Switzerland - The Kantonsschule Wetzikon, a state college for higher education, has recently seen an extensive AV refurbishment in its Auditorium, and the installation of a high-specification audio system comprised of Nexo and Yamaha components.

The Auditorium is a multi-purpose venue, hosting meetings and presentations, theatrical productions and orchestral concerts, so the demands placed on the new sound reinforcement system were heavy. In addition, the theatre is protected under historic building regulations, so the installation of equipment had to be visually appealing.

Zap Audio proposed an all-purpose system centred on Nexo's new compact Geo S1230 two-way enclosures. Two of these modules have been flown either side of the stage, supplemented by a Nexo RS15 subwoofer and two Nexo PS8 cabinets as rear FX speakers. These loudspeakers are all driven by a pair of Nexo's NXAMP

Egypt - The Cairo Opera House houses seven different stages and forms an umbrella organisation beneath which the city's music and dance companies, art galleries, museums, and training programmes can flourish. In addition to the high-calibre indoor events that have helped make the venue internationally famous, the organisers are now set to offer a programme of outdoor events, for which purpose they have invested heavily in systems from Electro-Voice from Egyptian partner Alpha Audio.

The core of the new system comprises an Electro-Voice XLC rig, which includes eighteen XLC127DVX loudspeakers and eight XLC215 subwoofers. These are complemented by eight PX1122M, four QRx153/75 enclosures, and two QRx218S subwoofers. The system, which is equally suitable for the reproduction of music and the spoken word, is driven by nineteen TG5 amplifiers. The order placed with Alpha Audio include

UK - Audica Professional MICROline loudspeakers have made their theatre sound debut on Never Forget, the hit musical with the songs of Take That.

This musical has already enjoyed a highly successful West End run, drawing audiences totalling over a quarter of a million. On 3 April it started a full UK tour. Opening at The Manchester Opera House the show will take in 21 venues nationwide and close at The Liverpool Empire Theatre in December 2009.

The tour is being engineered by Marcus Wadham (Lazy Town, Dancing in the Streets), who will be working with the system designed by independent sound designer Richard Brooker and supplied by theatre hire company, Blitz Communications.

Along with a DiGiCo SD8 console and Sennheiser radio mics, Brooker specified Opus Audio for the main FOH system, having previously used the company's products on Daddy Cool at

UK - National Geographic's flagship store in London's Regents Street is more than just a traditional retail experience. Interactive zones across the store's three floors represent each continent of the world - and Ecler amplification, distributed in the UK by MilTec, was central to the realisation of the final soundscape.

The world zones are themed retail areas that work separately from each other at certain times, hosting continent-specific events.

A total of 17 Ecler MPA6-150R multi-channel amplifiers, specified and installed by Peter Knowles, are zoned to enable each retail area to emanate its signature sounds. For special events, or to create extra interest in an area, a sales assistant has the ability to alter the levels of the amplifiers in their zone, from either a cash desk area or point-of-sale.

Knowles explains, "There were several reasons for using the Ecler

Qatar - ES Group has created the "world's largest large spanned temporary dome" to host royal families and high level dignitaries to mark an historic moment for the United Kingdom and the State of Qatar.

The Qatar dome, a perfect spherical shape, was inspired by the circular event logo of Qatargas and was surrounded by and reflected in a purpose built lake. ES Group created the dome structure in response to a creative brief for the event developed by WRG Creative Communications to mark the launch of the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the UK by Qatargas. His Royal Highness The Duke of York, Prince Andrew witnessed the official inauguration by HH the Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani in the dome.

The construction and technology used to create the dome for this commemorative event was innovative; a 42m diameter dome was created using standard ES rental eq

Belgium - The Belgian national basilica, the Basiliek van Koekelberg, is the country's largest church, (the world's fifth largest basilica) and used for big national ceremonies and services with international acclaim.

Its cross shaped base-form with a 2500 capacity main nave and big side aisles, each with a capacity of some 250 visitors, a depth of 60m. plus the seven seconds reverb made the assignment to provide accurate sound reinforcement a true challenge for audio company Pa-P.A and Alcons' engineer Philip de Haan.

After a first demo-session with Alcons QR36 sets equipped with double RBN1801 pro-ribbon HF drivers: two columns in the main 'national' nave of the Basilica, one column in the 'parish' nave, where it excelled over the existing recently installed beam-steered system in the A/B test, the church management decided to invest in the Alcons system.

