UK - Sting's recording engineer Donal Hodgson recently embarked on a project to record the artist for A Winter's Night...Live from Durham Cathedral - a concert version of his latest album, If On A Winter's Night... for DVD release and international broadcast.

Hodgson selected a wide range of DPA microphones to assist him in this complex task, which presented many challenges. The largest of these was the building itself. A beautiful cathedral dating back to 1093, Durham provided an amazing backdrop to the concert, but its solid stone construction threw up some serious reverb problems. As the concert was also being filmed, clean sight lines were essential.

"The cathedral has a lovely sounding reverb, but it's at least five seconds long," recalls Hodgson. "The only way to make it sound good was to close mic all 38 musicians. The biggest challenge I

UK - Eat to the Beat provided catering support for the Cirque Du Soleil's spectacular show Varekai, which took place at the Royal Albert Hall on 5 January 2010. Eat To The Beat joined forces with the CDS touring Kitchen Team - an idea that came originally from Varekai's production manager, Jamie Reilly. Now Jamie's idea has come to fruition. Headed by ETTB event manager, Michele Bearsby-Lewis and CDS kitchen manager, Isabelle Turcot, the team will cater for the CDS during their London residency.

Jamie Reilly commented: "Having an opportunity to collaborate with a company like Eat to the Beat is a privilege to learn new methods of working, new recipes and meeting extraordinary people, this is how, at Cirque du Soleil we remain innovative in all different aspects of our business, from the stage to the Kitchen! I am very pleased to have found with Eat to the Beat the op

Austria - The Four Hills Tournament is the ski-jumping highlight of the entire season, followed avidly by enthusiasts throughout the world. This latest (58th) edition of the tournament, ski-jumping's unofficial world championship, ran from the 29 December 2009 to the 6 January 2010 and comprised four competitions on four different slopes.

Traditionally, the Garmisch-Partenkirchen leg of the tournament (the other venues being Oberstdorf, Innsbruck and Bischofshofen) takes place on New Year's Day and in 2010, for the eleventh year in a row, the task of providing the sound reinforcement was entrusted to the Weilheim-based production company TC Showtechnik. The team led by Martin Schulze and Stefan Rehthaler once again relied on Electro-Voice. The centrepiece of the solution proposed by TC Showtechnik for the event, which was watched live by 25,000 spectators and followed by million

Singapore - Eight Robe DigitalSpots and a moving light rig have been installed in the main room of the Bellini Grande jazz entertainment and dance club, the latest in a long line of nightspots created by Dennis Foo.

The venue features three bars and a dining room with a capacity of nearly 1400. The decor introduces large black & white chequered tiles and semi circular booths, bringing a chic 1970's society feel to the environment.

The Robe fixtures were specified by Craig Burridge, technical director for St James Holdings, the parent company of Bellini Grande and the project's AV systems and lighting designer.

The lights were supplied by Robe South East Asia, and follow on from the successful installation of over 200 Robe moving lights and LED fixtures into leading Singapore nightclub St James Power Station in 2007, also spec'd by Burridge.

The main stage at the Bellini Gr

UK / UAE - SES Entertainment Services, based near London, has appointed the newly formed RFW Trading LLC as its sole UAE distributor for its extensive range of power distribution products.

RFW, owned and managed by Fragille Wade, formerly of Dubai-based Protec, has tied up with SES to sell its products to an already extensive client base in the region.

Fragille Wade commented: "Having worked with SES's products for many years, I was pleased to be able to represent them in the region and supply a market that has an insatiable appetite for quality distribution equipment. There has been a significant gap in the market here for some time which we hope to be able to fill with a wide range of Power Products which we will hold in stock at our new warehouse in Dubai. We will be adding to our product range over the coming months and will be a one stop shop for the production and e

Teenage Cancer Trust - Noel Gallagher is to play his first solo concerts since quitting Oasis. The guitarist and songwriter will play for the Teenage Cancer Trust, which he has long supported, at the Royal Albert Hall on 25 and 26 March. Other acts announced for the annual run of charity gigs include Arctic Monkeys, The Specials, Depeche Mode, JLS and reformed Britpop band Suede.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Teenage Cancer Trust shows, which are curated by The Who's Roger Daltrey. Announcing the line-up, he said, "When The Who first got together in 2000 to raise money for this brilliant charity, I had no idea we'd achieve so much from these shows. In the last 10 years we've raised over £8.7m, helping Teenage Cancer Trust to open nine more specialist cancer units for young people across the UK."

