Italy - The 2016 On Stage Awards for best live music were presented during a ceremony held on 18 March, which was broadcast on Rai 2 and Italian Radio 2. The hosts of the Tim Music On Stage Awards 2016 were Nicola Savino and singer Malika Ayane was the presenter..

Viewers and listeners voted on the Internet for the best Italian and international leading artists who performed in major concerts, tours and festivals held in Italy during the year. Their votes were combined with the decision of a jury of experts.

The spectacular live event was illuminated with Clay Paky lights on a rig set up by lighting designer Giovanni Pinna. The rig featured 62 Mythos units, 32 Sharpys and eight Alpha Beam 700s.

"The Mythos units are really very versatile. I used them as the main fixtures on the lighting rig to illuminate both the audience and the stage. They were the most used lights:

USA - Twelve Miami is a club that focuses on promoting live concerts every weekend in addition to hosting various electronic nights and other cultural events. Since its opening in February 2016, notable artists that have appeared at the club include Chino y Nacho, Farruko, El Gran Combo, El Binomio de Oro, Caramelos de Cianuro, and many others. To ensure the best audio reproduction for a wide range of events, club management wanted a versatile sound reinforcement system, which they found with components from the Event, Artec, and Vantec Series catalogues of Valencia, Spain-based D.A.S. Audio.

PA Sound and Solutions Corporation of Medley, FL coordinated the transaction for the newly opened Twelve Miami. Leandro Arguello, the company's sales manager, discussed the project and his decision to deploy loudspeaker systems from D.A.S. Audio.

"Since the club regularly hosts a lot

USA - For the first 36 years of its existence, the Wichita Riverfest was held in May. Then in 2011, after rain put a damper on successive festivals, the event's organizers figured that moving it to June might change their luck. How right they were. Attendance has risen steadily since the rescheduling, ultimately breaking a record this year when a crowd of 450,000 visitors turned out for the nine-day celebration -- not a bad draw, considering that Wichita's population is 390,000.

A key attraction at the festival was the main concert stage, which featured 29 different bands performing under the light of an Erich Meitzner-designed rig that featured a collection of Rogue fixtures from Chauvet Professional, supplied by Parr Sound and Lighting of Great Bend, KS.

Meitzner positioned four Rogue R2 Beams on mid stage truss and four additional units on upstage truss. He also flew ei

Portugal - Rock in Rio was staged in Lisbon's Bela Vista Park where NEXT-proaudio deployed LA212x on EDP Rock Street as well as on Street Dance for the first time.

The system consisted of six LA212x along with six LAs418 Double subwoofers ground-stacked on each stage, complemented with PX System as side-fill on Street Dance. Ten active stage monitors Lam114xA and two HFA108 provided front-fill on EDP Rock Street.

According to Carlos Cruz, the sound engineer for EDP Rock Street, "The system provided consistent coverage and clarity from front to back of the audience."

(Jim Evans)

UK - Every summer, Garsington Opera offers a programme of innovative operatic work. Beginning life at Garsington Manor in 1989, it has run annually ever since, moving to the Wormsley Estate in 2011 which is its current home. The 2016 season features four productions from some of the most renowned composers of all-time and White Light has been called upon to provide the lighting equipment for the tenth year running.

Running from 3 June - 17 July, this year's season includes Eugene Onegin, L'Italiana In Algeri, Idomeneo and The Creation. The senior production electrician on the show is Sam Floyd on behalf of Floyd Technical Services.

"My role on the season is to work alongside the lighting designer and make their vision a reality," says Floyd. "This year was slightly different in the respect that we had three designers: Malcolm Rippeth, Giuseppe d

UK - Aurora Lighting Hire once again headed for Worthy Farm in support of lighting director Oli Richards and gaffer Sam Madden as broadcast partners during the BBC's extensive coverage of Glastonbury 2016.

Covering a number of broadcast areas throughout the festival, the Aurora team were on site taking care of the BBC live studio and link interviews, so flexibility and portability have been high on the lighting list.

In the main studio area, LD Oli Richards chose Mole Richardson Mole Fay's to add some tungsten warmth along with an array of tungsten festoon that helped complete the festival friendly look. For a little more power, colour and versatility Martin Rush PARs were also included in the installation. Aurora also supplied LED ribbon which was been woven into the set design for a bit of extra magic.

