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UK - Problem-solving theatre consultancy Charcoalblue has collaborated with Bland, Brown and Cole architects to inject its bespoke brand of design sorcery to create Cambridge's The Leys School's new £9m Great Hall.

The focus of Charcoalblue's expertise is the Great Hall's new 320-seat theatre, which incorporates high-spec backstage facilities, technical infrastructure including lighting and sound equipment, a control room and workshop, storage areas and a green room. These will allow the Leys Drama Department and technical staff to operate a fully functional "teaching theatre", with pupils involved in every aspect of productions. The lower seating tier of the theatre is retractable, creating a School Hall which can comfortably seat 600 for a full assembly.

Charcoalblue has provided theatre design and planning services as well as the detailed design of the theat

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UK - Lighting design and rental company Siyan chose Avolites consoles for this summer's Lovebox musical extravaganza in East London's Victoria Park. This year saw the company step up to the Sapphire Touch and Tiger Touch Pro for the main and second stages respectively.

"Historically, Avolites consoles have been Siyan's first choice at Lovebox," explains project manager Jez Johnstone. "For the past few years we've used the D4 range for FOH at the main stage, with the Expert on the smaller stages. With technology moving forward, it was a natural progression to spec the Sapphire Touch at main and the Tiger Touch Pro at stage 2."

At the controls of the Sapphire on the main stage was lighting designer Paula Trounce, taking care of artists including headline act Azealia Banks as well as Tinchy Stryder, Jurassic 5, D'Angelo, Rudimental and Charlie Wilson, among ot

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UK - Rental company Sound of Music has supplied its Nexo Geo S12 for two strikingly different major summer events, the Reading and Leeds Festivals and a classical spectacular for 30,000 in Derby.

At Reading and Leeds, Sound of Music worked in collaboration with rental company Entertainment Sound Specialists to supply systems to both BBC Introducing stages. Each system comprised of five Geo S12 ground stacked elements plus two RS18 subs per side. These were all driven by Nexo NXAMP 4x4 powered digital controllers.

"We catered for 42 bands which rotated round identical setups at both sites," explains Sound of Music director Sash Pochibko. "There was always a steady audience which peaked at around 3,000 at the busiest times. Five elements per side were ample to throw to the back of the 60m deep crowd and beyond with consistent intelligibility."

By contrast,

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UK - This September the Hospital Club in London unveils the Oak Room, a new 100-capacity performance space in the heart of Covent Garden. Designed by the award-winning Russell Sage Studios, the Oak Room will serve up an eclectic range of outstanding entertainment for members, from DJs and live performances (featuring some of the UK's best music acts) to high-end comedy, cabaret and jazz nights.

Sue Walter, CEO said, "It is not often a new event space opens in Central London which has literally never been seen before. The Oak Room will be integral to The Hospital Club's ethos of showcasing and supporting emerging talent. We are excited to have secured such a diverse range of new and established acts to help launch the space throughout September, with many more lined up over the coming months to give members, artists and guests a uniquely Hospital Club experience."

RML

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UK - A spectacular work of art was installed by event crew specialists, Showforce in the heart of Stratford's cultural quarter as part of the Stratford Rising Festival celebrations.

Commissioned by Stratford Rising, the artwork was designed by local artist, David Allies Curtis to depict the Ring-A-Roses children's game using an existing, metallic ring-shaped structure, ribbons and red nylon strapping. Showforce was appointed to help create the one-off installation, with crew chief, Lawrence Jones working closely with the artist to ensure the final design could be achieved. In just two days, the Ring-A-Roses was erected in the town's Theatre Square including individually affixing each section of strapping via a scissor lift.

Esteban Benedicto, sales and marketing manager at Showforce said, "The artwork for the Stratford Rising Festival was certainly one of our more

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UK - Nexo has posted new UK dates for its foundation training courses, which are being held in conjunction with Nexo dealers LMC Audio and AC Entertainment Technologies.

• London, at the Soho Theatre in the West End; 22 - 23 October

• Birmingham, at LMC Audio's premises in Aston; 18-19 November

• Leeds, at AC Entertainment North in Leeds; 10 - 11 December

Nexo's ETC programme offers convenient and affordable education, training and certification in general electroacoustic principles, and real-world practical operation of Nexo line array and point-source systems in the live production environment.

