In The Open - A new performing arts consortium formed from six outer-London venues has been launched to tour large-scale outdoor productions within the venues' resident boroughs. The Albany theatre in Deptford, Artsdepot in Barnet and Millfield Arts Centre in Enfield have joined forces with Watermans in Hounslow, Harrow Arts Centre and Tara Arts in Wandsworth to create Circulate, the new consortium. Arts Council England has provided the group with a three-year grant of around £500,000 from its strategic touring programme, which aims to bring more shows to areas in the UK with limited access to the arts.

The group plans to take one major show annually to six high street locations close to each venue, which will be free for audiences to attend. For its first year, Circulate has commissioned London-based Emergency Exit Arts, which specialises in site-specific work, to create

Germany - Picture the scene. You are visiting an art exhibition, but the only things you can see are blank canvases. Yet the room is filling up with expectant visitors, and four people begin to fill the canvases with words. Suddenly, you recognise yourself in those words! This is exactly what has been happening in early July at the Cologne Artothek, where Juergen Staack is presenting Script, his latest art project, using Sennheiser wireless technology.

For the Script performance, Juergen Staack worked with wireless microphones and bodypack receivers. At the preview on 3 July, four ladies with different mother tongues mingled with the visitors - and they described what they observed at the event to their writing partners via a pocket transmitter with headset microphone. Each of the writers heard these descriptions in English, Russian, Japanese or Greek via a small m

USA - When Grand Canyon University's Antelopes men's and women's basketball teams joined the Western Athletic Conference this summer and upgraded to Division I, GCU Arena was in need of a sound system retrofit worthy of the new division level. To accommodate, GCU turned to the local Phoenix office of Clearwing Productions, which provided two independent L-Acoustics ARCS Wide and Kara loudspeaker systems for the 5,000-seat multipurpose venue.

Installed in late June, the arena's fixed audio system for athletic events, commencement ceremonies and other general assemblies now features 32 ARCS Wide enclosures. These are divided into four clusters of three cabinets spread across each of the long sides of the arena and complemented with a single centre cluster of four at each of the far ends. Two arrays of four SB28 subs are centrally hung back-to-back for LF reinforcement, while two s

UK - A free copy of Cakewalk Sonar X2 Essentials software is now included with every V-Mixer purchase from Roland Systems Group (RSG) providing a recording solution to go with this multi award winning range of Roland digital consoles.

Providing professional tools in a digital audio workstation (DAW Software) for live recording, the Sonar X2 Essentials package features the Skylight interface allowing you to move seamlessly among the elements, instantly going from recording to editing to mixing and back again. The software will be provided free of charge with every purchase of the V-Mixer live digital mixing consoles including the Roland M-480, M-380, M-300 and M-200i.

"The V-Mixing System has been massively popular in the UK market and it makes sense for us to offer a complete solution to our customers by including a great recording product such as Cakewalk," commente

UK - Carlsbro / Studiomaster's new joint HQ, distribution and logistics centre is now fully operational, providing UK MI and pro audio dealers, and overseas distributors with higher levels of service than ever before.

The new HQ in Milton Keynes, in the south east of England, brings together all of the two brands' key operations under one roof. R&D teams, for both Carlsbro and Studiomaster, UK and worldwide sales, international administration, service and support, international marketing, and UK and Eire distribution are all now fully operational from the new centre.

As a hub for UK and worldwide logistics, the new HQ also provides for rapid smaller stock shipments internationally, complementing large scale direct shipments out of the Ningbo manufacturing facility in China.

Commenting on the establishment of the new HQ, Carlsbro and Studiomaster assistant general manager, Pa

Switzerland - Swiss PA company, Auditech, employed the company's new Allen & Heath Qu-16 compact digital mixer as the FOH mixer at international athletics meet, Athletissima. Held annually in Lausanne, Athletissima attracts a host of top athletes and several world records have been set during the games.

The stadium's FOH audio is divided into four zones, three (north tribune, round east, round west) fed through an iDR-8 matrix mixer, with the VIP area (south tribune) fed directly from the Qu-16 FOH mixing desk. Speakers comprise an EV rig in the north tribune, Audio Performance in rounds east and west, and a Nexo system in the south tribune.

