with Broadway and West End creative director, Jonathan Butteral, and production designer, David Marson, he c

UK - RH Consulting has launched a major new edition to their guide to voice alarm systems. Originally released six years ago, the e-publication has been comprehensively updated to become the definitive guide to all types of emergency audio system for consultants, manufacturers, installers and venue owners.

Running to 200 pages, it covers all applications where VA systems are likely to be installed, from stadia to public buildings to nightclubs, theatres, transport hubs, shopping centres and much more. It is packed with tables, diagrams and animations to help people comprehend this often misunderstood subject. The guide covers standards worldwide, including Europe, Australia and the USA as well as delivering comprehensive information on the industry-changing topic of EN54.

"We wrote the book on two levels' says RH Consulting founder, Roland Hemming. "For those new t

Iberia - In January and February, audio engineers in Spain, Portugal and the Canary Islands can take advantage of advanced tuition on Yamaha's CL and QL series digital mixing consoles and Dante networking, as the company runs a series of free, day-long seminars.

Taking place in Madrid (27 January), Santiago de Compostela (2 February), Barcelona (10 February), Lisbon (1 March), Porto (3 March) and Tenerife (9 March), the training is part of the Yamaha Commercial Audio Training Seminar (YCATS) programme, which provides free, advanced training for sound engineers who already have a good working knowledge of digital audio mixing.

The major topics of each day will be: General overview of the Yamaha CL and QL consoles; System Configuration; Using two consoles (FOH and Monitors); Working with Gain Compensation; Live multitrack recording with Nuendo Live; Advanced Memory Management

UK - Following last year's successful launch of White Light's audio department, the company will continue building its audio expertise and equipment catalogue all throughout 2016. With a commitment to offering the very latest technology within the audio industry, this has seen a host of prolific clients use the company solely for its audio services. The company's reputation as a leading audio supplier has now been further enhanced by its latest investment in the highly-acclaimed DPA d:screet 4080 and DPA d:vote 4099 microphones.

WL has already invested in the DPA range, with its existing hire stock including DPA d:fine headsets, DPA d:screet 4060s along with the Podium microphones. This latest investment includes a large quantity of DPA d:screet 4080s and DPA d:vote 4099s; all of which will be available for hire.

Marcus Wadland, WL's audio project manager, comments, "It

UK - Over 65 years after its first production, the popularity of musical Guys and Dolls is as great as ever. The success of the 2014/15 Chichester Festival Theatre production has seen it transfer to the West End, with a tour to follow. Stage Electrics has worked closely with lighting designer Tim Mitchell to help make the transition.

Produced by Runaway Entertainment, the show has just started an eight week run at London's Savoy Theatre, after which it tours 18 UK and Irish cities through to the end of July. As an associate artist at Chichester Festival Theatre, Tim designed the lighting for the original run. Yet, unusually, you won't hear him say the word 'compromise' regarding the tour.

"Budget and time are obviously the two main creative constraints for a tour and we had to massively modify the rig. But I think we've actually improved it. It looks a lot sharpe

Taiwan - In Taibao City, Taiwan, a southern branch of the National Palace Museum has opened, driving cultural, educational, social and economical development to both northern and southern regions of Taiwan. To commemorate its inauguration, Aurora Lighting was called in to overview the design, and local distributor Jackson Yu of DLHG, to offer project support to the job.

A total of 61 fixtures were used, including 20x Fine Art 230 BEAM, 16x Fine Art 1500 Spot, 20x Studio Due City Colour and five PASP 4K SKYBEAM luminaires. Controlling these automated fixtures was an MA2 Full-size and 4x W-DMX™ BLACKBOX F-1 units.

To enhance the important landscape surrounding the building, the lighting display for the opening ceremony took place by the lake side, which created a barrier between control and lighting rig. "We got worried about DMX runs until we realised DLHG were W-DM

Spain - Clay Paky Sharpys have one again played an integral role in an epic stunt by trailblazing light artists Marshmallow Laser Feast (MLF) and lighting designer Matthew Button, who have combined their creative genius to pull off a sensory spectacular for Lexus Europe and singer will.i.am.

