UK - At the end of 2016, Autograph Sales & Installations completed an extensive installation at the New Adelphi Building at The University of Salford, providing an audio system that accommodates the needs of a multipurpose, flexible venue. A DiGiCo SD9 digital mixing console adds extra versatility to the 350-seat main theatre.
The theatre has been designed to be re-configurable to allow it to host a wide variety of performances. This includes seating and stage placements that can operate in five main modes: end firing; long traverse; short traverse; thrust; and in the round; as well as a dedicated cinema set up.
The SD9 and a DiGiCo Orange Box are key to the system - which includes an extensive EM Acoustics loudspeaker system, QSC digital signal processing and Sennheiser microphones - with system inputs being fed through it as required. It is programmed as an LCR

UK - “Our current count is nine Audient desks,” says Richard Liggins, technical production manager at the University of West London (UWL). “Seven ASP8024s and two ASP4816s, plus a number of ASP510 5.1 monitor controllers and an ASP800,” which puts it in the running for the facility with the most Audient desks in the world.
Most recently, London College of Music (LCM) - part of the UWL - opened Paragon Annex Studio complex, an investment of more than £1m in the development of seven new recording studios, which includes two each of these Audient consoles.
Liggins explains: “Audient desks reflect a very clear design ethic in terms of the signal flow through the desk. We teach audio studio recording from first principles, and that means an understanding of signal flow through a traditional multi-track studio as a base for all other techniques in audio recording.

Canada - Located within an old church building in Little Italy, Revival Bar has become a live performance hangout for the Toronto music community and fans since opening in 2000. While its designation as a Toronto historic building requires preservation of the building’s frontage, there is nothing to prevent modernization inside. That is why general manager Mathew Saturnino recently decided to upgrade the 400-capacity venue’s sound system with the Electro-Voice X1 system from the X-Line Advance line-array loudspeaker family.
"There’s a lot of competition in live entertainment, and quality of the sound system is one thing that sets one venue apart from another," notes Revival Bar general manager Mathew Saturnino. "We wanted a system that would sound great, with really good, tight sound output within the room. We did a lot of research, and the X1 from Electro-Voice seeme

UK - Following a record year working with Jockey Club racecourses, Arena Group has been appointed to oversee the full interior design of Newmarket’s’ temporary infrastructure during its most notable dates in the equestrian calendar including the Qipco Guineas Festival and the Moet & Chandon July Festival.
Arena’s interiors team, operating as the newly-launched Arena Concept division, will utilise the latest design and CAD technology to transform creative client briefs from initial concept drawings and 3D visualisations, to seeing the project through to on site delivery and completion. From branded areas, ambient decor and VIP hospitality, the team will help Newmarket Racecourse to create luxurious, temporary event environments with a high-end permanent feel. Following a series of recent product investments, sister company Spaceworks will supply contemporary new ev

Switzerland - A compact Allen & Heath dLive S Class system has been installed in Teatro Sociale in Bellinzona, Switzerland, following an upgrade to its audio equipment. Supplied by Battaglia Light Services, the system consists of a S3000 Surface equipped with a Dante network card, and a DM32 MixRack.
Built in 1846, Teatro Sociale is one of Switzerland’s most historic theatres, which was refurbished 20 years ago following a period of neglect. The venue hosts theatrical productions, and also a variety of concerts, from classical to rock.
“We selected dLive because it has a simple workflow, which is easy to learn for guest engineers, and has a quick setup time, so you can configure the desk in seconds. Another major factor for choosing dLive is that the sound quality is first class, and the system has the best FX, compressors and dynamics, thanks to the DEEP proce

Azerbaijan - The opening ceremony of the 4th Islamic Solidarity Games, produced by Catherine Ugwu’s Betty Productions, featured spectacular visuals throughout the show.
Responding to an initial brief to deliver projection across the back wall and floor of a stage covering half an athletics stadium, Creative Technology (CT) specified 78 Panasonic DZ21 projectors driven with VYV’s Photon Media Server system. While the original brief and specification regarding the projection area and projector count was a little smaller than the Rio Olympics ceremony that CT were involved in last year, many of the same challenges applied.
Following the first test set up, the projection surface was changed from a gauze material to a solid white fabric, the contrast in the content was increased and further 40 projectors were added to ensure that the quality and brightness of the overal

