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USA / Germany - Audinate, the inventors of Dante, have entered into a licensing agreement with ESI, one of the leading vendors of professional and semi-professional audio equipment worldwide. ESI will incorporate Dante into future products.

Built on existing networking protocols and standards, Audinate's Dante is a plug-and-play networking solution which delivers ultra-low latency and tightly synchronized media, while simplifying installation and configuration of digital media networks.

ESI has been making professional audio products for over a decade which are manufactured and distributed worldwide by ESI Audiotechnik GmbH, located in Leonberg, Germany. Their ESI branded and various OEM products are well known and used daily by hundreds of thousands of customers all over the world.

"We believe that Dante is the solution to provide affordable and competitive networking

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UK - The BBC deployed an Allen & Heath iLive digital mixing system for the Friday Night is Music Night Christmas Special on Radio 2, to provide the live FOH mix. The system comprised a MADI-enabled iDR-48 MixRack, which is part of the BBC's OB equipment stock, along with an iLive-T112 Control Surface.

Hosted at the BBC's Mermaid Theatre, the event was presented by Ken Bruce, and featured performances from singers Louise Dearman (Wicked) and John Owen-Jones (Phantom, Les Miserables), top West End vocal group Capital Voices, readings and poetry from Samantha Bond and Kenneth Cranham, and the BBC Concert Orchestra.

The BBC also owns an iLive-R72 rackmount surface, which was purchased in preparation for Wimbledon this year, and has subsequently been used on several BBC shows.

(Jim Evans)

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USA - The Harvest Bible Church in Cypress, Texas, had a challenging agenda: allow its 1,000-seat sanctuary to have an intimate ambience yet still have both speech and music fill the entire space intelligibly and coherently, despite a relatively low 18-foot ceiling and highly reflective surfaces on the walls and floor. And one more criterion: keep the PA system's profile minimal and as invisible as possible.

It might have seemed difficult to meet all of these goals, but a RoomMatch loudspeaker system from Bose Professional Systems was just the right solution.

Covenant Communications, an AV systems designer and integrator in Houston, used two RM12020 modules, one RM12010 module and an RMS215 subwoofer in each of two L/R arrays, all powered by three Bose PowerMatch PM8500N eight-channel amplifiers. That was all it took to fulfil all of the needs of this complex acoustical space.<

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USA - Calvary Church of Naperville, located in the western suburbs of Chicago, recently wrapped up a five-month sanctuary renovation that increased seating from 2500 to 3000 without moving any walls. As part of the project, the church also underwent a full AVL system retrofit, which was designed and integrated by CCI Solutions of Olympia, Washington.

CCI church relations director Duke DeJong said the client put a premium on the audio portion of the project. "From the very start, the church was very intentional about making sure the new sound system would be more than a home run; it had to be a home run with fireworks," he says. "They were very specific in saying that the audio needed to be intelligible, powerful and flexible - spectacular in every sense."

With this as their directive, CCI senior systems consultant Mark Pearson and his team turned to three l

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UAE - Sennheiser Group reports another year of significant double-digit growth for its Dubai-based Middle East operation. The company attributes the growth to increased regional adoption of conference and translation systems, the Middle East broadcast industry's ambitions to match global standards in audio systems design and deployment and an increased usage of wireless audio systems in smart classrooms.

The company recorded a 62% year-on-year (YOY) increase in gross profit in the region owing to a number of project wins in the education and hospitality sectors and a notably strong performance in the consumer electronics segment in which the company saw revenues increase by 52% in 2013.

Mig Cardamone, sales and marketing manager at Sennheiser Middle East believes that the fresh wave of spending in the region presents a huge opportunity for the company. "There is no doubt

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USA - Maryland Sound International (MSI) employed some of its inventory of 200-plus Powersoft K Series amplifiers to drive the PA systems for the Countdown and Nivea stages during New York City's iconic New Year's Eve festivities in Times Square, which are attended by an estimated one million people and watched by a further one billion worldwide.

This year's celebrations at the 'Crossroads of the World' also marked the debut of MSI's new proprietary BB30 subwoofer, which incorporates Powersoft's revolutionary, patented M-Force linear motor technology and delivers a frequency response that is flat to 20Hz, the company says. Each stack of BB30s was topped by a pair of MSI's new side-fills.

