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UK - On Saturday 8 May Julie Andrews will make her return to the stage at London's O2 Arena in The Gift of Music - an Evening with Julie Andrews. With a Meyer Sound system provided by Capital Sound, Andrews, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Ian Fraser will take the audience on a musical journey through Andrews's career that has included Mary Poppins, My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music, and The King and I.

The concert will mark Julie Andrews's first performance on a UK stage in 30 years. "To perform once again in my homeland on the London stage will be a wonderful moment - it is where it all began for me, and I am so excited to be able to share a brand new work with audiences," says Andrews.

Capital Sound, the London sound

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USA - Technomad will introduce a new compact, high-power, all-environment 18-inch subwoofer at the 2010 InfoComm Show in Las Vegas next month.

The Technomad Oslo was developed specifically for the demanding requirements of themed entertainment applications both indoors and outdoors. It is one of the most powerful subwoofers available due to its very low frequency response (below 100Hz) and high power rating (1250 W continuous). These specifications combined with a high SPL allow the Oslo to produce a clean and powerful bass output, says the company.

The Oslo features an 18-inch low-frequency driver, making it the only completely weatherproof subwoofer currently available in the 18-inch format. Technomad will also offer the Oslo in a powered configuration featuring a 1600 W weatherproof amplifier module based on the company's PowerChiton amplifier technology.

"Technomad

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USA - The crane carries a universal message of peace, so it's only fitting that the more than 100,000 visitors who attended this year's Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival were greeted by a giant representation of the elegant bird. Spanning its wings 150' and standing a towering 45' high, the white aluminium origami-style crane was one of the festival's main attractions - right up there with headliners Jay-Z, Muse, Gorillaz and Thom Yorke - at an event known for its visual art as much as its eclectic music.

Created by Crimson Collective, a group of Los Angeles-based artists, architects and designers, the sculpture was inspired by the Japanese art of origami and the legend that anyone who folds 1,000 origami cranes will be granted any wish they desire. But the huge creature, called Ascension, was intended to be more than iconic symbolism or eye candy. It was designed

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Indochine X PixMob Fan Immersion

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's - 40 thousand LED pixels on a ceiling!!! Indochine's whirlwind tour transports fans to another level of the live experience - immersing them from floor to ceiling with PixMob's X4 wristbands, and an LED ceiling made entirely of its NOVA Minis! With the vision of Indochine's creative team, PixMob used its LED fan-technology to turn attendees and venues into an ocean of effects, and a starry sky of LED magic. Très très cool!

Read more about the Indochine tour in the latest issue of LSi

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Europe - Roland Systems Group has unveiled a cornerstone addition to its popular line of Edirol video mixers - the V-1600HD Live Video Switcher suited to any live event or installation that requires a high channel count and the ability to accept a variety of video input formats out of the box.

The Edirol V-1600HD is designed for any live event or installation demanding flexibility, stability, high quality, ease of use, and professional connectivity. The V-1600HD will enhance any corporate presentation by being able to drive more than one screen with different visuals on each. Mix camera and video playback sources on one screen while directing presentation software to the other screen, says the company.

The V-1600HD switcher features a built-in preview monitor that provides a convenient monitoring solution when external monitors are not available or ideal. The 16 inputs provide

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Italy -In a move to increase business in its home territory, Outline has announced that Mods Art is now its exclusive distributor for Italy. Founded and run by the Lombardi brothers, Mods Art will undertake exclusive distribution of the Italian brand, which continues to meet with success in the rest of the world, from the United States, across Europe, Africa and the Middle East to Australia.

At the helm of the newly founded Mods Art, the Lombardi brothers combine different but complementary professional experiences. Luigi, a lighting designer and founding partner of Blackout srl, has in-depth knowledge of the expectations and requirements of the Italian rental and entertainment markets, whereas Davide - already a well known system engineer and sound engineer - has high-profile references at international level.

Davide Lombardi has worked as system engineer or sound engineer on

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USA - This year, Wybron celebrates 30 years at the cutting edge of stage lighting invention and manufacturing, from the current LED technology of the Cygnus line to dichroics and watchdog systems, all the way back to the company's initial offering of scrolling colour changers.

Invented by Wybron CEO Keny Whitright in 1980, the scrolling colour changer sparked a revolution in the way lighting rigs were outfitted, designed and employed. Colormax, the first scroller, paved the way to the subsequent Colorwhiz, to The Scroller, to the Coloram, and then to Wybron's current offerings, the Forerunner, Coloram II and CXI. The advent of scrollers allowed for vastly consolidated rigs, providing a quick and painless way to squeeze many colours out of one fixture.

Jim Lenahan, the longtime LD for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers was the very first designer to use the scrolling colour change

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UK - Matt-LX supplied lighting and technical support services for the West End production of Sweet Charity starring Tamzin Outhwaite at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, which opened to glowing reviews on the 5 May 2010.

Working with lighting designer David Howe, Matt-LX provided pre-production services, including plan reproduction, equipment scheduling, specification, and procurement, venue liaison, fit-up and rehearsal lighting personnel.