"The result

Romania - Romanian production company Five's, a member of the Synco Europe Network, successfully staged the country's third J&B Start A Party event in April in the unconventional location of the roof-top of the Moldova Mall in Iasi, the largest city in the Moldova region of Romania, reuniting more than 1000 guests. The production included a city-wide laser lightshow and the construction of a two-metre-high mirror ball, the symbol of the party whisky brand's promotional campaign.

Five's were first brought in for J&B Start A Party on the event's first appearance in Romania in 2007, by Ogilvy Action Romania, J&B's brand activation agency. The first party was held in the former Senate's headquarters, followed, in 2008, by an open-air party at Caro Hotel on the bank of Tei Lake. As the event has grown, Five's contribution to its success and unique atmosphere has expande

UK - The Trafford Centre in Manchester is one of Europe's largest indoor shopping malls and attracted nearly 35 million visitors in 2008. The Centre is a focal point for shopping and Osram's high power Flood luminaires are used to illuminate 'The Orient' part of the mall, home to a 1,600 seat food court as well as bars and restaurants.

The Osram fittings allow the ceiling within the centre to change colour in order to reflect the changing conditions outside. From a bright blue sky to a reddish sunset sky and all conditions in between the LED technology can create these. The colour-changing aspect of the installation provides a unique ambience for those visiting the centre.

"The existing 700W fittings were obsolete, as well as being expensive to maintain and run. They utilised oil wheels for colour changing using DMX control. The RGB LED option from OSRAM provided a simple

USA - Over 140 Robe moving lights have been installed into the new 3800-seat theatre and two ballrooms at the landmark MGM Grand Casino at Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut.

The venues are part of a two-and-a-half-year, $700 million construction project resulting in the new facility, adding 180,000sq.m to the existing Resort to which it is connected via a moving walkway. It includes four restaurants, 825 hotel rooms, 53 table games and 1400 slot machines.

The Robe fixtures are an integral part of a lighting design by Tom Roach, Foxwoods Resort Casino's lighting manager, and the choice of moving lights was the direct result of a shoot-out between Robe and another leading brand. David Middleton of Stage Lighting Representatives represented Robe on the project, and worked closely with lighting suppliers and installers Barbizon Lighting Company to provide the units for

USA/Canada - Paul Mitchell has a hair salon network of over 70,000 around the United States and Canada, as well as having a presence in 44 countries worldwide. Its professional training arm, Paul Mitchell the School, has a 20-year history, with new sites constantly opening around the US. Its Wichita, Kansas school has recently installed a Turbosound audio system.

The educational facility covers a total area of 12,000sq.ft, which is divided into various areas for specific activities. In The Clinic hairstyling instruction area eight compact passive two-way Impact 55Ts and two TXD-118 subs have been installed, whilst the General Classroom, Core Classroom One, Core Classroom Two, the Wash House area and the office, halls, breakout room and restrooms are covered by varying amounts of TCS-C50T ceiling speakers, numbering 28 in total.

"As a preferred vendor for Paul Mitchell Sch

USA - The 30-years-young Catholic Church of St. Ann in Marietta, Georgia recently completed a $5 million architecture, audio and video renovation, adding a new 4400sq.ft Narthex or gathering space and completely renovating the Nave or worship area. The acoustical challenges of new, hard surfaces were met with Renkus-Heinz Iconyx IC32 digitally steerable array loudspeakers, custom coloured to match the architecture.

A marble sanctuary, tile floors and new radius-designed wooden pews, while visually stunning, presented drastically altered acoustics and a challenge to intelligibility and the quality of music.

Reverberation times (RT) of 1.4 to 1.5 seconds mid-band rose to 2.4 to 2.5 seconds after the refurbishment, says D. Wayne Lee of A/V consultants Lee Sound Design, as the firm had predicted following its modelling of the renovated sanctuary in EASE 4.1 and 4.2 with AURA. He a

UK - Vaughan Sound Installations (VSI) was asked to provide specialist lighting, AV and audio consultancy, design and specification services for the performance facilities at the newly built Queen Elizabeth School in Johnstown, Carmarthen, Wales.

VSI worked directly with the electrical contractors Whitehead Building Services who undertook the installation, working for main contractor Carillion. WBS's project director was Steve Jones and VSI's project managers were Keith Fish and Tony Morruzzi. Keith Fish designed the systems after receiving an outline brief of the requirements from project consultants, Hoare Lea.

Three new areas have been created in the project - the Performance Hall, the Assembly Hall and the Drama Studio, each of which needed well thought-out stage lighting, AV and sound systems to accommodate a wide range of uses, events and performances.