The technological feat, which is part of Lexus's campaign for the Lexus NX SUV, sees will.i.am create a choreographed laser light show in time to his hit #thatPOWER, using a trio of Lexus NXs on a disused Spanish runway lined with 350 motion-sensitive lasers and Sharpys. The number-one artist was challenged with directing the three cars to hit the beams at the right cadence to synchronise with his track.

"The fantastic beam quality was the driving force behind the choosing the Sharpy," explains Button. "Having used them previously on a project for Castrol where they

USA - Avid and Focusrite have a history of industry-shaping collaborations, from the world's first plug-ins to feature a fully skeuomorphic GUI (D2 and D3), to the original Focusrite-designed Mbox interface that brought Avid Pro Tools software to the masses, and Control|24TM, Avid's first mid-format console. Twenty-one years after that first collaboration, Avid and Focusrite are "in deep discussions once more, the results of which they look forward to announcing soon".

Dave Froker, CEO of Focusrite PLC, comments, "We want to make the experience of using Focusrite hardware and Pro Tools software together the best possible experience for all our customers. Avid recognises Focusrite as an ideal companion to Pro Tools and Focusrite recognise Pro Tools as the most mature professional recording platform for new Focusrite customers to adopt.

"Focusrite are the l

Dubai - Protec, the one of Dubai's largest event rental companies used its BlackTrax real-time motion tracking system and its d3 Technologies' 4x4pro media servers to deliver some complex projection mapping for the grand opening ceremony for the World Air Games 2015 held at Sky Dive Dubai.

Sheikh Mansour bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of Dubai International Marine Club (DIMC) ushered in the 4th FAI World Air Games (WAG) at an impressive and colourful opening ceremony on December 3, 2015 in front of an appreciative audience of nearly 5,000 spectators, which included officials and contestants from over 50 countries.

"It was great," said Polish microlight team member Kajetan Ruks. "I've never seen anything like it before. And now, I want to see it again." Joao Franciso, who came from Portugal to compete in the air navigation race said, "O

UK - This year saw the live TV ceremony, hosted by Dermot O'Leary, award EastEnders Best Serial Drama, Suranne Jones scooped Drama Performance, Best Newcomer went to Shayne Ward and Ant & Dec won Best Presenter for a 15th year running.

Arena Seating co-sponsored the 21st year of the star-studded event to supply 678 fully upholstered flat tip-up Diplomat seats with arms, which were installed in the front stalls section of London's O2 Arena, reserved for the VIP TV personality nominees and winners

Martin Clark, Arena Seating project manager and his 12-strong team, took just one day to install the prime view seats close to the stage, as well as the indoor and outdoor glittering red carpet. The build was completed in two halves, first the red carpet under the VIP seating was laid followed by the seat installation, then finally completed once the outdoor VIP red carpet had

USA - The Los Angeles Theatre on Broadway and Sixth Street in downtown Los Angeles is especially hot, sweaty and crowded. Today this sumptuous art deco palace built by Charlie Chaplin in 1931 is the location for an episode of TV show Scandal and rehearsals for the camp musical Carrie - The Killer Musical Experience. Chaplin, whose photograph with Albert Einstein adorns the gilded lobby, would be proud that, despite the lack of air conditioning and the crumbling plaster walls, his dream is still alive.

A week before opening night, lighting designer Brian Gale is on stage setting trim heights and focusing lights. He works with the confidence and calm that comes with a CV that would leave anyone slack-jawed. While officially 'retired' after 24 years as a fulltime designer with the Walt Disney Company, he is currently engaged as a consultant on six Disney projects, in

UK - Adlib has supplied a Coda TiRAY sound system to Liverpool Philharmonic's new venue, Music Room, a completely flexible space accommodating between 160 to 250 people depending on a cabaret, theatre or standing configuration. The venue, which opened in October 2015, has been built as part of the £14.5m refurbishment of the 1939 Grade II*listed Liverpool Philharmonic Hall.