This was the sixteenth year that MSI has provided production sound for the New Year celebrations in Times Square. According to Bob Goldstein, owner, MSI: "One of the many reasons we use P

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Mexico - Ending their 2013 El Objeto tour in style, well-known alternative rock Mexican band Café Tacuba played their last show of the year at the Palacio de los Deportes arena in Mexico City, for first time using 14 new Robe Robin Pointes, recently purchased by local rental company, Meridian Pro S.A de C.V. The Pointes were located right behind the band forming a line upstage.

The band's producer Sergio Serrano - who also has his own lighting and video company, LED Project, in the same city - commented that they are always looking out for the newest products that will keep the company at the forefront of the latest technologies.

"I saw the Pointe and proposed we used these for the last show to the band's German LD, 'Tiffy' Castellanos, who agreed and also really likes them. It's a fixture far better than others available on the market, and that's what we al

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Italy - Although ground broke for the construction of Milan Cathedral in 1386, it was only in the last decade that its construction was declared complete. The massive architectural project took over six-hundred years. Milan attracts two million visitors a year, and almost all of them visit the famous cathedral.

To convey the epic story of its construction and to raise additional funds for Milan Cathedral's costly upkeep, the Cathedral Museum opened in 1953. In keeping with the long timescale of the cathedral's construction, the museum closed for five years and only recently re-opened, completely refurbished and ready to accommodate contemporary revenue streams. Among its new offerings, the museum added a conference room that can be rented for meetings and dinners. To keep costs low, but functionality and fidelity high, the conference AV system uses an Ashly Pema 4125.10 100V out

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USA - With a soaring roof that's distinctively shaped like a nine-point star, Valparaiso University's Chapel of the Resurrection is a fabled landmark to passing motorists on nearby US Route 30. By some accounts the largest collegiate chapel in the US, boasting a 98ft high circular chancel, the 55-year-old structure is also 'big' in terms of the interior illumination challenges it presents - which is why Jeff Hazewinkel, director of the Centre for the Arts at the Indiana university, specified Chauvet Professional's award-winning Ovation E-190WW LED ellipsoidal for a recent lighting upgrade to the facility.

The Ovation E-190WW units made their debut in grand fashion, illuminating the 2013 Valparaiso University Christmas Concert, a beloved musical tradition in the community for more than 80 years. Attended by some 2,500 individuals, the concert featured the Valparaiso University Ch

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South Africa - Durban's Barnyard Theatre, found in the Gateway Shopping Centre, Umhlanga, has thrilled audiences over the past year with one good production after the next. This steady flow has enabled the well run theatre to recently purchase additional gear including a grandMA2 Port Node, 10 Longman Stagebars, six Longman LED parcans and 80 new connectors and cables.

"Since the equipment arrived, we have received great compliments," said Eduard Biermann, who heads sound and lighting. The fixtures have been used to light the backdrop on stage, and it now jumps out."

The gear was purchased from Nick Barnes from DWR Distribution, Durban. The Stagebars in particular, with the colour changing LED properties and strobe effects, has created eye candy to jazz up shows. DWR's Nick Britz provided training for the grandMA2 Node, giving Biermann a boost of confidence.

H

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The Netherlands - Alcons Audio has appointed FACE as Pro-Ribbon Partner for the Netherlands. At CUE 2014, The Netherlands main sound and light show, Alcons Audio and FACE jointly announced their sales cooperation for the Dutch territory. The appointment of FACE as Pro-Ribbon Partner for the Netherlands means the sales and support for the rental and installation market will be handled by the Dutch branch of FACE.

Tom Back, managing director of Alcons Audio comments: "Over the last few years the international expansion of Alcons Audio with factory-owned subsidiaries in the US, India and Germany and Partners in over 30 countries, have shown that as a manufacturer, we have our hands full on supply and support on an international level.

"Up until now, we supported the Dutch market directly from our headquarters in Zwaag, but with our structure, couldn't fully "work&q

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USA - It wouldn't be Christmas without Mannheim Steamroller. The distinctive ensemble is marking the 29th anniversary of its Christmas concert tours with a multimedia display featuring a light show and big-screen images and videos synchronized with their music. Lighting designer Richard Jackson has included Clay Paky Sharpy Washes in his rig for the first time.

Mannheim Steamroller debuted their first Christmas album in 1984 combining the group's signature mix of baroque instruments and rock 'n roll beats to give a fresh twist to holiday classics. This year two tours of six-member ensembles played 80 dates on a Christmas tour running from mid-November to late December.