VSI has consider

Singapore - An extensive ADB Lighting control and dimming system, along with 12 ADB WARP Zoom Profile Spotlights, has been installed at the heart of the lighting rig at the recently-opened Genexis Theatre at Fusionopolis in Singapore.

The iconic Fusionopolis research and development complex houses an array of research organisations, high-tech companies, government agencies, retail outlets, and serviced apartments in one location. Planned by Zaha Hadid, designed by Kisho Kurokawa and developed by the JTC Corporation, Fusionopolis's Phase One contains 120,000sq.m of space, with the egg-shaped, 572-seat Genexis Theatre suspended between three multi-storey towers.

ADB's Singapore distributor, Audio Light Asia, supplied the lighting systems, for which a major requirement was flexibility to cover the many potential configurations of the multi-purpose space. Access to the lighting ri

UK - eMerging, the UK distributors for Merging Technologies' Pyramix audio workstation and the Smart AV Tango control surface, has signed a supplier agreement with Jigsaw Systems, the Nottingham-based hi-tech equipment retailer. Under the new deal, inked after the Broadcast Video Expo show earlier this year, Jigsaw will be able to offer Pyramix systems and Tango controllers to their customers in the creative audio-visual and IT industries.

"We're well known for being Pro Tools suppliers, but we've never carried Pyramix before," says Mark Rickaby, audio consultant at Jigsaw Systems. "However, when eMerging showed us the Tango at the back end of last year, we thought it had a lot of potential. We put the Tango on our stand at the Broadcast Video Expo show in February, and the response we got from visitors there was so overwhelming, we signed the deal with eMerging s

Israel - Two Allen & Heath iLive digital systems were used at the recent Noshfim Bakikar festival in Kfar-Saba, Israel. Now in its 20th year, the annual event is a celebration of the town's musical heritage, featuring performances from many of the country's national youth orchestras, and attracting 40,000 visitors.

The three-day music event comprised a series of indoor and outdoor concerts, celebrating the wind instrument. The first day included a special open air performance by an 'all-Israel' symphonic youth orchestra, involving the National Youth and Tel-Aviv Music Academy orchestras. The second day had youth orchestras playing at venues around the town, as well as jazz and improvisation workshops.

Israeli PA company, More-Kol, managed the audio requirements for many of the festival's larger events, employing a pair of iLive systems, comprising iDR10 MixRacks and iLive-144

USA - American connector specialist Switchcraft has expanded its versatile EH Series range by adding feedthrough connectors for Cat 6 and Cat 5e applications.

Fitted inside housings that mount into 24mm diameter (XLR size) panel cut outs, the new connectors can be supplied with shielded and unshielded feedthrough adapters and all versions comply with TIA/EIA 568B standards. Other features include gold-plated contacts.

Switchcraft's EH Series provides a wide range of audio, data and video connectors all fitted inside easy to install XLR-type housings and the options include fibre-optic, 9 and 15 way D-Sub, FireWire (400 and 800), USB, BNC, RCA/phono, SVHS and 3.5mm mini jack.

(Jim Evans)

Sweden - Located outside Stockholm in the suburb of Sundbyberg, Grand Garbo is a large nightclub with an impressive 25 years of clubbing experience behind it, a virtual institution in the Swedish club environment. A recent 13 million SEK refurbishment includes a large Martin Professional package of entertainment and architectural lighting gear

Eight years on from a renovation that also included Martin gear, owner Ulf Westerberg felt it was time to again revitalise the club and contacted Henrik Rune of interior design firm Rune Design of Denmark, the same designer he entrusted with the renovation eight years earlier.

The latest redesign, which covered the club's top floor, was comprehensive and Rune worked with Westerberg on the new look for nearly a year. "When a club or design gets to be more than five years old it is time to refresh it - there is a need to create someth

Switzerland - Bern-based integration specialist room-zoom, in coordination with Mobilesolutions Zürich, has installed an Audica Professional background music system in the new Altitude restaurant in Geneva Airport.

Altitude is owned by SSP who operate more than 1,800 units in over 140 airports and nearly 300 railway stations across Asia, North America, Europe, the Middle East, India and North Africa. The new venue was created in collaboration with Michelin-starred chef Gilles Dupont and is part of a redevelopment of the airport.

Daniel Kormann of room-zoom was commissioned to provide the concept and installation of the audio system for the venue and chose Audica Professional loudspeakers based on audio quality and coverage, as well as the product's aesthetics which suited the quality and contemporary design of Altitude.