To meet the need for portability and ease of use, Bi-Colour Lite

UK - PRG XL Video, the UK operation of PRG, LLC, has announced a significant investment with Area Four Industries UK to upgrade its hoist stock with EXE-Rise units.

In a continuing commitment to update its inventory with the latest rigging, lighting, and video technology, PRG XL Video has purchased a large number of the new EXE-Rise 8:1 range of chain hoists to update its rental offering.

The selection of the EXE-Rise units followed extensive evaluation of different hoists by a team of PRG XL Video's rigging experts including Chris Walker, Account Director, Q Willis, Head of Rigging Services, and Richard Gorrod, Head of Event Services.

This new version evolved from the already successful EXE-Rise electric chain hoist family and is designed with a WLL of 1000kg and a safety factor of 8:1. This new model includes all the key features and more of the existing product rang

UK - Young Technicians - a new learning programme for young people at Lighthouse, Poole's centre for the arts - has been hailed as a "great success and a valuable experience that has improved participants' chances of working in the industry".

The course is part of the innovative Young Programmers scheme at the heart of Lighthouse's learning and participation strategy that over the next four years aims to develop the next generation of talented arts practitioners.

The first intake recently completed a six-month pilot, making use of the existing workforce at Lighthouse to gain creative, hands-on learning experiences.

"It was a unique and fulfilling experience that you don't get in many other places," said one Young Technician. Another added: "The best part was the freedom and opportunity to put what we had been learning into practice, it allowed us to test ourselves and

South Africa - Blond Productions was involved, for the third consecutive year, to supply the full technical for the televised competition Clash of the Choirs held at Global Access Studios in Johannesburg. Mauritz Neethling from Blond was responsible for the lighting design, having control via a grandMA2 light. He also used a MA VPU plus MK2 (Video Processing Unit).

Filmed for Mzansi Channel on DSTV, the competition saw seven celebrity choirmasters assemble amateur singers who went head to head at the Clash of the Choirs. The competition kicked off at the end of 2015, with the finales held in April 2016. This meant the entire rig - the set designed and created by Dream Sets - had to come down and be put up again.

"Dream Sets cleverly created an arena type set which really enhanced the visibility of the choir," said Neethling. "The competition had used the same

UK - An Allen & Heath dLive mixing system was recently installed at Zion Christian Centre in Halesowen after a major fire gutted the church's auditorium and destroyed the existing PA system and console in August 2015.

Supplied by Wigwam Acoustics and installed by Midlands-based AV company Centrepiece Productions (whose MD Gareth Davies is a member of Zion Christian Centre), the dLive system consists of a S7000 console and DM48 MixRack supplemented with eight Allen & Heath ME-1 personal monitoring mixers and a ME-U hub.

"Wigwam initially supplied us an Allen & Heath QU-32 digital mixer to get us up and running after the fire in August," explains Davies, "and I and the other sound team volunteers - none of whom are professional engineers - took to it very quickly.

"So when it came to investing in our permanent system it made sense to stick to the Allen & Heath brand and

USA - When Meytal Cohen, the drummer for and founding member of the heavy metal band Meytal, set out on her US tour, she wanted to go big and provide fans with superior audio quality at each venue. In order to achieve the huge sound she was looking for, Cohen turned to DPA Microphones' d:vote 4099D Instrument Microphones to amplify her drum set.

In 2009 at the age of 20, Cohen moved to Los Angeles and studied percussion at the Los Angeles Music Academy. That year, Cohen and some friends recorded a metal violin cover on video of System of a Down's Toxicity, which she then posted on YouTube. A few months later, the video had three million views and Cohen decided she was going to shoot and post 100 more drum covers to see what happened next. Five years later she has more than 120 videos, 140m views and 900,000 subscribers on YouTube, and more than 1.4m likes on Facebook.

UK - The Gus Dudgeon Foundation and JAMES have announced that their Post Graduate Summer Course will this year be taking place between 11 and 15 July at Leeds Beckett University.

The fourth Summer Course since its inauguration, this year sees producer Mark Hutchinson tutor 12 top-graduating students from JAMES accredited music technology and production courses through 5 days of recording on both analogue and digital systems.

The students will also benefit from the attendance of Ken Scott as 'host' at Leeds Beckett. Widely known for his work with The Beatles, Elton John, Pink Floyd, David Bowie and Supertramp, Scott will be 'dropping in' during the week and to award the student prize at the end of the course.