Francesco Romagnoli, Clay Paky area manager for North and Latin America, commented: "It's great to see our Sharpy Washes added to such an iconic show. I'm glad that Mr. Jackson is getting good use out of th

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Canada The Cirque du Soleil's Varekai, which has been touring the world since 2002, returned to Montreal, Quebec in December 2013 for its re-launch as Arena Shows. The production team proposed to lighting designer, Nol van Genuchten the deployment of the BlackTrax realtime tracking solution from CAST BlackTrax Ltd for moving light tracking of performers.

"As lighting designer for the very first edition of Varekai, it's great to be working on it again as it evolves. With the new arena tour, Varekai is hosted at a different location each week and presents its own lighting challenges allowing me to adapt the lighting to 'the arena' of each new environment," said van Genuchten.

"We introduced BlackTrax as an operational efficiency and cost saving tool as well as a way of calibrating lighting highlights to track performers on the stage area. Blac

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Australia - Circus Under My Bed, performed by the Flying Fruit Fly Circus, presented at The Sydney Opera House as part of the Summer At The House season, was lit in style by Sian James-Holland and programmed by Matt Tweddle on a grandMA2 full-size.

Circus Under My Bed provided family entertainment in a linear narrative, following the simple storyline of a young girl preparing to move away the next day. Adventures ensue when magical imaginary friends with an amazing range of physical skills visit her to help pack.

The lighting design was delivered on a tight deadline and had to share a lighting rig with another circus company who use the space in a completely different way with a very different style of show. The production was playing in repertory in the studio theatre with La Soiree performing in the evening. Repertory poses difficulties for many producti

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Belgium - Belgium based entertainment engineering specialists Wicreations combined their expertise and skills to develop and build a dynamic and sophisticated special performance structure, complete with a full motion control solution, to facilitate a spectacular show featuring 37 international artists including 11 aerial performers.

The show, Odyseo, was devised by artistic director Pascal Jacob to commemorate the 150th anniversary of world leasing Belgian chemicals and plastics manufacturer Solvay. Fifteen performances took place over 10 days in a special tented venue installed at the Solvay Campus HQ in Brussels.

Brussels based Y. Services handled all the artistic, technical and show production and scenography under the direction of Yvon van Lancker, well known for his work with Cirque du Soleil founder Franco Dragone in Las Vegas.

Wicreations was approached by Yvo

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UK - London's Royal Albert Hall used their Jands Vista T4 console to provide thrilling lighting for Christmas Spectacular - a festive show collaboration with classic music promoter, Raymond Gubbay.

Christmas Spectacular featured a combination of favourite music classics, breathtaking dance, thrilling lights, sensational lasers and a fantastic indoor firework finale. Special guests included West End star Kerry Ellis and chorister Jack Topping.

Royal Albert Hall (RAH) lighting design and systems manager, Richard Thomas utilised the venue's Jands Vista T4 console to control the ambitious lighting production.

"The vision for my design was to produce an exciting and dynamic light show in conjunction with lasers and pyrotechnic effects, to complement the music, dance, ballet, and vocal performances," says Richard. "The music programme was quite varied,

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USA - What's Thanksgiving without The Muppets? Or Lady Gaga? Or all of them appearing together in ABC's Lady Gaga & The Muppets Holiday Spectacular with guests Sir Elton John, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Ru Paul. It was definitely an occasion to roll out Clay Paky Sharpys and Sharpy Washes.

Lighting designer Tom Beck got a call for the show the Monday before the Friday load in as Lady Gaga was finishing her latest album and time was running short.

"I really wanted to use Sharpys and Sharpy Washes," says Beck who grabbed 20 of the former and 23 of the latter from the inventory of ELS. "It was the first time I had the chance to use the Washes, which I really love. I wouldn't mind trying a whole rig of just Sharpy units."

The set designed by Tom Lenz featured "a lot of curves and arches - it was beautiful," Beck reports. "I put up an arche

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Dubai / Qatar - With three spectacular events, A&O Technology in the role of general contractor, along with its in-house creative department under the leadership of the lighting designer Jerry P. Appelt, was able to close out the year 2013 in style and hit the ground running in 2014.

At the end of November, the lighting specialist bathed the Burj Khalifa in light to mark the announcement that the city had been chosen to host Expo 2020. On 18 December, a magnificent light show in Doha followed to mark National Day 2013, and a further superb lighting spectacle that included a record-breaking firework display on 31 December at the Atlantis, The Palm in Dubai heralded the advent of 2014.

"A&O Technology is now excellently placed in terms of ideas and expertise to participate in shaping the future of the lighting sector," says Marco Niedermeier, CEO.