The Netherlands - One of the most historic buildings in Goes, Netherlands, Slot Oostende is a former castle located in the old centre of the city. It opened to the public in April this year as a multipurpose venue, with a Yamaha Commercial Installation Solutions (CIS)-based audio system meaning its spaces can be used for many different purposes.
Some original parts of Slot Oostende survive, while others have recently been rebuilt following excavations in 2009. This mixture of ancient and modern architecture provides a pleasant atmosphere, which was ideal for a restaurant, meeting venue and brewery producing the venue’s own beer.
Slot Oostende officially opened to the public on 19 April this year, with a planned programme of varied entertainment, as well as meetings, presentations and speech events. To ensure every activity enjoyed high quality sound, Peter de Graaf o

UK - Blitz|GES has secured a multi-year deal with event venue, the Design Museum. Blitz|GES was awarded a preferred supplier contract, placing it on the museum’s accredited production list.
The museum hosts a range of events each year, from conferences and awards nights, to major brand activations and product launches. Blitz|GES has worked with the venue since its move from Shad Thames to Kensington in late 2016, and will continue to deliver full AV and technical event production services to its clients.
Livia Puggini, head of events at the Design Museum commented: “I am delighted to continue our relationship with the team at Blitz|GES over the next three years. I’m looking forward to working alongside them to provide exceptional service to our clients.”
Graham Pope, group commercial director at Blitz|GES added: “We are proud to have been appointed a p

Germany - Markus Heinzel of Liquidstudio is the proud owner of the first Audient ASP8024 Heritage desk to be installed in Germany. Based in Freiburg, he has recently upgraded his professional recording and music production studio, wanting to “rely on my technology, so I can get on with making music”.
It was last year that his finances finally allowed for the improvements to his space, for which the biggest investment was the Audient. It took him the best part of a year to find the right desk which also suited his budget. “The combination of a well processed and proven, big analogue desk with DAW integration is perfect for me,” says Markus. “I use the DLC module mostly to make automations, it's great to play with that.
“After working with a digital console for 10 years, I wanted to come back to analogue. I wanted to record using the excellent analogue EQs an

UK- Underneath the Victorian railway arches in London’s Shoreditch district lies Cargo, one of the capital’s edgiest late-night bar and club venues. While the venue’s genuine Banksy graffiti art-filled courtyard is a magnet for art aficionados and tourists alike, the club itself has been busy building up a formidable reputation of its own thanks to an eclectic music programme.
To install an appropriately multifaceted lighting rig, Cargo recently approached London-based installation specialists, Halo lighting, which specified a number of Chauvet Professional and Chauvet DJ fixtures.
“Cargo approached us wanting a lighting rig capable of supporting a wide variety of dub, house, techno and electro events,” commented Yann Guenancia, director of Halo Lighting. “The combination of Chauvet Professional Rogue R1 Wash and Legend 230SR beams, in addition to Chauvet D

UK - A top of the range light and sound system is now delivering all the right notes at The Borderline in Soho, a 300 capacity intimate basement live music venue transformed by new owners DHP Family.
The venue has been remodelled to create a flowing space that provides the best possible experience for both performer and audience. As well as creating improved sight lines, more than £100,000 has been invested in a high spec audio and light system.
With excellent audio established as a hallmark for all DHP Family venues, top of the list was the installation of an L-Acoustics PA system to deliver a signature hi-fi quality sound throughout the venue.
DHP Family technical manager Dave McVea said: “The audio system we inherited was an eclectic mix of gear that had clearly been amassed over a period of time. While it did the job, there was no real design to the sys

USA - There are no straight lines in Time, the new Orange County club designed by Davis Ink, Ltd. That’s one reason why the dance floor is visible from anywhere in the venue. The lighting design by Steve Lieberman’s SJ Lighting features a “digital chandelier” made of Chauvet DJ MotionOrb fixtures along with some power packed spot and wash lighting from Chauvet Professional Rogues.
“The space inside this venue is almost amoeba-like,” said Lieberman. “It’s a single flowing and very immersive unit. Davis Ink completely ripped the former retail store apart down to the bone to create the new structure. We identified focal points throughout the space and used those locations to create our dimensioning and distribution of fixtures. Since the space is so different we spent a lot of time evaluating how each space would transition into the next.”
Among the foca

