China - At Shanghai's Prolight + Sound last month, Proel staged a seminar on professional audio and, in particular, on its Axiom and EDGE Systems.

Remo Orsoni, Proel's sound reinforcement product manager reports: "We were in Shanghai to support our new Chinese distributor, AHM, and we were pleased to hold a seminar that would give us the opportunity to go into depth on several technical aspects concerning our professional systems in front of an audience that was attentive to the tiniest detail."

(Jim Evans)

UK - TC Group International (TCGI) has announced that Scott Wakelin has joined as sales manager for installed sound products in the UK and Eire markets. Wakelin has spent over 15 years as an AV sales and installation manager, most recently as installation sales manager at UK based Dimension Audio. Previous positions include sales manager at Marquee Audio, as well as stints at Crest Audio and Renkus Heinz.

"I am thoroughly delighted to join TCGI as UK installation sales manager," says Wakelin. "It gives me the opportunity to work with many of the most highly regarded and

USA - For more than three decades, the Meadowlands has been a part of life for New York area football fans. When plans were begun to replace the aging arena, some fans were surprised to learn that, rather than a modern domed structure, the new stadium would be built in much the same traditional open-bowl style as the old one.

But while the aerial view of the New Meadowlands Stadium is reminiscent of the original Meadowlands, the similarities stop there. The new stadium is bigger and better in every way, including a host of powerful new A/V and broadcast technologies.

One of the more

UK - Adlib Audio has purchased an L-Acoustics KARA modular WST line source system. The new system, together with Adlib's K1 and KUDO cabinets, left the Liverpool-based rental company's premises immediately on Doctor Who Live, which has been touring the UK during October and November. This was also the first tour for K1, which Adlib purchased back in the summer.

The show stars Doctor Who monsters including the Daleks and Cybermen, and features Matt Smith as the Doctor and Nigel Planer as 'intergalactic showman' Vorgenson. Special effects, optical illusions and pyrotechnics accom

UK - POLARaudio has been appointed as Pro AV distributor in the UK and Ireland for SurgeX surge protection products.

SurgeX Advanced Series Mode technology completely eliminates surge energy without the use of any sacrificial or diversionary components and does not contaminate the safety ground. SurgeX offers a complete line of AC power solutions, all of which carry a 10 year warranty.

POLARaudio's technical director Jon Dew-Stanley said, "Polar Audio is delighted to represent SurgeX whose Advanced Series Mode Technology is superior to any conventional MOV or MOV-Hybrid product

UK - Ofcom is calling on licensed wireless microphone users to register for a Government funding scheme set up earlier this year to help pay for the replacement of channel 69 equipment. This equipment will stop working in 2012. The scheme closes on 31 December 2010.

Countries across Europe are clearing a block of frequencies to make way for new services like next-generation mobile broadband. Part of this block - called channel 69 (854-862 MHz) - is used by wireless microphones.

Replacement frequencies for channel 69 have been made available in channel 38 (606-614 MHz) as well as oth

Germany - The end of October saw the sixth Dynacord Pro Sound Academy of the year in Straubing. Hosts Martin Traut (senior product manager, Dynacord), Frauke Jungbluth (sales manager, Dynacord Europe) and Irmgard Danner (sales manager, Dynacord Eastern Europe) were pleased to welcome to the Academy 23 participants from 11 different countries.

The two-day event included a presentation of the new PowerMate powered mixer and practical 'hands-on' sessions with Dynacord systems like the new Corus Evolution series, the D-Lite powered systems and the DSP 600 FIR-Tune system controller.

Pro

UK - Martin O'Donnell (MOD) has been promoted to director of sales at HHB. A key member of the HHB team for more than 22 years, MOD will continue to report to Steve Angel who moves up to group sales director - a new position with responsibilities for the sales performance of HHB, its Soho-based subsidiary Scrub and its distribution division, Source.

