Pharos - Leaderboard - May 2024

Installation

Details
Italy - Located on the coast of the Gulf of Portofino, in Santa Margherita, Italy’s Covo di Nord-Est, or the North-East Lair, has recently undergone an extensive rebuild with a new audio system. Originally built in 1934 as a private residence, the venue quickly became a popular club during the 60s and 70s, and after storms ravaged the venue in late 2018, it has once again opened its doors to the public.
“After the storm in 2018, we undertook a complete rebuild the entire venue,” said Stefano Lo Sardo, owner of Vibra Service and project manager for this build. “But we didn’t just want to rebuild, we wanted to upgrade, and that meant a new audio system that would rise up to the challenge.”
Together with Italian distributor Audiosales, they designed a completely new sound system. Featuring both Martin Audio speakers and subwoofers, the system was supported by

Details
UK - The Parish church of St Giles’ in Wrexham, North Wales, a grade one listed building, is considered one of the finest examples of a medieval parish church in Wales. Built mainly between the end of the 15th and early part of the 16th Century the church annually welcomes around 33,000 visitors through its doors.
Unfortunately, the performance of the sound system no longer met the church’s needs and in 2017 the Parochial church council engaged Richard King Systems to provide a scheme for improving the audio facilities.
With over 30 years’ experience of sound system design in places of worship RKS turned to the Harman Professional product portfolio, distributed in the UK by Sound Technology. Harman’s JBL range of passive CBT column loudspeakers were selected for sound performance and discrete appearance. At the opposite end of the audio chain, AKG microphones w

Details
Portugal - João D'Oliva Monteiro Cine-Theatre in Alcobaça is considered one of the most beautiful in Portugal. The work of Swiss architect Ernesto Korrodi, the building is also of historic importance in Portuguese architecture, combining elements of Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Modernism and Functionalism. Its varied programme covers all forms of international and local music, dance and theatre productions.
Commercial and independent cinema also makes up an important part of the venue’s programming, ensuring the Cine-Theatre has become the main focus of the social and cultural life of Alcobaça and its surroundings.
Following a period of enforced closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, João D'Oliva Monteiro Cine-Theatre joyfully reopened its doors at the start of October for the R'B & Mr.SC concert that marked the opening date of Novo Palco, a festival exclusively ded

Details
USA - Greater Atlanta Christian School (GACS) is a PK-12 Christian school in Norcross, Georgia serving over 1,600 students. Since it was first established over 50 years ago, GACS has earned itself a reputation for utilizing advanced technologies in its quest to further the learning needs of its students. This dedication to providing high quality creative and technical facilities to support its arts and media curriculum, has led the school to invest in three Alcons Audio pro-ribbon sound reinforcement systems for its venues.
The first of the three spaces to be installed with an Alcons system was the Artusa Hall Performing Arts Centre, a former chapel which the school repurposed into a performing arts venue. This included completely rebuilding the interior, adding a self-supporting timber framed balcony, and increasing the audience capacity from 700 to 950. The Alcons LR7 pro-

Details
UK - FIX8Group's virtual events, broadcast and connectivity centre is fully operational for business.
Known as The Hub, it is located at FIX8Group's facility in Greater Manchester and has been designed to enable virtual and hybrid events, shows or presentations to be produced entirely under one roof. Inside, The Hub offers a studio, gallery and master control room, along with competent technical operators.
With all of the technology, systems, processes and talent in one building, The Hub facilitates on-site as well as full remote event production, including capacity for managing signals from broadcast locations worldwide, says the company.
FIX8Group soft-launched The Hub in late summer, enabling a number of virtual events to be successfully generated and managed while significant investments were made to install best-in-class technology. The team says

Details
UK - The exterior of the Southampton Mayflower Theatre brings an extra dazzle of warmth and vitality to a usually busy city centre, illuminated with an Anolis lighting scheme which was installed by Lighting Technology Projects (LTP).
Built in 1928, the venue is a Grade II listed building with a prominent central location and seating capacity of 2300, making it the largest theatre in the South of England.
Anolis products were recommended for the architectural installation to the theatre’s Chief LX Neil Kingston and their head of technical operations, Rachel Fox, by several people, including those running the O2 Guildhall, another leading Southampton live performance venue - which is also externally lit with Anolis - as well as by contacts at cruise company Carnival UK which is headquartered in the city.
With these references, Kingston was confident that Anolis