The Qu-16 manages audio from the commentators - stationed in the commentary box and trackside, as well as audio from the giant plasma screens and the closing ceremony finale fireworks. The Qu-16 also feeds commentary to a RTS HD OB truck.<

UK - The sales and Installation division of Liverpool, UK based technical solutions provider Adlib has supplied an L-Acoustics ARCS wide / focus (WIFO) sound system to audio rental company Stagetex, who are based nearby on Merseyside.

The deal was co-ordinated for Adlib by Nick Turner. Adlib Sales specialises in supplying tailor made systems to sonically discerning clients, backed up by the best levels of quality technical service and pre and post sales support.

Stagetex provides full technical production and rental services to high end corporate events and their clients embrace a wide variety of shows and presentation genres from conferences, meetings, dinners and awards shows to parties, live music and entertainment of all types.

They wanted a fully flexible excellent sounding system ... and consulted Adlib for advice and guidance.

They specifically wanted something scal

UK - TC Group has announced the appointment of Paul McMullan as its UK sales manager for install and touring, with responsibility for the Tannoy, Lab.gruppen and Lake brands.

Based in London, McMullan brings over 14 years' experience in professional audio and technical sales to his new role at TC Group. Most recently, he enjoyed success in the touring and install markets as UK sales manager for Turbosound.

"I'm very excited about the opportunities presented by such a diverse range of technologically brilliant products that TC Group has," commented McMullan. "Having dealt with Lab.gruppen throughout my time at Turbosound, I know I am joining a dynamic and hard-working sales team."

McMullan also has extensive experience as a system technician, from small gigs to stadium shows, and has been involved in the audio offering in an impressive list of leading club

China - DPA Microphones played a significant part in the success of this year's Fortune Global Forum, which was held in June in Chengdu, China. With a series of presentations and a gala dinner with entertainment provided by 30 traditional guzheng players, opera singers, choral and pop singers and a piano performance by Lang Lang, China's premier classical pianist, several DPA d:facto vocal microphones, d:fine headset microphones and d:vote 4099 Instrument Microphones were utilised throughout the events.

Attended by CEOs from some of the world's largest multinational companies, the China's Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli and other Chinese dignitaries were also present at the three day event. Prior to the event, Fortune's Audio Designer Ron Lorman contacted Ken Kimura at DPA's office in Hong Kong, and requesting help in sourcing microphones.

"I have been using DPA d:fine headset m

Switzerland - Fohhn Audio's new Focus Modular line array systems with beam steering are making their live debut at the large-scale, open-air theatre production of Das große Welttheater (The Great World Theatre) being staged at Einsiedeln Abbey in Switzerland. The play, by Spanish writer Calderon de la Barca, has been performed on the abbey square of the Benedictine monastery at various intervals since 1924. In more recent years it has been re-interpreted to relate to modern times.

Released just a few months ago, Fohhn's Focus Modular series has been specially developed to provide powerful coverage over very long distances in acoustically challenging venues. Remotely controllable with highly precise beam steering capabilities, the three low-mid and high frequency modules can be used in any combination to meet a range of different requirements.

At the abbey, two FM-400 l

Australia - Audio visual consultant Mozaix have supplied CityLife Church with a Soundcraft Si Performer 3 mixing console for use in their Manningham campus, in the north-eastern suburbs of Adelaide, Australia.

The Soundcraft Si Performer has a number of enhancements over and above the Si Compact, with a turbocharged version of the Si Compact engine and providing up to 80 channels to mix. Added to this are 35 buses, plus eight VCA groups and eight mute groups, a fully parametric 4-band EQ with shelf on the HF and LF bands, and LCR panning.

"The Soundcraft Si Performer was chosen mainly for work flow and the audio quality it produces," remarked Paul Tucker of Mozaix. "A number of consoles from different brands were tried but as the Church already owns a couple of Soundcraft Vi4 consoles in their main Knox campus, they were already quite partial to the Soundcraft b

Europe - American singer Lana Del Rey has had a busy 2013, with her Paradise tour taking in arenas and theatres across Europe, followed by an array of summer festival appearances. A package of Sennheiser wireless equipment is ensuring that her cinematic sound loses none of its impact onstage.

Monitor engineer Matthew Kanaris specified the Sennheiser items for the tour, which includes two SKM 5200-MKII handheld microphones with Neumann KK105 capsules for Lana's main and spare vocal, 12 sets of G3 in-ear monitors and four G3 wireless belt packs for the tour's string section.