Ireland - INEC Killarney, the largest music and multi-purpose venue in Ireland outside Dublin, has successfully completed the first stage of a significant production upgrade plan with the help of A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET).
AC-ET worked with the venue, which has hosted many national and international music acts including The Script, Tom Jones, Snow Patrol, Hozier, Walking on Cars, Kenny Rogers and Tom Jones, to specify and supply a complete new lighting rig including a full range of fixtures, cabling and lighting control desk.
ProLights fixtures form the cornerstone of the rig, which uses a variety of moving lights including Pixiewash and Diamond19 RGBW LED wash lights, Luma1500 LED profiles and Ruby discharge beam lights. These were supplemented with ProLights StudioCOB FC full colour LED PARS and Solar IP65 LED wash lights. ETC Source Four profiles and

Russia - Allen & Heath’s dLive S Class mixing system was recently used at the prestigious Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow for a performance by the Astrakhan Opera and Ballet company.
The Astrakhan performed its production of The Damnation of Faust opera, which has been nominated for the Russian national theatre award, The Golden Mask.
Provided by MixArt, the dLive system consisted of a DM48 MixRack and S3000 Surface, which was used as the FOH and monitor system. A DX32 expander rack was installed in the orchestra pit to enable local connection of multiple orchestra microphones, and the DM48 was equipped with a Waves network card to allow multitrack recording and virtual soundcheck. There was also an IP8 remote controller to manage special sound FX and playback.
“At rehearsals and at the last rehearsal I controlled the dLive system using the S3000 install

South Africa - The Blue Man Group visited South Africa for the very first time in February and March this year and, whilst performing at The Teatro at Montecasino in Johannesburg, they celebrated the 200th performance of their world tour. South African sound engineer, Christo Davis, has worked with Blue Man Group for the past year, mixing an average of four shows or more a week on a DiGiCo SD7, with his deputy sound engineer covering the rest.
The Blue Man Group, established in New York by three friends in 1991, are known for their award-winning shows that captivate audiences with music, comedy, fresh stories, custom instruments and technology.
“I did a show with them in Australia about four years ago and I just hit it off with the sound designer,” says Christo. “We have similar philosophies and approaches on how we like to do things and he’d been trying to ge

UK - Stage Electrics has supplied the University of Huddersfield with a raft of live sound equipment to allow students on its BA (Hons) Music Technology, BA (Hons) Music Technology and Popular Music and BMus (Hons) Creative Music Technology courses to get hands on experience with the latest digital products.
“Working with digital consoles for live sound is something we have wanted to develop into our courses for quite some time,” says the university’s Stewart Worthy, who teaches the courses along with fellow lecturer Alex Harker. “The other part of the university already runs music technology courses with industry standard analogue consoles such as Allen & Heath and Avid, but we wanted to do something different in our area, offering two different consoles with different operating principles to give our students a more diverse experience. We’re delighted that we

UK - How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying was recently revived at London’s Wilton’s Music Hall and White Light supplied the equipment.
How to Succeed tells the story of J. Pierrepont Finch who rises from lowly window washer to high-powered executive. The show is directed by Benji Sperring with a lighting design by the award-winning Nic Farman. Nic comments: “What’s great about working with Benji in particular is that he really allows me to make lighting become an integral part of the story telling. It was about creating caricature through the lighting and being brave with the design as we wanted to put our stamp on the show and make it appeal to a modern audience without losing the 60s era that the show is set in.
“Similarly, Mike Lees, the set and costume designer, created a beautiful perspective set and furnished the ‘office’ w

Estonia - Robe DL7S Profile LED moving lights and PARFect 100 LED PARs have been specified and installed at the Estonian National Concert Hall (Eesti Kontsert), located in the heart of Tallinn and home to the Estonian National Orchestra (ENO).
The impressive Neoclassical building is shared between the Estonian National Opera and the Ballet Theatre Estonia. The Concert Hall is run by the Eesti Foundation, together with five other high profile concert hall venues – in the Estonian cities of Tartu, Parnu and Jõhvi - and St Petersburg, Russia.
The new lights were delivered by Tallinn based sales and installation company E&S, and were part of a much-needed technical upgrade that replace the previous lighting scheme which was fully ‘conventional’.
“We don’t just do concerts” explained Eesti Foundation director Jüri Leiten, “Although they are very im