Eurovision Update - Pete Waterman is to write

UK - Guests at the 2009 EuroHedge Awards were treated to an unusual walkway at this year's Grosvenor House event with PSCo's Infinite Plasmas designed to make a striking welcome.

The EuroHedge Awards celebrate hedge fund managers' achievements throughout Europe. Over 800 managers, investors, and other industry professionals turned out in force for the occasion.

Capitol House Productions installed two strips of bezel-less Infinite Plasmas, the first ran down the hotel's entrance walkway to The Great Room and the second greeted guests once inside. The plasmas displayed event and sponsor branding to catch the eyes of guests as they walked into the event.

Eight new Infinite 4230R Plasmas were used for the event, sourced from PSCo, which has recently updated its videowall fleet with £100,000 of new screens and accessories.

Head of production Amanda Murray comments: "

USA - LEDtronics has introduced LED replacements for recessed T-bar fluorescent ceiling luminaires: CLL2X2-400-TPW-001W uses only 24W power and replaces 2ftx2ft standard fluorescent 64W units, while CLL2X2-800-TPW-001W consumes less than 36W and replaces 80W fluorescent fixtures. They operate on a voltage range of 100-277VAC, providing solid-state 5000K pure-white lighting that creates less heat compared to conventional lighting, reducing air conditioning demands in offices, closets, hallways, classrooms, work rooms, conference rooms and other retail or commercial indoor lighting locations.

The LEDtronics luminaires offer up to 300% longer lifespan compared to fluorescent lamps, using up to 50% less energy than standard fluorescent 2ftx 2ft (600mm x 600mm) panels, without compromising on performance. The CLL2X2-400-TPW-001W provides a bright beam of 1,840 lumens, with an efficie

The Netherlands - Daktronics is showcasing its latest LED innovations at Integrated Systems Europe this week. As a highlight, Daktronics booth features a full-scale LED video display made up of PST-6i-b LED portable display panels, the latest addition to the Daktronics PST modular video display series.

"We are excited to take part in of one of the largest AV tradeshows in Europe, and to introduce the PST-6i-b to our peers at ISE," said Myron Linde, Daktronics mobile and modular manager. "In addition to being the lightest portable LED video panel of its kind, the PST-6i-b uses a high-contrast design to offer viewers surreal image quality and deep, vivid colours."

The newest member of Daktronics' PST product line, the PST-6i-b panel, weighs in at 52kg/sq.m and joins a pair of other newly unveiled PST products, the PST-12 SMD (50kg/sq.m) and the PST-10 SMD (57

UK - G-LEC Phantom30 frames have been used for an interactive art exhibition at the National Railway Museum in York. For the installation, media artists KMA formed a bridge-like structure across the roof of the exhibition space using 13 2m x 2m screens, each of which comprised four G-LEC Phantom30 frames.

Artist Tom Wexler explains: "It was the railways which first created the need for standardised time across the country, so we came up the idea of an exhibition based on time, place and distance. We placed the 13 screens across the curved roof of the hall, with a thermal imaging camera at each end. The cameras captured people's movement and a few seconds of each person was looped. This was then shown on each screen in turn until the two people's images met in the middle.

"We specified the G-LEC transparent frames because we didn't want the screens to be too 'heavy' o

USA - This month sees new releases in Tomcat USA's ongoing educational Did U Know? podcast video series - and the extension of Tomcat U.

The current topics are How to Tie a Figure of 8 Knot and How to Properly Inspect Your Truss. Will Todd, product support manager, of Tomcat USA leads both of these informative sessions.

The videos can be viewed and downloaded at www.tomcatglobal.com. These videos arrive just in time to serve as a sneak preview of some topics to be covered during Tomcat's Hoist & Rigging Workshops to be held on 17-20 February 2010 - Space is still available.

(Jim Evans)

USA - Acclaim Lighting has unveiled a new website (www.acclaimlighting.com) that reflects its position as a leading force in providing advanced LED lighting solutions to the architectural market. In addition to offering visitors a complete guide to Acclaim's architectural lighting products, the new site features product information, news, technical support and information on upcoming events.

The most dramatic feature on the home page is the continuous loop of flash photos of some recent Acclaim installations, including the über-chic TAO nightclub, located in the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas, which utilises Acclaim's X-Ball, X-Cube and X-Bar product; and the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach, CA, where Acclaim X-Bar 500s were built into each sequential 24" square cutout that accents the structure's shape.