"Lana's vocal is the most important part of the show, so we wanted to use a microphone that was perfect for her and was sensitive to the different dynamics in her voice," says Kanaris. "We have always had great results when we used the wired version of the Neumann mic, so we decided to

USA - Consumnes River College (CRC) is a community college in South Sacramento, California. As a member of the Big 8 Conference in Northern California, CRC belongs to the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) and has an active physical education and athletics program including both men's and women's soccer. In 2012, CRC expanded their programme with a new baseball and softball field. And, this spring, CRC completed two new soccer fields with back-to-back bleachers and a common press box that serves both fields.

As part of this expansion, CRC published an RFP (request for proposal) for sound systems for its new soccer fields. After considering several alternatives, they selected a design from Associated Sound of Sacramento using Community R-Series Loudspeakers.

Associated's design uses two Community R.25-94TZ loudspeakers, located on each corner of the press

UK - PLASA Events has announced the launch of the 2013 PLASA Awards for Innovation, which will be presented in the new AudioLab Arena during PLASA London at ExCeL on Monday 7 October at 6.00pm.

The PLASA Show is regarded as a major international launch-pad for new products. During its history, it has seen hundreds of product innovations introduced to the market - a trend which we expect to see continued at the 2013 event. The PLASA Awards for Innovation aim to emphasise this focus on true innovation. The procedure for entry ensures that all nominated products are vetted to show that they offer something new to the industry:

"The PLASA Awards for Innovation recognise products which advance the industry by demonstrating a new style of thinking, improving technical practice or taking a key step forward in terms of safety."

All successfully vetted products are judged a

Fringe Figures - Ticket sales at this year's Edinburgh Fringe are up by an estimated 5%, according to its organisers. The Fringe Society said more than 1,943,000 tickets were issued, with some shows still to have their final performance. It follows a slight drop in ticket sales last year caused by a clash with the Olympics being held in London. Many individual venues are reporting even higher increases, with established venues up between 20% and 30%.

The 2013 programme for the Fringe, the biggest arts festival in the world, featured 45,464 performances of 2,871 shows at a total of 273 venues across the city. The programme contained 713 free shows which do not sell tickets but asked the audience to contribute at the end of the show. These shows were not included in the box office ticket sales. Kath Mainland, chief executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said,"Our

Argentina - Since 2009, The Addams Family musical has been entertaining audiences on Broadway and on tour across the US. In 2012, an additional production opened in São Paulo (Brazil), followed by Rio de Janeiro and Sydney in 2013. This year saw further international expansion with a new production in Argentina where a DiGiCo SD7T will be back at the helm.

The original production was the first Broadway show to use a DiGiCo SD7T, with sound designers Acme Sound Partners working closely with DiGiCo, UK rental company Autograph, and local provider Masque Sound. Subsequent touring and productions had fewer demands for the Front of House console so the SD7 was not specified. But associate sound designer Jason Crystal, who has represented the show on these various productions, was very pleased when Loudness Sound Rental & Services, the local audio provider, requested that an S

UK - Named in memory of Tony Gottelier, the industry innovator and commentator who passed away in 2006, the Gottelier Award aims to recognise product developers who have made significant and sustained contributions to the advancement of entertainment, presentation or installation technology - whether in audio, lighting, rigging, staging, or any other related field.

The shortlist of nominees is generated from invited suggestions from a panel consisting of PLASA team members, PLASA Regional Board & Governing Body members, regular contributors to LSi and LSA magazines, and past winners of the Gottelier Award.

All PLASA Members and pre-registered visitors to PLASA 2013 are eligible to vote, and will receive an email inviting them to place their vote at the PLASA Show website. Voting closes on Friday 20 September and the winner will be announced at the PLASA Show on Monday 7 Octobe

USA - For the second year in a row, Professional Wireless Systems (PWS) was on-site to support the red carpet and live broadcast of Telemundo's second annual Premios Tu Mundo awards show at the American Airlines Arena in Miami.

Broadcast live in primetime, Premios Tu Mundo is a musical spectacular event that celebrates pop culture and combines the power of television, web, mobile and social media platforms to give fans the final say in what's hot in everything that moves and inspires them, including novelas, music, fashion, movies and sports. The pre-show La Alfombra de Premios Tu Mundo featured celebrities like Eva Longoria, Daddy Yankee and many of Hispanic Hollywood's top celebrities.

"We are thrilled to have once again worked with Telemundo on this event, especially at the American Airlines Arena," says Jim Van Winkle, general manager of PWS.

