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South Africa - Allen & Heath's GS-R24 Firewire recording mixer has been installed in the main recording studio at the Campus of Performing arts (COPA) in Johannesburg, as a teaching console and to manage music students' projects.

"I needed a mixer to satisfy my students' obsession for all things digital, and to teach them the value of what they call 'old school'. Enter the GS-R24, new kid on the block and what I believe to be the future of modern recording consoles," explains COPA's head of production, Neill Pash.

"Everything the modern day producer and musician needs has been included in this little gem: musical fully parametric EQ, two great-sounding onboard valve pre-amps which also serve as instrument DI's, with onboard MIDI control of your DAW including transport and plug-ins, automated flying faders (GSR24-M) and the flexibility to route your DAW effects o

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Sweden - The annual Melodifestivalen, takes over Stockholm's largest performance venue to decide who will represent the nation at Eurovision. This year, rental company Starlight filled the Ericsson Globe Arena with Nexo Geo T and S8 line arrays.

Starlight, a regular supplier for the Melodifestivalen, provided Nexo sound reinforcement for the four semi-final events as well as the grand finale in the 16,300-capacity Globe. This year saw singer Loreen triumph over the other nine acts, as the jury and public votes sent her on her way to represent Sweden in Baku, Azerbaijan, at the end of May.

Starlight's system design for the Stockholm Globe centred around a main PA using 60x Geo T4805 and 14x Geo T2815 down-fill cabinets, mainly comprising front and side-arrays of 15-18 modules each. Nexo CD18 subs were flown left and right, in lines of six, with additional units at ground level.

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Arts Funding - Public support for government funding of the arts has fallen significantly during the recession, according to research published by Arts Council England.

ACE's Stakeholder Focus Research reveals that 44% of the general public support government subsidy of the arts, down from 52% when the research was last carried out in 2009. Only 12% strongly support it - down from 16% in 2009 - while 19% of the population oppose it - up from 14% in 2009 - and 7% strongly oppose it, up from 5%.

The results also reveal the public generally believes subsidy should be used to widen access to arts events, with the least popular aim of public funding being "supporting artists and arts organisations to take risks and try new things out". Elsewhere, the research shows that within the industry, there is widespread support for ACE, with 71% of the arts sector and partners repo

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USA - Richard Pilbrow, founder of Theatre Project Consultants (TPC) and one of the world's leading theatre design consultants, will give the keynote address at the North American Theatre Engineering and Architecture Conference (NATEAC) in New York City on July 22.

The conference, scheduled for Sunday and Monday, July 22 and 23, 2012, promotes communication between the architects, engineers, consultants, and manufacturers responsible for designing and building new theatres and renovating existing performance facilities in North America.

Pilbrow will speak at the conference's opening session on July 22 at 9:30 a.m. at the New York Hilton Hotel, 1335 Avenue of the Americas. The session is open only to registered attendees. To register for the conference, visit www.nateac.org/register.htm.

Early in his career, Pilbrow was selected by Laurence Olivier to be the lighting designer

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UK / France - Entec continued its supply of full production to a string of high profile shows for major international superstars with Japanese rockers L'Arc-en-Ciel.

Entec provided lighting, rigging, sound equipment, and crew, plus site and local co-ordination services for shows at Le Zenith in Paris and Indigo at the O2 Arena in London, and arranged pyrotechnics, video, trucking and buses.

L'Arc-en-Ciel, formed in 1991, have sold over 13m albums and 16m singles and are completing a monumental world tour celebrating 20 years at the very top of Japanese pop / rock.

Entec's project manager Noreen O'Riordan received the call from the band's production director Richard Ames. His relationship with the company dates back many years, and Entec handled full production and co-ordination for him on two massive X-Japan shows last year.

As well as supplying sound, lighting and rigging

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USA - Professional Wireless Systems (PWS), a Masque Sound Company and specialists in supplying and supporting wireless systems for live and broadcast events, has been providing wireless solutions and gear onsite at the Billboard Latin Music Awards for the past 13 years. This year, during the ceremony at the BankUnited Center in Miami, the PWS team, including Brooks Schroeder and James Stoffo, created a custom wireless communications package for the show, with the company's frequency coordination team working backstage to ensure all wireless operations went off without a hitch.