Effective from 1 December, the move precipitates a further reshuffle of the HHB sales team, while also creating new positions which are expected to be filled in the near future.

Nikki Kalsi is promoted to manager, broadcast & SI sales, f

Switzerland - ARX Systems, the Australian manufacturer of digital and analogue interface and signal processing products has announced the appointment of Lausanne-based Amplitude Audio as its new distributor for Switzerland.

ARX managing director Colin Park comments: "We're excited to be working with Chris and his team, they're enthusiastic about the possibilities for ARX and our products amongst their extensive client base.

"Amplitude Audio is a focused company who are in close contact with Swiss audio professionals in the live sound, broadcast and installation markets, wh

Australia - Canadian singer Sarah McLachlan brought an abridged version of her Lilith Festival to Australia in October, the first time the female-only festival tour has been staged outside North America.

Lilith Festival was founded in 1997 after McLachlan became frustrated with concert promoters and radio stations which refused to feature two female musicians in a row. In Australia local acts Kate Miller-Heidke and The Verses joined her for the five concert tour.

Jands Production Services provided the audio equipment and crew for veteran front of house engineer Gary St

Kenya - Kenya Music Week, which runs from 9-12 December, will provide an opportunity to take stock of the African pro audio and music scene. Around 50 leading African dealers and distributors will be presenting their wares at the Sarit Centre Expo Hall in Nairobi.

As well as an extensive range of seminars and workshops, a diverse concert and entertainment programme will be among the major attractions of the event. In addition to established stars from Kenya and beyond, such as Abbas, Holy Dave, Sisko and Pili Pili, several hundred up-and-coming acts are scheduled to appear.

Electro-

USA - Crown Audio has been approved for conformance of quality assurance in accordance with the International Organization for Standards (ISO) 9001:2008. Operating at such standards allows Crown to respond more quickly to marketplace and customer demand while maintaining consistently high levels of quality in all facets of its amplifier production.

Commenting on what ISO 9001:2008 registration will mean from the end-user's perspective, Marc Kellom, director, marketing for Crown stated that customers can purchase Crown amplifiers with increased confidence. "It is reassuring to hav

UK - Denon DJ has announced the availability in stores of two of the new products shown at this year's DJ Expo and BPM exhibitions: the DN-SC2000 TRAKTOR Pro compact controller and the high performance DN-X600 2-channel digital mixer.

An affordable, professionally spec'd and constructed MIDI controller for Native Instruments TRAKTOR Pro, the Denon DN-SC2000 is a serious portable control solution for laptop DJs. Its dual layer system, enables simultaneous switchable control of both TRAKTOR decks, with visual deck colour change. Connecting to Mac or Windows PC via a single USB2.0 interf

USA - Intelix has announced the release of the DIGI-VGASD-8X8e, a professional-grade switcher which combines Intelix's twisted pair extender technology with a comprehensive audio/video matrix.

The DIGI-VGASD-8X8e provides eight analogue VGA video inputs and eight stereo audio inputs which are distributed in any combination to eight twisted pair outputs. In addition, the matrix interlaces bi-directional RS232 and IR commands onto the same twisted pair cable, thereby allowing the remote control of the audio-visual destinations connected to the matrix. All of the video, audio, and contro

Europe - Peavey Commercial Audio has announced an exceptionally busy and productive summer/autumn season with a number of MediaMatrix/NION training courses and seminars that have been held across Europe and the Middle East in recent months, and the promise of more to be scheduled throughout 2011.

Since August this year, courses have been held at Peavey Italia in Ancona; at Peavey's distributor in Jeddah, Abu Moammar; at Saudi Media Systems in Riyadh; at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon and at Peavey Europe HQ in Corby. The courses are designed for consultants, prog

France / South Africa - Digigram has signed a distribution agreement with South African pro audio/AV specialists, Wild & Marr.