USA - Following an extensive nine-month, $10.5m renovation project, the Civic Theatre, the oldest surviving theatre building in New Orleans, has officially reopened its doors after sitting dormant for more than three decades. To bring the 107-year-old, 15,000sq.ft performance venue up to today's production standards, Solomon Group, a new L-Acoustics certified provider for install and rental markets, specified and integrated a Kiva-Kilo loudspeaker system into the space.

Recently partnering with The Bowery Presents, one of the country's preeminent promoters for both emerging and established artists, the intimate 1,150-capacity Civic begins hosting a wide variety of touring acts starting in September, including Russell Brand, The Black Crowes, Passion Pit, Steve Earle, John Waters and many others. Solomon Group - one of the Civic's three partners, along with developers Brian Gibbs

Sweden - Perennially popular Swedish pop-rock band Gyllene Tider (Golden Age) have been promoting their first album in nine years with a major tour of their home country.

In other countries Gyllene Tider are best known for lead singer Per Gessle being half of pop duo Roxette. In Sweden, however, they maintain massive popularity. Promoting new album Dags att tänka på refrängen (Time To Think Of The Chorus), the tour featured a DiGiCo SD10 at Front of House and an SD5 on monitors.

The consoles were supplied - along with DiGiCo SD-Racks, microphones and monitors - by rental company Soundforce Scandinavia AB. Anders Molund, the company's audio project manager, is also Gyllene Tider's FOH engineer.

"The SD5 was the first choice console for our monitor engineer Peter Fredriksson. To be honest, I used the SD10 because we are so busy at Soundforce it was the only DiGi

UK - West Midlands based technical solutions specialist Central Presentations Ltd (CPL) has launched a new broadcast division - CPL Broadcast - which is dedicated to supplying film and TV crews with equipment and technical packages specially tailored to a variety of studio, OB and location work.

CPL Broadcast is headed by Lee Gruszeckyj (Lee G) who joined the company last year with the new division in mind. Gruszeckyj has a wealth of experience in the world of broadcast and video, is highly respected in this area and has numerous contacts.

CPL's business has been steadily expanding over the last three years. CPL Broadcast is a related diversification specifically designed to fill and grow a healthy demand in the Midlands area for the appropriate camera, audio, lighting and grip equipment by those working on news shoots, promos and commercials.

The three key factors in establ

Finland - The Finnish equivalent of 'roll up, roll up', doesn't really translate into English, but that aside the language of circus is nothing if not international; even the horses seem to understand. "Good point," said BonBon the clown, or Lasse NØrager as he's known to his family. "Communicating with animals is one of the most important things that happen under the big top. That's why we paid it so much attention when we considered purchasing a PA system for Sirkus Finlandia." NØrager, besides his talent for visual humour, doubles as technical advisor.

"I have been with the circus for 30 years. In Finland circus began to engage with modern lighting about 20 years ago, sound about 10 years later. I've been looking after the Sirkus audio system for the last four or five years. By profession I'm a performer, but I've worked with sound since

USA - To celebrate its 40th anniversary, the Telluride Film Festival will debut a new Werner Herzog Theatre for this year's festivities in the Colorado ski town. Movie screenings at this 650-seat theatre will be heard through a cinema system from Meyer Sound, which is a festival sponsor for the third consecutive year. The 2013 Telluride Film Festival is set to run 29 August - 2 September 2013.

"The Werner Herzog Theatre is a huge achievement for Telluride Film Festival and the town of Telluride. It will be the festival's most technologically advanced, and its sound system is of the utmost importance to us," says Julie Huntsinger, executive director of the festival. "Meyer Sound is a leader in its industry; its sound quality and innovation is unparalleled. Working with Meyer Sound ensures the festival meets its goal of staying on the cutting-edge, and ultimately gi

Europe - Known for his boundary-crossing repertoire that includes classical arrangements of rock, pop, and punk music, violinist David Garrett recently performed a series of open-air shows across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. German production service provider POOLgroup deployed a Meyer Sound Leo linear large-scale sound reinforcement system for the tour.

Kai Ulrich, FOH engineer for Garrett, was first attracted to Leo's headroom, which would allow him to eliminate delay loudspeakers for many shows.

"Everything sounds so effortless with LEO," says Ulrich. "You can really feel the headroom, even though the David Garrett show is not very loud. The first time I used the system I was actually completely overwhelmed by the sound, and I am not at all 'brand religious'."

David Garrett's touring Leo system featured up to 12 Leo-M line array loudspeakers per

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