Liverpool Philharmonic is one of the UK's most progressive music organisations, home of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, presenting more than 250 concerts and events annually including classical rock, folk, roots, music, festivals, film and comedy at its popular city centre hub on Hope Street, and delivering over 3,000 music education sessions each year for communities throughout Liverpool.

Adlib has been involved with supplying equipment and technical expertise to the in-house Production

South Africa - Three further African countries have embraced the popular singing competition The Voice - South Africa, Angola & Nigeria - with all three series recorded at and broadcast from Stage One, Sasani Studios, Johannesburg - and all featuring over 100 Robe moving lights prominently on their respective lighting rigs.

Johannesburg based production company Multi-Media is co-ordinating and supplying all technical elements - including lighting, sound, video, rigging and staging - for broadcaster AMPN (African Media & Productions Network) TV over an 11-month period which ends in July 2016.

Multi-Media's technical project manager, Chris de Lancey put together the team who are making it rock which includes lighting designer Joshua Cutts, asked on-board for his experience and flair in lighting live music TV shows as well as his reputation for innovation. Dewet Meyer wo

Ireland - Dublin's 398ft high Monument of Light Spire was transformed into a giant 'Lightsaber' in December to celebrate the premiere of the new Star Wars film, The Force Awakens, using powerful fixtures controlled by Avolites' Titan One DMX USB Dongle.

Commissioned by Disney, Tom Rohan of event production house Eventco conceptualised the installation alongside lighting designers Mick Murray and Matthew Cregan. The team used 16 of Clay Paky's intensely bright SuperSharpys to beam colours up the Spire to create the Lightsaber effect.

The event lasted for three weeks, with the team checking and controlling the lighting via CCTV, connected to the internet, which sent live images back. They then accessed the laptop within the Spire using the TeamViewer app.

"We did initial focusing on an Avolites Tiger Touch II and then transferred the show to a Mac laptop with th

Croatia -Although Croatian distribution company, Sunflower d.o.o. set up back in 1996, it was only after 2010 that the country's infrastructure had professionalised itself sufficiently to support brands of the calibre of Powersoft.

This year the Italian manufacturer, through its regional account manager (EMEA), Stefano Previtali, did a deal with the Rijeka based company, appointing them as their new distributor for the territory. This enabled the brand to join other high prestige names like d&b audiotechnik, XTA and DiGiCo in the top tier distribution portfolio.

According to Sunflower's Tomislav 'Kuki' Koran the new alliance will do much to raise the profile of both companies, as previously Sunflower had only represented a small and virtually unknown OEM Chinese amplifier manufacturer. "Powersoft will certainly be used for high performance applications," he said.

USA - Metalcore band Atreyu have a knack for painting pictures with their music. Philadelphia-based LD Lenny Sasso did justice to the group's imagination in his lightshow on their recent tour by drawing on the zone control and pixel mapping features of Chauvet Professional Rogue and Nexus fixtures provided by Squeek Lights.

After working on Atreyu's tour for their sixth and latest studio album Long Live, Sasso described how he went beyond illuminating the stage to reflect the varying moods of the music. "The music of Atreyu can get pretty intense and it evokes powerful images," he said. "I wanted the lighting to keep up, to reflect this and contribute to taking the audience on a journey. So, for example, when there were sections of songs that were slow and dramatic, instead of doing a random slow dimmer fade between the lights as I normally do, I opted to

Russia - Allen & Heath's GLD digital mixing system has been installed in the concert and cinema hall of the System Operator of the Unified Energy System's head office in Moscow, Russia.

As part of an audio refurbishment, the GLD system was selected by installer, Audio Video Solutions, the system comprised a GLD-80 console installed in the control room, with AR2412 and AR84 remote I/O racks located at the surface providing 32 local analogue inputs and 16 local analogue outputs. The GLD is complemented by a QSC speaker system.