"This year's package included all of the wireless microphones, in-ear monitors and IFBs for the technical production and musical elements, as well as the wireless communication for the production crew for both the main show and pre-awards red carpet show," says Brooks Schroeder, project ma

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USA - Chauvet SlimPAR Pro Tri wash lights uplight the obstacle courses used in the filming of G4's and NBC's American Ninja Warrior. The television show, billed as the "world's most difficult and action-packed obstacle course competition series", gives everyday men and women from across the country the opportunity to compete for glory, the 'American Ninja Warrior' title and a cash prize.

Lighting designer Adam Biggs and lighting director Ed Motts use 225 Chauvet SlimPAR Pro Tri wash lights, supplied by Felix Lighting, during the Southwest Region finals, held on the historic Venice Beach boardwalk.

The obstacle course is a study of truss sculptures, uplit by the low-profile fixtures, set among an arduous course of ramps, platforms, beams and more, all atop pools of water supporting the competition's one rule: 'don't get wet'

"SlimPAR Pro Tri is ideal for

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UK - After providing a JBL solution over two floors at Will Ricker's burgeoning Shoreditch haunt, The Great Eastern Dining Room, Colin Pattenden's CP Sound has now equipped Ricker Restaurants' latest enterprise, La Bodega Negra Mexican restaurant in London's Soho district.

The two-in-one operation boasts a cafe/taqueria on the ground floor and restaurant lounge down in the basement, each served by its own separate entrance; in keeping with Soho's heritage, it presents a sleazy sex shop fascia at its Old Compton Street entrance.

In total, CP Sound has used more than 20 JBL Control 25 loudspeakers, with the entire venue system powered by 12 Crown XLS DriveCore 1000, 1500 and 2000 amplifiers and processed with three dbx DriveRack PA+ devices, all supplied by Sound Technology.

Pattenden has used JBL's JBL Control series on numerous occasions in the past, specifying them for thei

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UK - One of London's top rehearsal studios has upgraded its flagship Studio A with end-to-end RCF TT+ active loudspeakers.

Charlie Barrett, who has run Terminal Studios for the past 28 of its 33 years, has been heavily committed to providing leading edge PA systems for its premier clientele, since moving the business to Bermondsey in 1990. Last month he introduced line array technology, commissioning six RCF TTL33-A active enclosures - three elements a side - and two ground-stacked TTS28-A subs to maintain their competitive edge.

It was in the early 90s that Barrett started to periodically renew the technical infrastructure but recognised recently that his trusty 12-year-old system had reached end of life.

"I have always been a bit of a gear nerd and having a good PA that would keep us ahead of the game has always been our USP."

A couple of years ago he made his

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The Netherlands - Royal Philips Electronics has announced the 200th licensee to sign up to its LED luminaire and retrofit bulb licensing program. Paulmann Light GmbH has gained access to Philips' portfolio of patented LED technologies and solutions offered in the licensing program. The announcement marks a significant milestone in the Philips LED luminaire licensing program, enabling and fostering the industry's growth in its transition from conventional lamps to energy efficient LED-based lighting solutions.

Arian Duijvestijn, senior vice-president of Philips Intellectual Property & Standards said: "As the market leader in LED lighting technology, we are opening up the market for LED lighting to companies and customers around the world through our LED luminaire licensing program. We are delighted to welcome Paulmann as our 200th licensee. This is a landmark moment for the

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India - Alcons Audio has opened a direct office presence in India, offering customers full factory support. The Dutch manufacturer will be operating out of Mumbai and Bangalore initially, with expansion planned to other cities in the near future.

"Alcons is installing systems around the world and it was high time we entered an important market like India," says co-founder and managing director Tom Back. "Having successfully established our American presence, India is the next step. It is an important growth market - like Brazil, China, US and Europe - and since we didn't have a distribution presence here we have set up a direct office."

"A quality brand like Alcons requires direct factory support so that we can give reliable and sustainable technical advice and customer support," says Alcons Audio India MD John-Paul Douma. "It is a commitment

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Australia - Australia's Got Talent is an Australian reality television talent show based on the Got Talent series format that originated in the United Kingdom with Simon Cowell. The Australian production is produced by Freemantle Media for the 7 network and has become one of the leading rating variety shows.

Showtech Australia is working on the sixth season of AGT which is filmed at the Dockland Studios in Melbourne.

For this season Showtech is providing the automation system for the entire series. This consists of differing winches and other equipment from the hire stock held in Showtech's Melbourne base and controlled by a Stage Technologies console running eChameleon software. The winches will be used for flying aerial effects, specialist performances and stunts.

Australia's Got Talent is a challenging show for the production team. The nature of the s

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Germany - Persian singer Googosh preformed a rare live concert in Hamburg recently. Soundart GmbH & Co. from Bochum deployed an Aero 50 Line Array system by D.A.S. Audio for the event at Hamburg's O? World arena.