Universities represented by students are De Montfort Leicester, Abertay, Huddersfield, Hertfordshire, Anglia Ruskin, Lincoln, New Bucks, University of South Wales,

UK - The Vision 2016 event in Bristol again turned to Central Presentations Ltd (CPL) to deliver full technical production for this two-day inspirational conference, which was attended by 350 delegates who were motivated and engaged by 25 energizing talks from leading creatives and innovators.

Hailed as the most successful Vision to date, the event was staged in the Anson Rooms at Bristol University's Student Union building. CPL was working for production company Bright and has been involved in the event for the last four years. This year project manager Mike Radford ensured that everything ran smoothly on site, integrating elements of the venue's house lighting system where possible into the event design.

In the main room, normally used as a live band stage, they added a laser projector system utilizing a 16 X 9ft screen fed by one Panasonic RZ12k laser projector, with a

South Africa - The Hanuman Chalisa is the most popular hymn chanted in praise of the Hindu deity Hanuman. Recited daily by Hindus throughout the world, the 40 verses of this devotional mantra are an immense source of energy, focus and vitality for both the body and mind. The power and vibrancy of this ancient ritual were reflected recently by a vividly coloured lighting design, created by Shaniel Laloo, using a collection of Rogue fixtures from Chauvet Professional.

Laloo of JYM Sound Lighting & Staging created his design for a Hanuman Chalisa celebration at the Hindu temple in Laudium, a centre of South Africa's large Indian population. "The Hanuman Chalisa is very important to the people at the temple," he said. "We wanted lighting that would support the ceremony and look good on video."

Using six Rogue R2 Wash moving RGBW LED fixtures and an equal number of Rogue R2 Spo

Ireland - Production Services Ireland (PSI) - a lighting, rigging and visual production company based in Dublin and Belfast has recently made a substantial investment in the new EXE-Rise 1000kg 8:1 double-braked electric chain hoists - the first off the production line in Italy, delivered to PSI by Area Four Industries through Adam Beaumont and are among a total investment in over 50 new motors.

These new hoists went straight out for use on the current UK and European tour of Riverdance.

The history of Riverdance goes back to 1994, when it was an intermission act for the Eurovision Song Contest. It was an immediate hit and quickly gained worldwide recognition. Since that time, it has continuously played to sold out venues and is one of the most successful dance shows in the world.

PSI is now on a fourth tour with Riverdance, supplying all lighting

Spain - Belgian-based engineering and automation specialist WIcreations has designed and fabricated a bespoke rotating system to hold and rotate five large scenic objects for the current Caos tour by popular Spanish singer, Mal

Japan - Nexo's STM modular line array has been chosen by one of Japan's most distinguished sound rental companies as its new flagship PA system. The long-established N & N rental house in Tokyo has expanded its extensive inventory of Nexo products in a move they describe as "inevitable".

Based in Ota-ku, Tokyo, N & N has been supplying sound for a wide variety of special events and concerts in a range of venues for over 40 years. Long-term Nexo users, they have regularly updated their systems, from the Alpha Series and PS Series to the Geo S12 Series line arrays. With the release of the STM M28 compact omnipurpose cabinet, the decision was taken to invest in the new modular line arrays capable of handling large venues (2000+ people) and to market this as N & N's flagship system.

N & N's representative director Mr Sato explains, "The timing was right - when the STM M28 was

Germany - Lighting designer Jerry Appelt recently teamed up once again with lighting director / programmer Marc Brunkhardt, as Hamburg-based dance group, Scooter embarked on their Can't Stop The Hardcore tour.

Visiting venues ranging from 5,000 to 12,000 capacity, the focal point of the stage and set design were five raked pods, loaded with lights and flown above the stage to form a scalable roof - and featuring many of the 65 GLP impression X4 L's (supplied as part of the overall lighting inventory by PRG Hamburg).

Each pod contained eight of the X4 L among the lighting in each of the pods, with another 14 on the front truss to fire into the audience.

The two lighting specialists have worked together frequently, and explaining the choice of fixtures, Marc Brunkhardt said, "As Scooter is a techno act which requires a powerful lighting set we were seeking a high output

Switzerland - The summer of 2016 marks a major milestone for both Montreux Jazz Festival and Meyer Sound. When the Festival kicks off its 50th anniversary edition on 1 July, Meyer Sound celebrates 30 years of collaboration with what many consider the world's most illustrious and eclectic annual celebration of popular music.