(Jim Evans)

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USA - Highland Park United Methodist Church (HPUMC) at Southern Methodist University (SMU), which dates back to 1916, has recently undergone a major renovation that includes a new pipe organ, sanctuary refurbishment and Renkus-Heinz Iconyx Digitally Steerable Array loudspeakers, specified by Kirkegaard & Associates and installed by Clair Brothers Systems.

When residents of the surrounding Highland Park neighbourhood agreed to join the congregation, SMU deeded the land for the church and worshippers began meeting in a temporary structure known as the 'Little Brown Church'. Today, HPUMC's deep tradition of worship and outreach has helped the diverse congregation grow to about 14,000 members. The current sanctuary was built in 1927, and was recognized as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1994.

In 2007 HPUMC began preparations for installation of a new pipe organ built

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USA - In the heart of Laguna Beach in Southern California, an 82-year-old Spanish mission style building stands proud as the home of Laguna Presbyterian Church. After a two-year renovation that included the installation of a Meyer Sound Constellation acoustic system, the sanctuary now provides acoustical environments that fully support its rich and diverse worship programme.

"We were very unhappy with the sound," says worship elder Lorna Cohen. "It was fine for spoken word but we had all sorts of music that just really wasn't engaging our congregation because of the building's acoustics. We also have this Möller organ with 1,600 pipes and we weren't really able to experience the full range of that because we had a very, very dead space."

Laguna was committed to finding an audio solution that would aurally envelope the congregation and fully support its pra

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USA - Vanity is a high profile nightclub at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas whose visual focal point is a stunning, custom-made chandelier made up of 20,000 LED points driven by a Martin Maxedia Compact media server.

The Maxedia media server drives 25 universes of pixelmapped Artnet output across the chandelier, creating floating graphic effects with a three-dimensional feel.

Besides complementary club and dance floor effects, the chandelier displays custom content for marketing purposes, VIP customisation, or graphics and logos for corporate events such as a recent Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition launch and Microsoft event.

The one-of-a-kind chandelier is surrounded by 40 Martin MAC 250 Entour moving heads and Martin Atomic 3000 strobes with Atomic Colors scrollers.

Lighting supplier is FBP Systems of Las Vegas with lighting design and programming by

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UK - Blackburn-based lighting rental company HSL were involved in supplying equipment for the latest UK tour by cult US electronic band, Passion Pit.

HSL's Mike Oates was approached by Passion Pit's lighting designer, New York based Mike Janowitz, with whom they are working on various other projects. Janowitz asked if HSL could put together a good visuals package for the band's UK tour. Says HSL's Mike Oates, "It's very exciting working with cutting edge new artists, so we looked at Mike's design and approached XL Video to supply the video elements required. We also co-ordinated a trucking deal with Fly By Nite for the tour."

The two-week UK tour encompassed a variety of venues including students unions and small to medium theatres and town halls including Rock City, Nottingham, Manchester Academy and The Forum in London. Passion Pit's lighting was looked after on th

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Italy - Zelig is and has been one of the most followed variety shows on Italian television for many years. It is a breeding ground for home-grown theatre and cabaret talents.

As in previous seasons, the motorised lights for the 2009-10 shows are provided by Renato Neri's Xenon, and consist almost entirely of Clay Paky lights: Alpha Spot HPE 1200s, Alpha Spot 575s, Alpha Wash 575s, Stage Color 1200s, Stage Profile Pluses, CP Color 400s and Alpha Beam 300 motorized ACL lights. The lighting was designed by the photography director Daniele Savi.

"I have worked a lot with a photographic approach," says Savi. "I have dimmed all the lights so that I can open the TV camera apertures more. This means I have less depth of field, and therefore a blurred background, which results in a double advantage: it concentrates attention on the star on the stage by isolating him/her

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USA - CenterStaging Musical Productions Inc., acquired by SoundCheck LA LLC in November 2009, transformed itself to CenterStaging - A SoundCheck LA Company. With expansion renovations almost complete, CenterStaging now has the ability to increase the superior suite of services while maintaining the decorum, privacy and discretion customers expect.

Ben Jumper, president and CEO, stated, "CenterStaging, an icon of excellence in the music industry for over 19 years, will operate uninterrupted. It now has strong financial backing and is an essential part of a network of rehearsal, backline rental and recording studios around the country. In keeping with the SoundCheck brand, CenterStaging has expanded its services to offer music instrument repair services and locker rentals. This is a relationship and service business. CenterStaging's customers can take comfort in the fact that

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UK - Production Services Ireland has completed the supply and installation of lighting and sound equipment at the new 400-seater Theatre At the Mill in Newtownabbey, Belfast.

The state-of-the-art building offers a diverse programme of quality performances. It is the newest addition to Newtownabbey Borough Council's HQ, and is located in the Civic Square area at the back of the renovated Mossley Mill, a former 19th century flax mill.

Locally based PSI tendered and won the contract to equip the theatre against stiff competition. They worked to the specification of consultants Theatre Plan and closely with the venue's technical manager, Mick Draine. PSI also supplied technician Alan Clarke for the full fit up period and the first few weeks of operation, to ensure that all things technical went smoothly.