Established in 1944, with offices in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, Wild & Marr is one of the leading distributors of audio equipment in Southern Africa. Managing director Joe Copans comments, "The brands represented by our company are universally accepted as leaders in their respective categories. Digigram's state-of-the-art sound cards and IP audio equipment are therefore a perfect complement to our current brand portfolio."

Sébastien

Thailand - Distributors from China, Korea, Philippines, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand also came together for the region's first Allen & Heath product development meeting. Distributors were shown the latest Xone products and given exclusive access to forthcoming lines. The distributors were also encouraged to contribute their own ideas on what products Allen & Heath should develop for the growing Asia/Pacific markets.

The distributors, local Thai Xone dealers and invited guests were treated to a demo including the Xone:DX and featuring the new

UK - One of the highlights of Pope Benedict XVI's recent visit to the UK was an open air Mass and the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman, held at Birmingham's Cofton Park. The event, which was attended by 52,000 pilgrims, had a requirement for an extensive sound reinforcement system plus a custom designed induction loop system, the largest temporary system ever designed by manufacturer Ampetronic.

Making this type of provision is unusual at outdoor events. However, the decision was taken to supply such extensive induction loop coverage because production company WRG and the H

UK - The first Midas PRO3 live audio system to roll off the production line has been sold to the Rambert Dance Company as its touring console. The PRO3 replaces the company's Midas H1000, which was coincidentally also the first in production. The sale was made by LMC Audio's sales manager JP Cavaco.

Rambert is known for its use of live music and is the UK's only contemporary dance company to tour with an orchestra, performing a wide range of contemporary and classical repertoire, some composed specifically for the company.

"The music side of the shows is now playing a larger ro

France / Germany - Analog Way has announced the opening of Analog Way Deutschland, a new direct sales office based in Germany.

Analog Way Deutschland will provide sales operations, training facilities and first level technical support for Germany and Austria.

To lead the office and expand the presence of the brand over the territory, Analog Way has appointed Steffen Herzer as area sales manager. "We are glad to welcome Steffen within the Analog Way sales team. His experience of the German Pro A/V market as well as his professionalism will be major assets to develop our relation

UK - Birmingham-based rental company Pacific Sound & Light has notched up another successful audio production for The Drifters on their current UK tour, choosing a Roland M-400 digital console to handle both front-of-house and monitor control.

In the two years since Pacific's Paul Duffy took the decision to adopt this digital workhorse, the company has run more than 160 gigs with the Roland M-400 - "In all sorts of environments, this desk has not let us down. It's easy to use, gives us everything we want, works every time, sounds great and has the smallest footprint practically o

UK - John Hornby Skewes & Co has announced the appointment of Richard Morgan as media relations coordinator. A journalist, Morgan will be working as part of the JHS marketing team.

Most recently, Morgan spent 18 months in Berlin as an editor at Communication Director magazine. He has previously lived and worked in the UK, France and Germany. "As someone who has been into music since a very young age, it's great to get the chance to work with musical instruments and fellow music fans on a daily basis," says Morgan. "I'm looking forward to my new role and getting to know

Australia - The 2010 UCI Road World Championships held recently in Geelong was the largest cycling competition Australia has ever hosted. The world championship is the marquee event for the Union Cycliste International (UCI) and is second only to the Tour de France in terms of importance and prestige in international cycling.

Geelong-based Total Events Co was given the task to provide audio requirements for the Championship's nine event precincts.

"We had 14 different systems over nine sites for the Championships and it was a total Jands-fest," reports Bill Busbridge, mana

China - Faye Wong is one of China's most popular icons, and arguably the most famous female Chinese-language pop singer of all time. She is also one of the most offbeat. Famed for her reserve, her effortless "cool" and her fierce independence, Wong received over seven million votes in a government web portal's online poll on 'The most influential Chinese cultural celebrity of the last 60 years', second only to Wong's own personal idol, the deceased Taiwanese singer, Teresa Teng.

Wong has recently embarked on a national 'comeback' tour after a five-year break from performing.

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