UK - Following a run at the Watermill Theatre, Newbury and a UK tour in 2016, satirical play The Wipers Times has arrived in the West End with a limited run at The Arts Theatre. Full technical service provider Hawthorn were chosen to provide lighting equipment for this dark comedy from the trenches.
A stage adaptation of their award-winning BBC film, The Wipers Times by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman, tells the true and extraordinary story of the satirical newspaper that was created in the mud and mayhem of the Somme.
The team at Hawthorn worked with lighting designer James Smith to provide lighting equipment for the production when it toured in 2016 and were delighted to be asked to be involved once again when it arrived in the West End.
Smith, explaining why he chose to get Hawthorn on board once again, said: “After seeing the success of how Hawthor

UK - Bristol Music Trust (BMT) has revealed the next stages in its ambitious £48.8m redevelopment programme for Colston Hall, including a name change for the venue.
Louise Mitchell, chief executive of BMT, said: “We are on track with our transformation campaign and at this stage in the process, we can now focus on the detailed plans for the redeveloped Hall, including what its future name should be.
“The name Colston does not reflect the Trust’s values as a progressive, forward-thinking and open arts organisation. We want to look to the future and ensure the whole city is proud of its transformed concert hall and so, when we reopen the new building in 2020, it will be with a new name. This overall rebrand is part of transforming the Colston Hall we have today into the new National Centre for Music Entertainment, Education and Enterprise.”
With two-thir

USA - Star power was out in force on 19 March, when the Geffen Playhouse hosted the 15th annual Backstage at the Geffen, a fundraiser that benefits the celebrated theatre’s artistic and community outreach programs. Quincy Jones and Mel Brooks were honoured; their awards presented respectively by Barbra Streisand and Rob Reiner. Aisha Tyler of the Emmy-winning CBS programme The Talk was the evening’s host. Bridesmaids director Paul Feig appeared, as did comedians Sarah Silverman and Dave Chappelle.
This star-studded list of honorees and participants notwithstanding, as a charity event, Backstage at the Geffen had to be run with an eye toward controlling operating costs. For lighting supervisor Darren Rezowalli, this meant creating a compact rig that could be set up quickly, yet still deliver the sharp effects and rich colours that such a glamor

The Netherlands - Home to AFC Ajax, Amsterdam ArenA is a world class stadium and the preferred venue for the Dutch national football team’s international fixtures. As part of its ongoing upgrade, it recently installed a new audio solution based on the d&b Y-Series system.
Production manager at Amsterdam ArenA, Tim Oosterop comments, “Like our LED screens, or escalators, audio investment is not something you can charge for, it doesn’t translate directly into revenue, but it does see the audience come earlier and stay longer. If they’re here that’s good for revenue, and makes best use of the facilities.
“Ajax already has its own video production department and puts a lot
of work into the pre-show environment. Entertainment is the key component and quality audio is a big part of delivering that experience.”
Looking toward a new audio installati

UK - Currently playing at the Salisbury Playhouse, Echo’s End tells the story of a young couple in 1915 Wilshire who find themselves caught up in the turmoil of troubled times. It is written by award-winning playwright and novelist Barney Norris, directed by Alice Hamilton and features a lighting design by Howard Hudson. White Light was called upon to provide the equipment.
Echo’s End marks Howard’s fifth production at the Salisbury Playhouse. He comments, “Salisbury is a great venue and this is a brilliant new play that tells a story about that part of the world. The entire play is set outside on the Salisbury Plain, so one of the main requirements was to achieve a sense of natural light and the epic undulating scale of that area at different times of day.”
As with most of his designs, Howard had to work closely alongside the set design, which

USA - Lake Forest, California’s Saddleback Church, the host campus and broadcast site for the sizeable worship community led by Purpose Driven Life author Rick Warren, has been in its current location for nearly 25 years, but never had an audio system upgrade - until now. Seeking to improve intelligibility, the church turned to the installation division of Escondido-based Sound Image, which replaced the site’s ageing point-source system with a new L-Acoustics Kara array setup.
“There were all kinds of physical challenges,” recalls Sound Image’s Scott Coyle. “The room is basically a big square with about 200ft per side, and the back quarter of the space is bleacher-style seating. Plus, there are glass walls down each side measuring 30 feet high by 90 feet long, so we started out faced with a 2.2-second reverb time.”
“The previous PA was put in when the r

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