The foundation module, ETC1, has been designed for sound designers, engineers and technicians working with Nexo equipment. Taught by Nexo instructors, this two-day event progresses from theoretical classes in general acoustics, line array concepts and the case for

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USA - The Audio Engineering Society (AES) has officially announced the publication of AES67-2013, a new engineering standard for networked/streaming audio-over-IP interoperability. High-performance media networks support professional quality audio (16 bit, 44.1 kHz and higher) with low latencies (less than 10 milliseconds) compatible with live sound reinforcement. The level of network performance required to meet these requirements is available on local-area networks and is achievable on enterprise-scale networks. A number of networked audio systems have been developed to support high-performance media networking, but until now there were no recommendations for operating these systems in an interoperable manner. This standard provides comprehensive interoperability recommendations in the areas of synchronization, media clock identification, network transport, encoding and streamin

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Switzerland - W-DMXTM by Wireless Solution Sweden AB entertained approximately 950,000 people during the Zurich street parade, where nearly 200 DJs played on 30 trucks and eight large-scale stages - including famous names such as Bob Sinclar, Westbam, Nicky Romero and Nervo.

Laserworld AG, headquartered in Switzerland with subsidiaries in Shenzhen, China, Manchester, UK and New York, USA supported this event with a gigantic laser show set up on three stages - with an overall power of up to 200W. To create a stable, wireless connection between several peripheral systems, like smoke- and haze machines, Laserworld used the versatile W-DMXTM transceiver for control.

Norbert Stangl, sales & marketing director for Laserworld explained, "We tried a 'cheap' wireless DMX box first, as one of the event companies had them in their truck, but it didn't work, as it struggled with the

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The Netherlands - ISE 2014 will see the opening of a third visitor entrance, new attractions to boost attendee footfall throughout its Amsterdam RAI venue and improved navigation to make it easier for those new to the show to find their way around.

Having successfully used Entrances C and K (also known as the Holland and Europa entrances respectively) for the past four years, ISE has experienced year-on-year visitor growth that now necessitates the opening of a third gateway, Entrance F - also known as the Park entrance. This new entrance is particularly convenient for Halls 7 and 8 of the RAI, where the show's new theatre spaces will be located. A new Business Lounge will be located on the bridge between Halls 7 and 8, and there will be a free cart shuttle service between the entrance and the RAI train station.

"Visitor congestion is one of the nicer problems for a trade

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USA - Rock band Rush just wrapped its Clockwork Angels Tour in the US in support of its eponymous album, and Clay Paky Sharpy fixtures went along for the ride.

Rush began its US tour last September on the heels of a successful European leg. Dates in Phoenix and Dallas were recorded for a DVD release later this year.

"We had 55 Clay Paky Sharpys on the tour for the duration," says Howard Ungerleider, lighting designer for Rush. "Sharpys are one of the most versatile and exciting lighting fixtures I've used in a while. I can really get a lot of looks out of them. I definitely work them without over-using them."

Ungerleider positioned the Sharpys, which were provided by Premier Global and Production Design International, on moving parts of the truss so they could descend at any time for automated moves. He maximized their application, deploying them t

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USA - Headlining the Honda Civic Tour with special guest Kelly Clarkson, Maroon 5 is taking the stage at amphitheaters across the US. With a vast amount of Martin MAC series lighting fixtures, the summer tour continues through October with its memorizing light show, as part of the production design provided by Demfis Fyssicopulos.

Supplied by Upstaging, the traveling rig includes 64 lightweight and durable Martin MAC III Profiles and 42 Martin Atomic 3000 Strobes with scrolling ability.

"I have a lot of video elements in the show and I needed a unit that could stand its own," stated Fyssicopulos. "I didn't want to use monotonous wash units and 8-lighters (I can't believe I actually said 8-lighters) as the outdated easy-way-out norm would dictate. I was after a forward thinking fixture with enough intensity to accommodate the outdoor stage. The MAC III Air FX pro

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UK - Manchester-based lighting design and rental specialists dbn provided lighting for the spectacular Weekending at the Whitworth Art Gallery event, an extraordinary weekend of free art, music and performance in Whitworth Park and Gallery, Manchester, which welcomed all in the community to celebrate the last days of the 'old' Whitworth Art Gallery, before the building closed for a historic £18m refurbishment.

dbn has worked on several projects at the Whitworth over a number of years, providing technical consultation and design services, ingenuity and equipment.

dbn Project Manager Nick Todd oversaw the Weekending event, for which several elements were lit, including the impressive front façade of the Whitworth Art Gallery itself.