Details
USA - The Earl and Rachel Smith Strand Theatre began its life as a motion picture house in 1935 in the growing Atlanta suburb of Marietta, Georgia. Over the years, the location transformed multiple times – the theatre’s website notes it was used for “a number of ventures” across multiple decades. But as age caught up with the theatre, it temporarily shuttered in 2002, seeking new renters.
The theatre found new life when a community-led non-profit worked to ‘Bring Back The Strand’ and renovated the space into a full-time public theatre devoted to live performance. It reopened in 2009 after a restoration that reintroduced fantastic red and gold architectural flourishes to the space.
However, the venue still had one challenge: the space wasn’t designed in line with traditional acoustical considerations. Reverberant surfaces and a uniquely constructed balcony

Details
USA - When the leaders at Shades Mountain Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama green lighted a full renovation of the mega church’s 2,700-seat main worship centre, the job of designing and building a modern, upgraded audio system was awarded to Blackhawk Audio.
In addition to quality sound and coverage, Shades Mountain also wanted to ensure that the new system was discrete in that it was contained within a very compact grill cloth area. Blackhawk found the solution with EAW and its ADAPTive line, including its Anya and Anna loudspeakers and Otto subwoofers, as well as its VFR89i Stage Monitors.
“One of the biggest selling points of the EAW ADAPTive speaker system was that in addition to its audio quality and excellent coverage, it also was low profile and would not visually overwhelm the sanctuary,” says Blackhawk Audio president Rick Shimer. “The previous loo

Details
USA - Southcrest Baptist Church has remodelled a former worship centre on its campus in Lubbock, Texas, reopening it as The Venue, a multipurpose space outfitted with a new Solid State Logic Live L200 digital mixing console. The new L200 desk is being used to mix front-of-house, monitors and a live stream of The Venue’s Sunday morning service, which features a five-piece contemporary band.
The new L200, which was put into service in early November, is the third SSL Live desk to be installed at Southcrest Baptist Church. In 2017, the church opened a newly constructed 46,000sq.ft, 1,600-seat Worship Centre on its campus that is equipped with a pair of SSL Live L300 consoles. One manages front-of-house and monitors and the other handles audio-for-video duties, including live streaming and recording.
“We put in a new audio system in The Venue and wanted an SSL board to

Details
USA - In the shadow of majestic Mount Rainier, Experience Church is part of a new generation of houses of worship, a non-denominational Christian church bringing their message to parishioners via modern music and technology. The 500-seat sanctuary welcomes parishioners with upbeat, amplified music and innovative videos.
Installed more than 15 years ago, the church’s sound system was showing its age and in need of an update. Uncertain of the cost and in need of ideas, the church contacted Sumner, WA-based McCauley Systems for advice and consultation.
“I’ve had a long-standing relationship with this church, having designed and consulted on the original sound system about 15 years ago,” reports McCauley Systems principal Ryan McCauley. “Fundamentally the system is still in good shape, with excellent coverage and impact, but many of the loudspeaker components in

Details
USA - When Caesars Entertainment, who operate Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, planned their next expansion phase – Caesars Forum, a new conference centre - they needed a first-class technical infrastructure for site wide multi-signal transmission over this large facility, and opted for BroaMan, the video and data based sister company to Optocore.
Locally based design and engineering specialists, National Technology Associates (NTA) have a long track record working with the Caesars Entertainment family, including LINQ promenade, the High Roller, and many restaurants and venues. Thus, they were again contracted, and as their project manager Shane Snell recognized the building was way too big to run traditional SDI cabling, he instead turned to a BroaMan fibre solution.
The Conference Centre itself measures a massive 550,000sq.ft including more than 300,000sq.ft of flexibl

Details
UK - Exhibition London is a new multipurpose live music and events venue in White City, West London initiated and operated by Broadwick Live and Venue Lab, offering 1400 seated to 2800 standing capacity. It is designed for conferences, exhibitions, gala dinners, awards presentations, location filming and live music events.
Opened in early 2020, Exhibition London’s complete technical infrastructure was specified and procured by consultant and technical production director Simon Jones of SJ-TPM who also coordinated and oversaw all elements of the technical installation and commissioning. Simon had started work on the project in the second quarter of 2019 after having been involved in other Broadwick Live venues.
He chose both Robe and Anolis products to be core house lighting system elements for the main show-space where the spec features 28 x Esprites and 30 x Robe