"Our new website was designed to make it easier for o

UK - Orbital Sound reports strong sales to the UK club scene, including new systems to London's 229 Club in Great Portland Street, and Brighton's Concorde 2. In London, 229 Club has invested in a substantial new sound system, designed around d&b audioteknik's Q1 line array complemented by Digidesign's recently launched SC48 mixing console, for its 620-capacity main room. In Brighton, Concorde 2 has extended its top-end sound system with the addition of the compact Digidesign Venue Mix Rack System, comprising the Venue Profile console and all-in-one Venue Mix Rack processing and I/O component.

Since opening in 2007, 229 has established itself as one of the UK's leading small to medium-sized venues, attracting acts such as Primal Scream, Keane, Gnarls Barkley and Razorlight. 229 came to Orbital Sound in early 2009, looking for a high quality and reliable sound system that delivere

Ukraine - The 2009 Junior Eurovision Song Contest recently wrapped up its seventh season, and recorded its largest viewing audience in its history. An estimated 13 million viewers watched 13 competing countries onstage, and wysiwyg was there with them. The show was broadcast live on 21 November from the Palace of Sports in Kiev, hosted by NTU.

The show is the biggest song contest in the world for performers aged 10 to 15, who each compose their own music and lyrics. The theme of this year's show was Tree of Life based on the artwork of renowned Ukrainian folk art painter Maria Primachenko. Lighting designer Per Sundin created the lighting scheme using a wide array of colour and effects to compliment the theme. The staging incorporated circles, curved LED walls and strong lighting.

Clay Paky Alpha Beam 1500 fixtures were the main workhorse fixture, with 18 placed at the

USA - Moonlighting Production Services, a sound and lighting production rental and sales company based in Portland, ME, has added 12 Radian Audio Engineer APEX-1200 low-profile, 12" two-way coaxial stage monitor wedges to its rental inventory. The company, co-founded by Gary Massey and Ted Dunbar, provides production services for concerts, corporate events and special events.

Massey, vice-president of operations for Moonlighting, reports that Radian Audio delivered the APEX-1200 wedges in time for a performance by Pink Martini at Portland's Merrill Auditorium. Moonlighting then put the wedges to work on the annual L. L. Bean concert series, which this year included artists such as Madeleine Peyroux, Patty Loveless, Blues Traveler, the Wallflowers and Asleep at the Wheel.

For the show by Pink Martini, a 12-piece band, Massey recounts: "We had 11 wedges on 11 mixes, pl

UK - Summit Steel rigged the largest flown projection screen to date in London's O2 Arena for two special screenings of Mamma Mia the Movie which were enjoyed by up to 12,000 people per show.

Summit was working for Andy Peat Associates. They had rigged a similar - slightly smaller - screen in the venue two years ago for Peat and his team to facilitate the premiere of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. This time, the screen frame measured an even more impressive 33.45m wide by 14.95m deep.

Summit's crew, led by project manager Jay Call, also flew the PA system and all the drapes used to dress the venue and transform it into a giant cinema for the day.

The screen frame was constructed from 30.5 cm JTE trussing and picked up on four one-tonne points. The projection material - supplied by Harkness Hall - was attached and tensioned via the traditional method

Italy / China - Link srl is has appointed Rightway Audio as its exclusive distributor for China. Headquartered on the Chinese mainland in Guangzhou, with branches in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai, Rightway Audio offers the opportunity to significantly increase Link's presence in the region. The company represents numerous major international brands including Camco, L-Acoustics, Midas / Klark Teknik, Sennheiser and Riedel, and is pleased to add Link to this prestigious list.

"The superior quality of Link's cabling and connectors, along with their ever increasing willingness to offer custom hybrid solutions for our customers' live sound, theatre and broadcast needs is a perfect complement to our current business model," commented Danny Lau, Managing Director, Rightway Audio.

"As the industry demand for hybrid connectivity solutions increases, it is essential tha

USA - SADiE digital audio workstations have played a part in helping independent audio production company Five/Four Productions achieve success at this year's Grammy Awards, which took place in Los Angeles on 31 January.

Five/Four Productions received a total of four nominations for projects recorded or produced by its staff. It went on to win in the Best Surround Sound Album category for Transmigration, featuring Robert Spano and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Choruses and released on Telarc. This award was given to Michael Bishop who engineered and mastered the album, and to Elaine Martone, who produced it.