Overall lighting schemes encompassed a world music stage, trees and art installations, with the visual high-point being Saturday night's li

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Germany - The Wolfszeit open-air festival in Crispendorf near Schleiz in Thuringia is one of the few pagan and dark metal festivals in Germany.

After the systems from Villingen had already stood the test in 2012, this year the technical heads decided to realise the entire monitoring with ProAudio Technology, in addition to the main PA.

Mike Berus, graduate audio engineer comments, "The HT16 speakers offer an incredibly high resolution. Brilliant highs and never annoying upper mids. I don't know about any other system with such a great transient behaviour, which stays extremely clean even with high sound pressure levels. Simply top. Used in a cardio array, the SW18 and the SW28 subs delivered very punchy, tight lows, even at a distance of 30m (100 ft.).

"With the cardio I noticed a very good SPL reduction behind the PA. The M20 monitors were awesome. High sound pres

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UK - The 4th annual PLASA Rigging Conference is proud to announce that it will be supported by major sponsors for the first time, cementing its growing reputation as an essential event for the industry. Unusual Rigging becomes the Platinum sponsor while Outback Rigging is on board as the Gold sponsor. The PLASA Rigging Conference takes place on 7-8 October 2013 at its new home, ExCeL London.

Unusual's managing director, Alan Jacobi, said, "Rigging is a key element of almost every event, with its ever increasing scale, size, weight and complexity making a considerable impact, but the consequences of getting it wrong can be disastrous. Conferences such as this are vital in ensuring we continue to debate and improve working practices and Unusual is proud to be this year's Platinum sponsor."

Robin Elias of Unusual Rigging, one of the rigging industry's leading and longes

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South Africa - KwaZulu Natal's most respected art festival, the annual Witness Hilton Arts Festival, turns 21 this year and took place on the beautiful grounds of Hilton College this weekend, from 12 - 15 September 2013. Debuting at this year's festival, was the use of Black Coffee's brand new Prolyte Tunnel Roof, the first of its kind in South Africa, which this rental company erected for the first time.

The Witness Hilton Arts Festival produces a programme of cutting-edge drama, comedy, music and music revue, as well as an impressive array of arts and crafts appealing to all who visit.

This year Dave Whitehouse from DWR Distribution presented a talk on stage lighting, aimed at school pupils and teachers. These presentations, along with many other drama productions, were held in Black Coffee's new Tunnel Roof. For those who attended Mediatech a couple of months ago, it's the

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UK - The summer festival season can only mean one thing for Sennheiser UK's artist liaison and technical backup staff - plenty of time spent out in the parks of Britain supporting sound engineers, production teams and artists. 2013 has been no exception, two particular late season highlights being V2013 and the inaugural Fusion festival.

Sennheiser UK has provided an on-site support and repair facility at the V festival's Weston Park site for several years. This allows Sennheiser UK to 'give something back' to the many hire companies, engineers and artists who have put their faith in the company's equipment. With, the additional presence of Tour Supply, a company closely affiliated with Sennheiser, providing a range of Sennheiser equipment available for purchase, both artists and audio companies were assured of comprehensive support.

This year the company's side-stage Portakab

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USA - Concert Systems Production Group, located in Pensacola, Florida, recently added 28 M212 stage monitors to their live event production inventory.

"If you had asked me a few years ago if I would be investing in more stage monitors I would have said you were nuts," explains Randy Frierson, owner of Concert Systems. "With IEMs as the norm and two rider friendly monitor rigs already in inventory, why would I spend money on more stage monitors?"

Needless to say, that is exactly what happened. Frierson found that as the company grew the demands on it grew as well. It became apparent that they needed a world class, high powered monitor system for larger events.

"I decided that I wanted a wedge that would get loud but still be even tempered," Frierson says. "It also needed multiple angles and it would help if it looked cool."

After chec

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Italy - 2013 marks the bicentenary of the birth of Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi, and to honour the occasion, the Fondazione Teatro La Fenice decided to perform Verdi's famous opera Otello in the stunning outdoor environment of the 15th century courtyard of the Palazzo Ducale, in the heart of Venice. The event revived a tradition of presenting outdoor performances at the Ducal Palace that ran from 1949-67, and the work itself is a passionate tribute to the city.