Details
France - Celebrating all things glamorous, sensual and flamboyant, Folies Bergère is one of Paris’ most revered nightspots. Originally a cabaret music hall and variety-entertainment theatre, The Folies made its mark during the Belle Epoque of the late 1800s with its music hall revues featuring stunning dancers. More recently returning to its musical production roots, the Folies Bergère stage has been graced by famous artists from Charlie Chaplin, Ella Fitzgerald, Marcel Marceau, Frank Sinatra, Charles Aznavour through to Elton John.
This year, the theatre’s impressive programme has been matched with equally impressive audio technology when the Folies Bergère became the first performing arts centre in France to permanently install L-Acoustics L-ISA Hyperreal Sound technology.
The venue’s operating contract is handled by specialist live sound company Potar Hurl

Details
USA - The deep history of Bridgewater Church of the Brethren in Bridgewater, Virginia stretches back into the late 1700s, when the first Europeans migrated into the area. Centuries of branching and growth led to the construction of the church’s current sanctuary in 1998.
The fan-shaped room seats approximately 500 people and is open, inviting, and sympathetically appointed. However, its existing sound reinforcement system (as old as the sanctuary itself) was broken and behind the times. The church's property is on the campus of Bridgewater College, a facility that earlier in 2020 received a Danley upgrade for their chapel.
A member of the church was very impressed and excited about bringing local integrator RTW Media, of Orville, Virginia, into Church of the Brethren to transform their old system. RTW replaced the previous system with a Danley Sound Labs point source

Details
UK - Production Park has announced four senior hires to lead its £7m research and development (R&D) project in Wakefield.
The project, XPLOR, will be used to deliver a support programme to facilitate growth for SMEs across the live events industry, and will be headed up by Jim Farmery, former partnerships lead at Creative England.
Farmery has been announced as XPLOR’s development director and will oversee the day-to-day running of the facility. Upon completion in spring 2022, the site will become one of the UK’s first specialist innovation centres in the live events industry, with sector comparisons being made with the world-leading film and television institution, Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire.
Engaging with organisations and researching opportunities for the facility, Farmery’s role will see him build awareness of the centre, not only with

Details
USA - There is a special joy the production team at Life Challenge Church, Odessa, Texas, takes in putting together Sunday morning children’s services. Creative spirits run a little more freely, and new ideas are explored more deeply in a bid to make bible stories come to life for young worshippers.
“The kids service gives us an opportunity to go a little more outside the box,” said Gabriel Loera, technical director at Life Challenge Church. “We do more immersive and moving fixtures and contrasting colours across the crowd. We use more upbeat and themed EP backgrounds during the full service rather than just during worship. The kids really respond well to the full immersive environments.”
On 18 October, the church gave adult worshippers the opportunity to channel the childhood imagination that resides inside them with a Sunday Nights Kid Service, an event tha

Details
South Africa - The newly refurbished Seabrooke’s Theatre at Durban High School (DHS) is making waves and delighting audiences with one successful comedy after the next. After a seven-month entertainment famine, the theatre was launched with Sylvia, presented by KickstArt Theatre Company, which ran from 23 October to 1 November.
Seabrooke’s Theatre is a 100-seater auditorium used by the schools Dramatic Arts Department as well as by amateur and professional companies and groups. Thanks to a generous contribution by DHS old boy and theatre lover, Chris Seabrooke, a much-needed renovation and equipment upgrade was made possible and commenced at the start of the Covid-19 South African lockdown. The theatre has been repainted, seats reupholstered, a green room/dressing room is currently being built, and on the technical side, a lighting and audio system has been suppli

Details
Thailand - Hotel Indigo Phuket Patong hired audio integrators Mahajak Development to design and install a Harman Professional audio solution that delivers quality sound throughout the property.
Hotel Indigo Phuket Patong is positioned near Patong Beach in the heart of the city of Patong. Located in a touristy area with a property size of 6,400sq.m, the hotel includes 180 guest rooms, a fitness centre, an outdoor pool as well as entertainment and dining amenities. The hotel also marks the first collaboration between renowned hotel companies, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) and Kebsup Group Company Limited.
The hotel required a premium audio system that provides excellent sound across the resort. Meeting those requirements, Mahajak selected a Harman Professional audio solution that includes JBL Professional loudspeakers, Crown amplification, BSS signal processing and

Details
Germany - Martin Audio's German rental partner, Kotsch-Showtechnik from Nessetal near Gotha, recently supplied a sound reinforcement solution for the faithful reproduction of classical music at the Schlosshofkonzert 2020.
In order to meet the COVID-19 requirements, the Gotha Thuringia Philharmonic Orchestra moved for three evenings into the courtyard of the baroque Friedenstein Castle in the City. Here, taking into account the rules of distance, a baroque evening, an operetta gala and a concert with violin and grand piano were able to take place in front of an audience of 400.
Torsten Kotsch, owner of Kotsch Showtechnik, implemented the sound and lighting design with his team and explained the special features required of classical music reinforcement: "The dynamic range of a classical concert is far greater than at many rock concerts,” he said. “Since the concert