System Operator of the Unified Energy System is a state-owned organisation providing operational and centralised control of Russia's unified power system. The head office occupies a large building in the historical centre of Moscow, and the 500-capacity hall is used to hold a variety of events, from management and staff meetings to musical performances a

UK - Lee Valley Leisure Trust came into operation in April 2015 to run 14 of the major sports venues and other sites owned by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority.

Last summer Martin Audio partner, Old Barn Audio (OBA) undertook a sound system upgrade at the £31m Lee Valley White Water Centre in Waltham Cross, one of the host venues for the 2012 London Olympics, using the manufacturer's new CDD range. Such was the level of satisfaction that the integrators were immediately asked to provide a similar Martin Audio solution at another Group venue, Lee Valley Ice Centre in Leytonstone.

Within this cavernous space, the operators host a range of learn-to-skate and public skating sessions, while the international sized ice rink is also home to the Lee Valley Lions and London Raiders Ice Hockey teams and the Lee Valley London Skating Club.

But the 15-year-old system was start

USA - Behind the scenes at the Emmy-nominated Jimmy Kimmel Live, lighting designer Christian Hibbard is busy bringing the shows musical performances to life. With two outdoor stages that host the hottest musical acts from around the world, Hibbard is asked to create the ideal lighting environment that best personifies the varying musicality of each artist. Understanding these challenges, Hibbard needs lighting instruments with a number of quality capabilities, which he has found in the VL4000 BeamWash luminaire from Philips Vari-Lite.

"I've been at Jimmy Kimmel Live since the beginning and we've been doing the outdoor concert series since the inaugural episode where we featured Coldplay," began Hibbard. "The lighting rig is different every time depending upon the band performing as each artist will have a look that's appropriate for their style of m

UK - On 21 January 2016, as it welcomed members of the industry to its Embassy Theatre for the annual Association of Lighting Designer's (ALD) New Technology Showcase, The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was delighted to announce the establishment of the Richard Pilbrow Scholarship.

With special thanks to alumnus and renowned lighting designer Richard Pilbrow for his generosity, the Richard Pilbrow Scholarship will support a young lighting designer at the School as they undertake the training necessary to embark upon their professional career.

Richard Pilbrow is both a graduate and an Honorary Fellow of Central, as well as an internationally renowned stage lighting designer, author, theatre design consultant and theatre, film and television producer. He is a pioneer of modern stage lighting in Britain, and his work has been seen in London, New York, Paris, Berlin, V

UK - The Knight of Illumination Awards (KOI) 2016 has launched and submissions are already coming in for its Television and Concert Touring and Events categories.

This year marks the 9th KOI Awards, which celebrates the creative talents of international lighting and digital content designers working in the UK in the sectors of TV, Theatre and Concert Touring and Events.

The 2016 edition will see the event moved from its usual date in early October to the 18th September to coincide with the PLASA London 2016 exhibition. The venue for the sparkling awards ceremony and dinner has also moved to join the PLASA show at its new location of Kensington Olympia.

Submissions are open for the Television and Concert Touring and Events categories and shows performed or broadcast between 1st August 2015 and 31st July 2016 in the UK are eligible. As with previous years the Theatre sectio

Independents' Days - This week, the UK music industry celebrates the third Independent Venue Week (IVW) with a week-long series of gigs all across the country. Led by London-based agency I Like The Sound of That, the seven-day long campaign is supported by the Arts Council through its Grants for the Arts funding programme. Its reach is expanding with 120 venues now taking part, from Aberdeen to Exeter and Belfast to Norwich. Among venues joining this year are Quay Arts (Isle of Wight), The Soundhouse (Leicester) and Nambucca (north London).

Helen Sprott, director of music at Arts Council England, says, "Arts Council England is pleased to be supporting I Like The Sound of That and their brilliant Independent Venue Week project for the second year running. It is vital that independent venues are recognised for the value they bring both to their local communities and the nati

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