In addition to a series of live performances the concerts also needed to be recorded, which gave sound engineer, Antonio Martino of MASclassica a problem in that he required a large number of ultra-reliable, remote-controlled mic pres and audio channels of exceptional quality to be installed unobtrusively, at a significant distance from the recording system. Another challenging requirement was that the setup nee

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USA - Founded in 1842, the New York Philharmonic is the oldest symphony orchestra in the United States playing over 180 concerts per year, but this year they played one programme which was unlike any before. In A Dancer's Dream: Two Works by Stravinsky, Producers Giants Are Small and music director Alan Gilbert combined music, ballet, puppetry, video projection, and theatre, bringing The Fairy's Kiss and Petrushka both to life in one creative and fantastic event.

Working behind the scenes, lighting designer Clifton Taylor was given the challenge to blend all these production elements seamlessly together and to help him accomplish this he put together a comprehensive lighting package from Philips Entertainment which included Showline SL BAR 640, Philips Selecon PLCyc LED, Philips Vari-Lite VL3500 Spot, VL1000 ERS and VL5B Wash luminaires.

"For A Dan

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Following the success of its appearance at last year's BPM, Sennheiser UK will once again be playing at BPM, billed as 'the world's largest event dedicated to DJing, electronic music production and entertainment technology, which takes place at Birmingham's NEC from 14 to 16 September.

Products from both Sennheiser and Rane's acclaimed ranges are on show on Stand B47, including The Rane 61 and 62 DJ mixers plus the range of Serato Scratch Live Interface units, and demos from renowned DJ's will take place throughout each day.

As well as these familiar lines, Sennheiser is showcasing its special 25th anniversary HD 25 headphones, the HD 25 Aluminiumwhich has become the choice of DJs and music professionals the world over.

(Jim Evans)

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South Africa - The Sun City Theatre, better known as the old Extrav Theatre, in the North West Province, South Africa, has invested in two Robert Juliat Victors.

"Actually, we had our eye on Robert Juliat and wanted to get this brand for quite some time now," commented Reg Habib, lighting manager at Sun City. Eventually the need, opportunity and availability came together and the followspots were purchased from DWR Distribution.

"The Robert Juliat Victor is a beautiful looking piece of equipment, excellent in design, and great to operate," said Habib. "Amongst features like hot strike, it has a smooth dimming ability that can be adjusted with one finger, without looking away from the stage or moving a hand."

Habib says a lot can be said for buying brand names. "Obviously quality creates desirability. The expected life and the after sales su

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UK - The David Bowie is exhibition was one of the most successful and technically complex shows at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London. Opening to rave reviews on 23 March 2013 it was the best selling exhibition in the museum's history. David Bowie is is now on world tour starting at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Canada this month.

Design and Production company,59 Productions and interiors and exhibition designers Real Studios collaborated on the David Bowie is exhibition design. Expert systems integrator, Sysco AV configured the museum's existing inventory of technology and Dataton Watchout powered the multi-image display and presentation software in two areas of the galleries including a 7m high video wall display and TV displays throughout the exhibition. Sysco AV has worked with the V&A for many years on several exhibitions. Watchouit is support

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Switzerland - Robert Juliat has confirmed the latest addition to the Robert Juliat distributor family with the appointment of Electric Claudio Merlo Lighting Equipment SA (ECM) as its new distributor for Switzerland.

From 1 September 2013, ECM will distribute the full range of Robert Juliat lighting equipment and concentrate on developing closer relations with all regions of the diverse Swiss market. In addition to its excellent product knowledge, ECM brings the benefit of its multi-lingual support team which speaks German, Italian and Spanish, as well as French and English.

ECM represents several worldwide brands in Switzerland and specialises in creating theatre and studio lighting systems. The company is constantly looking for environmentally-friendly products and believes in superior quality and optical excellence, like that found in Robert Juliat's new LED Zep and Tibo se

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Glastonbury 2014 - Weekend tickets for Glastonbury Festival 2014 will go on sale at 9am on Sunday 6 October. It'll cost £210 to attend but festival-goers will only have to pay a deposit of £50 next month before settling their bill in April. For the first time, coach packages will be available three days before the main ticket sale on Thursday 3 October. No acts have been announced but organiser Michael Eavis says the three headliners are in place already.

Michael Eavis said next year's headliners probably wouldn't surprise people. "There aren't many left [to play here]," he said. "It's the process of elimination isn't it? I think we've got three or four really good ones lined up for next year and we're sorting out 2015 as well."

In The Sale Room - An Essex artist's oil painting of late singer Amy Winehouse has been sold at auction as part

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  4. ETC Eos on Starlight South African debut
  5. APG adds new distribution partner in Denmark
  6. Robe for Hakkasan Las Vegas
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