PSI's Brian Reilly says, "We were delighted to win this contract. Thea

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USA - Indiana vocal group Angelus has announced it will donate all proceeds from its upcoming New York concert of sacred music to The ESTA Foundation's Behind the Scenes charity. Part of their summer tour to New York, the concert will take place Friday 16 July 162010 at 1:00pm in the sanctuary of the Church of St. Mary the Virgin at 145 West 46th Street.

The ensemble of five young women from Mt. Vernon Senior High School in Mt. Vernon, IN performs almost exclusively a cappella, and features music ranging from medieval chant and polyphony to contemporary Irish choral music and the American Sacred Harp tradition. Angelus is dedicated to the performance of the sacred music of varied religious traditions and historical periods, and counts among its influences Irish choral ensemble Anuna and the American quartet Anonymous 4.

The ensemble is directed by Dana Taylor, Co-Chair of The

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USA - The Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre is a distinctive landmark in the AT&T Performing Arts Centre, set inside a 10-acre urban park of the Dallas Arts District. The 80,300sq.ft building is one of four venues in the complex. What makes it stand out from the others is its design. The performance space inside is entirely modular and can be remodelled and personalised to the specifications of artistic directors.

In traditional theatres, auxiliary support spaces (such as make-up rooms, rehearsal studios, set build, storage and offices) are positioned around a core space of auditoria. The Wyly architecture turns this accepted layout on its head by stacking the theatre vertically so that the back-of-house and front-of-house areas are situated above and below several stories of performance space.

An automated 'superfly tower' services the stage levels, enabling scenery and seating to

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Switzerland - Merging Technologies, makers of the Pyramix digital audio workstation and VCube video playback platform have announced the appointment of Pierre Laporte to the position of sales manager, where he will be responsible for worldwide sales across the entire range of Merging products.

Laporte is no stranger to Merging's product line, having been managing director of the company's French distributor Diversity for 15 years. While there, he was instrumental in introducing the VCube video player to the French post-production market, overseeing the installation of 50 networked VCubes at one post facility alone (Dubbing Brothers in Paris). The position with Merging's head office in Switzerland gives him wider responsibilities. "The challenge for me now, using my experience working for a distributor in one territory, is to build on Merging's distributor network around the

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UK - ETC's SmartModule 2 will have its first major UK outing at this year's ABTT in London's Royal Horticultural Halls. SmartModule 2 brings portable, compact and affordable dimming solutions to any venue and can be wall mounted, hung on a pipe or placed on the floor. Museums, schools and small touring shows can now have professional quality dimming with a small price tag, says the company.

Designed as part of ETC's Smart Solutions range of portable dimming and control, SmartModule2 doesn't require any complicated setup - just plug in and go! Available with either four or six 2.3kW dimmer modules as standard, both are available with CEE 16A, Schuko, NF (French) and UK15A sockets; the six-dimmer module is also available with six-circuit multi-pin outlets.

Also on display will be the latest additions to the ETC Selador series of LED fixtures - Vivid Fire and Vivid Ice. Fire burn

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UK - New low-watt Citizen LED light engines from Marl enable the creation of replacements for fluorescent strip lights - promising over 25% better efficiency and at least four times longer lifetimes. An array of five of the chips matches the light output of a 1.2W fluorescent tube.

According to Marl, the announcement means LED lighting is now the low energy lighting of choice - a position held by fluorescent technologies for some time. "With the announcement of the latest generation of Citizen devices LED lighting is more efficient and longer lasting than any other lighting technology, and can match the light output of all but the most specialist lights," commented Marl Managing Director Adrian Rawlinson. "It is also more robust than fluorescent, and eliminates the risk of broken glass tubes coated with poisonous phosphorous based chemicals."

The flexible c

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USA - Traxon Technologies / e:cue lighting control will demonstrate its commitment to flexibility, simplicity, and innovation at LightFair International this year, showcasing its latest LED lighting systems and controls. Traxon | e:cue specialise in dynamic, innovative and sustainable LED solutions to transform any environment, and combine light with music, sound and digital graphics to "create astonishing visual spectacles".

Traxon | e:cue will showcase their most recent innovations at the Las Vegas Convention Centre from 12-14 May 2010. Flexible LED solutions for architectural and media applications will be featured, along with Traxon's AC and Dynamic White solutions and dynamic lighting control systems by e:cue. Traxon will also be highlighting its new products from recent alliance partnerships with Haver & Boecker, Alcan and AGC.

Designed to provide dynamic colou

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USA - Due to special arrangements with the testing company, the deadline for submitting applications to sit for the paper and pencil examinations to be given at InfoComm in Las Vegas has been extended. All applications must now be submitted to the ETCP office no later than 21 May 2010.

Can't make it to InfoComm? You can apply to take an examination at a computer testing centre near you. All three exams are available at over 190 testing centers in the US and Canada on most business days. All three examinations will be offered at the LDI Show in Las Vegas on 22 and 23 October and the deadline for these exams will be 24 September 2010.

(Jim Evans)

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