It began with the n

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USA - Lighting Designer Justin Townsend (Here Lies Love and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson) specified Elation Platinum Beam 5R moving heads for the Broadway musical A Night with Janis Joplin playing at the Lyceum Theatre in New York and was delighted with the fixtures.

A Night with Janis Joplin is a musical journey celebrating the legacy and unmistakable voice of '60s rock legend Janis Joplin. "It's rock 'n' roll so I wanted a lighting fixture that could be featured visibly, as well as one that projects a nice beam," Justin says, who acts as both set and lighting designer on the show.

"It's my first time using Elation and I'm really happy with them. They are bright, have great articulation and the price point is nice; just perfect when you have to watch the budget. They project a great, sharp beam and are really dynamic. They made for a nice a

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UK - The Kings Theatre in Southsea, Portsmouth is one of those Edwardian treasures that are fast becoming a rarity in the provinces. This exquisite example, with its Italian Renaissance style of décor and façade, first opened its doors in 1907 and has seen the likes of Sarah Bernhardt, Noel Coward and Ivor Novello grace the stage. As a centre for arts and entertainment, it has served the audiences of Portsmouth and Southsea faithfully ever since.

Fast forward to 2013 and the Kings has successfully moved with the times, upgrading and modernising its facilities without losing any of its original charm and theatrical heritage, not always an easy balancing act as technical manager, Nick Benjamin explains. "The time had come to replace our house followspots - the inclusion of new moving light fixtures on our rig meant our old models were simply not bright enough to do th

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Brazil - DJ David Guetta completed an incendiary nine-date Brazilian tour in January, which saw Robe moving lights on the spec for most of the shows.

Guetta's lighting is designed by Jonathan 'Leggy' Armstrong - well known for his imaginative and stylish shows which have graced several leading dance acts including Basement Jaxx. The touring team works with entirely locally sourced productions wherever they play, and lighting on the road for this leg of the ongoing world tour was overseen and operated by two lighting directors - Alex 'Junior' Cerio of Smash Productions and Sam MacLaren of LightLab - both also LDs in their own right.

Between them and the video visuals produced by Ben Brett's Pilot video control system, operated by Nick Briggs, Guetta gets a dynamic world class show wherever he plays.

This is also a very exciting and refreshing way to work, fusing structured el

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Denmark - Globally renowned chef Claus Meyer has recently opened The Standard, a live jazz and restaurant venue in Copenhagen, Denmark. The jazz club features a compact, self-powered Meyer Sound UltraSeries loudspeaker system installed by Kastrup, Denmark-based Stouenborg.

"The Standard has a small, powerful, and flexible system that offers excellent dispersion and reproduces sound perfectly," says Anders J°rgensen, project manager and sound designer for Stouenborg.

The installation in the 68-seat club combines two UPJ-1P VariO and three UPM-1P loudspeakers with one UMS-1P subwoofer. Performances are mixed on a Roland V-Mixer mixing console, and musicians use DPA microphones.

"We considered a number of options, but the combination of UPJ-1P and UPM-1P loudspeakers best provided the necessary audio fidelity and visual unobtrusiveness," says J°rgens

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Russia - Reminiscent of one of the lighter scenes in Taratino's classic Pulp Fiction, the Pink Cadillac restaurant in Moscow city centre has exactly that, a beautiful nineteen fifties model, all fins and chrome, sat right in the middle of the room. This is the real deal; dancing, singing waiter bring burgers and milkshakes to your table in this immersive retro dining experience. Yet for all this glamour the building used to be a garage so when AE Consulting first came to remodel the room the acoustic environment was one of their primary concerns.

"We faced a real challenge," said Alexander Evstratov, AE Consulting director general. "In our line of work we focus on quality rather than quantity, so to neutralise the reverberation of the room and other unwanted acoustic artefacts, required the lightest of touches architecturally speaking. To complete the fifti

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Sheffield triumphs - Sheffield Theatres has been named the best regional theatre for the second year running at the Stage Awards. The organisation, which runs the Crucible and Lyceum venues, was recognised for its range of new shows in the past season, such as its stage adaptation of The Full Monty.

The entertainment industry newspaper's 2014 awards also saw Hampstead Theatre named London theatre of the year. Michael Grandage's company was named producer of the year. The Donmar Warehouse's former artistic director was praised for his inaugural West End season, which featured the likes of Daniel Radcliffe, Jude Law and Dame Judi Dench and offered £10 tickets.

The prize for school of the year went to the National Youth Theatre, which provided free training to young people in 2013. London's Southwark Playhouse was named best fringe theatre, while the annual &q

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