"Sound really mattered to Claude Nobs," said Meyer Sound CEO John Meyer, recalling the festival's late founder. "I remember distinctly when he came to me and asked how we could make the festival sound better. He had a curiosity about sound and a real desire to create unique and extraordinary experience for artists and audiences."

The 2016 MJF line-up features a host of luminaries across a spectrum of genres, including Muse, Herbie Hancock, Neil Young, Santana, Quincy Jones, Robben Ford, Slayer and others.

Meyer Sound has a tradition of introducing n

USA - Raleigh, North Carolina-based Alpha Production Group has taken delivery of six Clay Paky Scenius moving head spotlights, which were quickly dispatched on the northeastern and southeastern legs of Lauryn Hill's current tour.

"The day the Scenius fixtures came in were the day they went out for four weeks with Lauryn Hill," says Hayes Twisdale, Alpha Production Group's owner and production manager. "Scenius replaced Viper profile fixtures on the tour. Scenius is an incredible, cutting-edge fixture and we believe having it will set us apart from the competition, which has a lot of older technology in their inventories."

Alpha Production Group provides audio, video, lighting and staging services for entertainment and corporate events. It purchased 16 Clay Paky Sharpys from A.C.T Lighting about 18 months ago and has a pair of grandMA2 Light consoles, which A.C.T Lighting a

UK - Park Holidays is the largest provider of caravan holiday parks in the south of England and has been in operation for more than 30 years following the opening of its first resort near Rye in East Sussex.

Comprising 25 parks, from Devon in the west to Suffolk in the east, Park Holidays hosts thousands of holidaymakers in excellent facilities at extremely competitive prices. From cabaret acts and karaoke to sports bars and bingo, the Park Holidays entertainment offer is diverse and extremely popular with guests.

When Audiologic's Dave Smith was asked to consult with Park Holidays' installers about audio provision for its Bexhill headquarters, his recommendations and Audiologic's careful attention to detail made a strong impression - something that was to have a further-reaching impact in the subsequent months.

Initially, Park Holidays wanted to improve communications

Spain - All Access Staging and Production were asked by the creative team at Black Skull Creative to look at the feasibility of placing a stage in a swimming pool on board the cruise ship TUI Discovery for its launch in Palma, Majorca.

The ship is the latest addition to the Thomson brand of cruise ships. Matthew Bull the sales and marketing manager took the lead on the project. The creative brief included building a stage into the ships swimming pool, as well as a main stage for Jess Glynne to perform on. The installation used the company's Versa stage deck and support structure. This system is designed for speedy construction and de-rig time - perfect for the ships tight build schedule.

The ship was launched on 10 June with a show and naming ceremony created by Black Skull followed by fireworks and a set from Jess Glynne.

(Jim Evans)

Australia - The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is based in the Sydney suburb of Kensington adjacent to the University of South Wales (Australia) and is a high profile self-accrediting training institute for students of the performing arts. It has a great reputation and an interesting alumnae of talent who have made their names in the worlds of theatre, stage, film and TV.

Five years ago, the foyer - a large, airy glass-fronted space that's also used for art and other exhibitions, public displays and meetings - was architecturally lit with an Anolis ArcSource 48 MC LED installation, supplied via the ULA Group, Robe and Anolis distributor for Australia. This transformed the atmosphere and increased the flexibility of the space.

It was followed by an investment in 16 x Robe DLX Spots, a bright LED spot luminaire that outputs similar to a 1200W discharge light-sourc

USA - The electronica artist Brillz (aka Sami Diament) is bent on adding the term Twonk to the lexicon of musical genres.

This aggressive music calls for a hard-hitting lightshow, which is precisely what designers Ethan Kairer, Jim Feeney and Corey Mattonen delivered on the artist's recent tour with help from a collection of Nexus 4x4 LED panels and MVP Ta8 Curve video panels from Chauvet Professional.

The designers used 10 of the Nexus panels and a 12' x 12' wall of MVP Ta 8 panels, all supplied by Zeo Brothers, on the sold-out Brillz Twonk Di Nation Tour to create a visual impression that was as punchy as the artist's 808 kick drums and sub base lines.

"Intensity, brightness and colour were all out in front on this tour," said Mattonen. "We wanted a rig that matched the energy level of the music, so the Chauvet Nexus and video panels fit right our plans. Ethan Kairer

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