Details
Finland - Nestled between two lakes, Näsijärvi and Pyhäjärvi, Tampere is listed on MoveHub’s world’s most popular hipster spots and, with the most saunas in one city, is considered the sauna capital of the world.
The city is also home to the Tampereen Työväen Teatteri (Tampere Workers’ Theatre), fondly referred to by locals as the TTT-Theatre. This is one of the county’s main theatres and its recently updated sound system features L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal Sound technology, chosen both with audio excellence and the future in mind, as well as to address historic localisation issues caused by the venue’s extremely wide stage.
Originally, a standard L-C-R system had been specified for the theatre’s major audio overhaul, until Pauli Molnár, sales manager at L-Acoustics certified provider distributor, Audico Systems Oy, introduced them to the concept of L

Details
South Africa - MJ Event Gear has created an outdoor music concert environment at The Local Bar and Kitchen in Kyalami, no. 66 on the R55 Main Road, for those who want to enjoy good music in a space that strictly complies to the COVID-19 safety regulations. MJ has also set up a venue incorporating sound and lighting at the Bryanston Country Club.
The Local has JOC approval and has been given the green light by the SAPS and the fire marshal. The venue has various seating options available and includes paramedics on-site in case of an emergency, while all tables and chairs are sprayed and sanitized by Gary Love and the Viral Shield team. Patrons entering the venue will walk through a humidifier tunnel (not spray) and endure the usual hand sanitization and a temperature check, while face masks are sold on site.
Mike Jones, the owner of Johannesburg technical supply company

Details
UK - The Sugar Hut nightclub, bar and venue - made famous through its association with reality TV programme The Only Way Is Essex (TOWIE) -returned to TV screens earlier this month boasting a new refurbished look featuring Void Acoustics kit.
The venue has recently been acquired by the same experienced club operator who also owns London super club Studio 338 – a large music and arts venue on the Greenwich Peninsular, and sister club The Bridge (also in London). The team has consistently chosen Void as their audio system of choice for the last decade, starting with their install at Studio 338, which currently boasts a 4-point Air Motion system covering their large capacity multi-room club including one of the largest outdoor terrace arenas in Europe as well as a Loft Room and VIP level.
Sugar Hut has been celebrating 10 years of TOWIE. The venue’s re-opening

Details
UK - Sound Stage Lighting Live (SSL Live) has been busy installing a combination of CDD and Adorn series speakers, BlacklineX and ceiling speakers for use in venues ranging from leisure and hospitality to immersive fitness centres.
The company, which was set up by brothers Elliott and Jack Smith three and a half years ago, had also added a Martin Audio WPC scalable line array to the company’s events subsidiary pre-lockdown.
The brothers are firm believers in Martin Audio. “We liked the clarity of sound, functionality and ease of deployment,” they say. “We also liked the reliability - we have since installed 500-600 installation speakers and there has never been a problem.”
All four Martin Audio commercial ranges feature in Red Fox & Peacock’s new flagship Lytham House, a multi-zone bar/restaurant, occupying a prime position on the coastal resort

Details
Germany - AO Drones’ fleet of drones lit up the sky above Munich’s Olympic Park in October to mark the launch of Deutsche Telekom’s 5G network in the city.
The GPS-guided, 300-strong swarm of drones performed a 10-minute night-sky performance, creating Deutsche Telekom’s logos and messages in white and Telekom’s brand colour, magenta for the video cameras below.
Tasked with creating the launch event, Düsseldorf-based event management company DO IT! brought in their regular production technology partner, AO Creative. They in turn called on their Dubai-based AO Drones team to deliver the state-of-the-art drone technology. Responsible for the overall production design was Jerry Appelt of JALD (Jerry Appelt Licht Design).
The AO Creative team, including show producer Marco Niedermeier, technical director Matthias Meyert, and project manager Tim Klopp, work
  1. LEA amps support themed restaurant
  2. Texas church chooses ADJ LED systems
  3. Yamaha backs live music in Belgravia
  4. Melbourne church installs Martin Audio O-Line
  5. E-V and Dynacord at Faith Family Church
  6. Coda system installed in Danville’s Hope Church
Page 24 of 175
Robe - Large MPU
GLP - MPU - May-June 2024

Latest Issue. . .