Lars Schnier, D.A.S. Audio system engineer in Germany, opted for a left/right configuration of 10 Aero 50 units on each side of the stage as the main PA system, plus eight Aero 12A systems as PA out-fill. The system was supplemented by 15 LX-218A powered subwoofers in cardioid formation with the aim of limiting the low end to just the stage. The self-powered Aero 50 system was operated using 16 Lab.gruppen FP 10000Q amplifiers and four Lake LM 26 processors, which actively powered Aero 12A systems via two D.A.S. DSP-4080 system controllers.

Lars Schnier commented, "Thanks to the very useful planning tool offered by D.A.S. Audio, we were able to determine all of t

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UK - A.C Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET)'s audio division will be hosting two dedicated open day events in conjunction with Yamaha to showcase the manufacturer's highly anticipated new Yamaha CL series of digital mixing consoles, which were recently unveiled for the first time at the Prolight & Sound exhibition in Frankfurt.

The open days will be held on Tuesday 29 May in Leeds and Thursday 28 June in High Wycombe, at AC-ET's demo facilities.

AC-ET is amongst the first of a selection of high-end UK Yamaha dealers to take stock of these brand new cutting-edge consoles, recently receiving delivery of the CL5 flagship model.

The Open Days will each consist of three identical sessions, scheduled for 11am, 1pm and 3pm - designed to give maximum flexibility for interested parties to fit into their busy schedules.

The programme for each session will include showing the CL Seri

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Poland - PGE Arena Gdansk - one of the most modern sports stadiums in Europe - is preparing for the upcoming UEFA Euro 2012 Football Championships. The stadium was equipped by TRIAS S.A. with technical and multimedia solutions. The company was responsible for design and integration of technical systems within the scope of fixed audiovisual, lighting, safety systems, IT installations as well as management systems.

TRIAS S.A. is the official technology partner of the stadium and the general contractor of the tele-technical systems. For the next five years TRIAS will also supervise the correct functioning of the installed electronic systems.

During Euro 2012 PGE Arena Gdansk will host three group games as well as a quarter final. Designed in a manner to resemble the colour of Baltic amber, the arena can seat up to 42 000 spectators.

TRIAS equipped the stadium with four diode sc

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South Africa - DWR Distribution's first shipment as the official exclusive Prolyte distributor in South Africa was delivered to MGG Productions on 11 May 2012. It so happened that Prolyte's Paul-Erik Haseloop was visiting South Africa at the same time and could personally deliver, along with Robert Izzett, three H30V- 3m circle trusses.

The new circles, along with the supply of Robe moving lights and accessories will be used for a rental at the Joburg Theatre, where the spectacular Grand Cirque Adrenaline show will run from 23 May 23 to 17 June.

(Jim Evans)

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Italy - Enrico Brignano is one of the biggest stars in Italy and his tour Tutto suo padre (Like his father) he has been packing theatres all over Italy. The three-hour show blends elements of cabaret, comedy and also music into a fully rounded evening of entertainment. The music, in fact, is provided by a high-calibre 18-piece orchestra.

The demands all this places on the sound reinforcement system are twofold: the highest possible level of intelligibility - even in the furthest rows of the auditorium - and the concert sound performance of a dedicated high-end system. The task of reconciling these difficult and apparently conflicting objectives throughout the tour was entrusted to the Mariano Comense-based sound reinforcement company, Backstage P.A., which has at its disposal a comprehensive array of Electro-Voice components.

To satisfy the acoustic needs of venu

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Australia - Anolis ArcPad 48 LED fixtures are internally lighting artist Stuart Green's gleaming and Droplet sculpture, a 6m tall 3m wide stainless steel work which has been installed on the corner of Furzer and Worgon Streets in the Phillip Woden district of Canberra, Australia.

Perth based Green was commissioned to create Droplet by the ACT (Australian Capital Territory) Government. Its elegant curved and pleated shell - in the shape of a massive water droplet - is made from laser cut 316 marine grade stainless steel, and it has a quirky 10 degree tilt.

The idea is that the 'single strong object' can be easily interpreted from a distance .... with details and pierced intricacies available on closer viewing as people are drawn to it.

Lighting was integral to the sculpture from the start. It is a medium also previously explored by the artist in other works.