The system uses 16 Audica Professional MICROline full-

Belgium - Caméléon has opened the first ecologically-built store in Europe, on 10,000 sq.m of shopping space, at Woluwe-Saint-Lambert in Belgium. This represents a major breakthrough for the Brussels brand that was first created in 1988.

The professional audio spec was put together by Brussels-based TV Connections Image & Sound, using 150 QSC loudspeakers and over 4km of cable, with QSC's proprietary BASIS platform meeting the control, zone splitting, monitoring and processing needs of amplification and loudspeaker systems over an Ethernet network. All the QSC equipment was supplied by AED Import & Distribution, the manufacturer's Benelux distributors.

TV Connections' Arnaud (Nono) Famerée, who runs the pro audio department, chose a QSC solution based on its big sound characteristics and easy implementation of the audio network, using BASIS 914lz DSP and p

UK - Rental company SSE has supplied an L-Acoustics Kudo line source system for Maximo Park's sellout UK academy tour.

The system needed to have a small footprint yet provide enough power and headroom for the band, while being flexible enough to handle venues of differing sizes. This ranged from six groundstacked Kudos per side for the smaller venues, through to 13 cabinets flown per side at the two Brixton Academy shows. This system - powered by nine LA8 amplified controllers in three LA-RAKs - also incorporated eight SP28 subwoofers, three dV-DOSC cabinets across the stage for front fill and four ARCS for infill around the venue.

"Kudo is an incredibly powerful system for its size," says Maximo Park's FOH engineer Huw Richards. "It's a punky show so we need a system which can throw out and provide plenty of headroom. For the smaller venues it's been really ea

USA - Barix reports that Nickelodeon Universe, a seven-acre amusement park located inside Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., is now using multiple Barix Audio over IP and automation devices for on-demand audio playback, live music streaming and message repeating.

The mix of Barix Instreamer encoders, Exstreamer decoders and Annuncicom IP intercom/audio streaming devices, programmed by DataNab of Burnsville, Minn., provides Nickelodeon Universe with a varied and flexible approach to delivering audio entertainment, ride information and public safety announcements to every corner of the theme park. The migration to Barix also enables remote monitoring of the entire system from anywhere inside or outside of Mall of America, the largest retail and entertainment complex in the United States.

According to Jason Brown, events technician at Mall of America and Nickelodeon Universe,

Italy - The philanthropism of Italian Cashmere magnate Brunello Cucinelli has included his investment in the sympathetic restoration and development of the historic medieval village of Solomeo, near Perugia. Central to this project is Teatro Cucinelli, a brand new 230-seat theatre whose design is inspired by the 400-year-old Farnese theatres in Parma and Sabbioneta. Complementing the venue's elegant historic design is a state-of-the-art Yamaha audio system.

Stephan Luthi of Acoustic Light, who designed and installed the audio system, says: "The theatre hosts a range of events, from opera and live music to conferences, and we wanted the system to be acoustically very discreet in terms of the uniformity of sound, and very subtle in terms of it not being obvious that the sound is amplified."

In addition, the hands-on Mr Cucinelli wanted the system to be able to carry au

France - The municipality of Berre l'Étang, 30k northwest of Marseilles, is dominated by a a 155 sqm lake, and was once home to an important naval air station. Occupying the air station site is a contemporary urban park that hosts a lighting project aimed at recreating the area's bygone era. The large public space encompasses the banks of the pond, walking paths, roads and a large open field.

Pierre Nègre of L'Atelier Lumière has created the special lighting concept for the shores of the park. The concept, which proposes various lighting perspectives that are 'readable' from multiple vantage points, is meant to impart a feeling of comfort and guidance. Discrete lighting gently exposes the pathways and road areas while more dynamic illumination washes the esplanade in colour according to the speed and direction of the wind.

At the heart of the new public space is a squ

UK - grandMA lighting consoles continue to make their mark in the UK theatre world, with a grandMA touring on the new version of the musical We Will Rock You, produced by Phil McIntyre Entertainment.

Lighting designer and video director is Willie Williams. The console was specified and programmed for the tour by Dave Sadler and is being operated on the road by chief LX Simon Sherriff. The lighting was initially programmed at Three Mills Studios, London ahead of the first UK date at the Manchester Palace Theatre by Sadler and Associate lighting designer Richard Pacholski using the new grandMA 3D visualiser.

The show utilises over 60 moving lights - a combination of Vari*Lite 500s, Martin Professional fixtures and Digital Light Curtains, plus a large generic and LED rig including Rainbow colour scrollers and Atomic strobes. The grandMA is also triggering two Hippotizer me

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