Based in Cleveland, Ohio, Five/Four Productions is headed by Michael Bishop, Robert Friedrich and Thomas Moore, all former key production members of Telarc Records. Between them, they have created team of audio specialists with Grammy-winning experience across

UK / UAE - LED lighting manufacturer i-Pix has confirmed DLC Dubai as its new Middle East distributor.

This follows an increasing awareness of and interest in i-Pix' BB range of products in the region over the last two years, together with their use and specification on several high profile projects by leading lighting designers including Svend Pedersen, Mark Cunniffe and Billy Aidie.

DLC Dubai was formed in 1993 and will be supporting all companies in the region who are using i-Pix products for shows, events, permanent and temporary installations and those working on the numerous government projects.

Completing this deal with DLC means that i-Pix products are now available across all continents. While the distribution network continues to expand, the Middle East was the last piece in a strategic geographical jigsaw giving customers a truly global sales and support network.<

UK - Depeche Mode's Tour of the Universe is now back in Europe, having travelled the globe since last April with a dual Midas XL8 live performance system for front of house and monitors, playing to audiences of up to 85,000.

FOH engineer Antony King comments, "The XL8 has a very analogue front end to it. As for the features it offers, I really like the POP(ulation) groups, they're great and give you really fast access to whatever channel you need at the time. Then the VCAs (Variable Control Association) give me more choice to split those groups further. It's all in front of you and this is a feature that's not available on any other digital console.

"I also love the sound of it. I guess the whole point of Midas making a digital desk was to put the XL4 preamp into a digital format. It's ironic really; the idea of making a digital desk sound like an analogue mig

France - BrightSign reports that 1,500 BrightSign networked sign controllers have been installed at 80 FNAC retail stores throughout France. FNAC is an international entertainment retail chain and the one of the largest retailers of its kind in France. With the BrightSign players driving more than 3,000 FNAC displays, BrightSign plays a key role in the largest retail digital signage network in France.

FNAC wanted full HD video and image-quality digital sign displays installed across all 80 retail stores in France for in-store promotions including ticket sales, TV sales and other products. The company also wanted the displays managed on a digital signage network to provide simple, easy updates on a daily basis.

TMM Communication was selected for the project because they differentiated their proposal by offering BrightSign players with a solid-state platform. The solid-state des

USA - The National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky selected JBL loudspeakers for an upgrade to the Museum's Chevrolet Theatre. Exceptional Sound designed and installed the new system, providing the theatre with a 5.1 surround sound system complete with nine JBL loudspeakers.

Exceptional Sound has been using JBL loudspeakers for years and the company's past experience led it to select a series of two AM6200/64 and one AL6115 loudspeaker, with four AM6215s for front LR and rear LR and two ASB6128 subwoofers under the stage. The five-day installation provided the Chevrolet Theatre with "a flawless surround sound system".

"The JBL speakers proved to be the perfect solutions for this project," said Laran Philpott, owner of Exceptional Sound. "Each speaker allowed us to place them either vertically or horizontally depending on the space requiremen

UK - Comedian Peter Kay hosted the recent Royal Variety Performance, which for the first time in 50 years, was broadcast from Blackpool, the home of British variety.

Blackpool's Opera House, the largest theatre in the UK outside London, was the chosen venue for this prestigious event, which benefited from performances by artists including Whoopi Goldberg appearing alongside the cast of the West End production Sister Act, together with X-factor winner Alexander Burke and Grammy award winner Lady Ga Ga.

Trantec S6 Wireless Microphone Systems were used exclusively during the performance by Whoopi Goldberg and the cast of Sister Act. The equipment was specified by Surbiton based Plus 4 Audio, who provided 24 channels of S6 radio microphones.

Stewart Chaney MD Plus 4 Audio comments, "The S6 was the ideal choice for the job. It's robust and easy to insta

UK - Nexo is hosting its first-ever UK Demonstration Day on Thursday 25 February, marking the arrival of a Geo S12 demo rig in the country. The event, which will be staged at the Redditch HQ of SSE Audio Group, is still open to interested parties who can contact Gareth Collyer of Nexo UK to book a place.

A testing examination of Nexo speakers will be conducted, including the Geo S12 popular compact line array modules, and the new PS-R2 Series. The systems will be demonstrated with different consoles, a Digidesign Profile and a Yamaha M7CL, so as to provide a direct comparison.

Visitors to HQ will also be able to check out Nexo's new RS15 Sub, and maybe even the new RS18 - becoming the first people from outside Nexo's Paris factory to do so. Perks of the day include a tour of SSE's facilities in Redditch, and a look at their range of flightcases. Lunch is provided.

(Jim Evans

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