T

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Norway - The monumental Oslo Opera House is home to the Norwegian National Opera & Ballet and a frequent venue for a variety of shows, concerts, and official functions. The huge 38,500 m2 (414,000 sq ft) building contains 1,100 rooms and features three world-class stages. The imposing main stage rivals the world's largest opera houses and incorporates under-stage machinery with load-bearing steel structures of gigantic proportions.

This environment is particularly challenging for radio systems and was until LumenRadio's CRMX technology arrived on the scene a white spot on the Opera House's signal distribution map. A selection of LumenRadio products has provided reliable DMX/RDM distribution to critical locations throughout this difficult area; supporting productions ranging from Puccini's La Bohème to Wagner's Tristan & Isolde.

Audun Bull-Hanssen at the Oslo Ope

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Germany - A Jands Vista T2 is at the heart of the lighting control system at Friedrichsbau Varieté in Stuttgart, one of the most popular and influential variety show stages in Germany.

With a vibrant history dating back to the end of the 19th century, the theatre was re-opened in 1994 on its original site, which had been destroyed in World War II.

Friedrichsbau Varieté stages four of its own well known productions each year, featuring internationally acclaimed artists as well as new talents.

Awash with colour and dynamics, an eclectic mix of circus and performance skills merge contemporary and classic aesthetics, accompanied by the Friedrichsbau Varieté Orchestra. Each of these shows has two versions - long and short - and each performance run is between two and three months.

The Vista T2 lighting console was specified by Friedrichsbau Varieté's

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UK - Adlib's audio division continued its touring success in the dance / dub step sector, supplying sound equipment and crew for the recent sold-out Professor Green spring UK tour - the popular UK rapper's first carrying a full production.

Adlib and Professor Green's paths have crossed numerous times since the MOBO, MTV Europe & NME award-winner exploded onto the scene in summer 2010 with his debut album Alive Till I'm Dead.

Production manager Trigger asked Adlib on board, with front-of-house engineer Pat Tunbridge requesting an L-Acoustics V-Dosc rig with a Midas Pro6 as his mixing desk of choice, following a great experience with it in Australia and Monitor engineer Ben Kingman chose to mix using a trusty Yamaha PM5D.

The tour started with rehearsals in London, then moved onto Dublin and Glasgow building up to a spectacular finale at Brixton Academy - enthusiastical

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Lebanon - Two Midas PRO6 live audio systems supplied by Midas distributor of the year, Dubai-based NMK Electronics, have been installed in one of the Middle East's premier casinos, Jounieh's Casino du Liban, bringing the venue's total PRO6 count to three.

Tony Khoury, the casino's chief sound engineer since 1996, took delivery of his first PRO6 system in 2009 for the 1,800-capacity theatre space. "I chose the PRO6 then because I couldn't find the right warmth of sound in any other digital desk," says Khoury. "The Midas pre amps in the PRO6 provide really effective power and quality. I also found the PRO6 so easy to use; you can get to any zone really fast - it feels like I am working on one of the MIDAS analogue consoles, like a Heritage 3000."

Khoury was so delighted with the performance of his first PRO6 that when it came to upgrading the sound system in

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South Africa - An upgrade to 10 Perspex pillars on the outside perimeter of the Vodadome at Vodacom, Midrand, was recently carried out by DWR Distribution. The fairly simple install has resulted in a major facelift for the venue.

Some years ago the pillars, each about 6m high, were supplied and erected by Just Sets. They were originally fitted with fluorescent tubing and the new idea was to convert to RGB LED technology. The units now have DMX control, which means the lighting operator within the venue is able to take control of the outside pillar lights and incorporate them into his show. A plug-in interface allows patching to the lighting console to enable chases and colour changes to each individual pillar.

"It's so much more advanced, the colours are richer and there are more applications," explained David Caddy, who until recently was technical manager at the Vo

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USA - Clay Paky Sharpy fixtures, from Las Vegas-based Morpheus Lights, are giving Bruce Springsteen's Wrecking Ball World Tour a new look.

The tour kicked off in the US this spring in support of The Boss's 17th studio album, Wrecking Ball. Springsteen's lighting designer Jeff Ravitz selected 16 Sharpy fixtures for his inventory after having seen them last fall.

"In putting Bruce's tour together I thought the Sharpys would be an excellent replacement for the lights we were using inside the set platforms to push through," he explains. "I thought they'd be a nice change with a really defined and distinct look. The Sharpys also allowed us to use some great gobo patterns".

When Ravitz added Sharpys the idea came up of using hazers to paint the air and enhance the lights' sharply-defined beams. Employing hazers - which are not all as singer-friend

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