Ireland - High Kirk Presbyterian Church in Ballymena has upgraded its PA system with a Martin Audio MLA Mini Multi-cellular Loudspeaker Array, supplied and supported by Ireland distributors, Rea Sound.

After two years of research - visiting trade shows and suppliers, reading specifications and reviews, and listening to systems - it was going to take something special in a speaker system to please the church's technical team; and they found what they wanted in Martin Audio's award-winning MLA platform.

The requirement had been for a complete replacement of the PA system in the 600-ca

UK - Martin Audio has released details of a new book, The Martin Audio Experience. A glossy hardback book featuring nearly 150 photographs, it charts the history of Martin Audio, from its humble yet highly transformative Dave Martin origins right through to the modern day era of MLA.

It has been edited by James King, director of marketing, who said of the project, "It's been a labour of love over the last four months and we've been so lucky to have some really insightful interviews and amazing photographs from our partners covering the Dave Martin era, as well as leaning o

Australia - Lawo's Australian partner Professional Audio & Television (PAT) has supplied, configured and commissioned a Lawo crystal system for Canberra-based community broadcaster 1CMS.

Having previously supplied a single 12-fader Lawo crystal console in 2013, PAT have now supplied further two 12-fader crystal consoles and a crystal base unit frame. The three consoles will be used in the two main on-air studios and one production studio. All three studios are connected to the main Lawo crystal base unit frame via MADI fiber for audio networkability, while the IP control network allow

Norway - Located 200 kilometres northwest of Oslo, the Quality Spa & Resort in Norefjell is a facility designed exclusively for relaxation and recuperation.

Opened in early 2009, the resort nestles serenely into its mountain setting 800m above sea level, taking its visual design cues from the local nature and wildlife. Including 244 hotel rooms plus a further 161 apartments, the resort offers a luxurious range of facilities including an indoor climbing wall, ice rink, ski in-out, spa, pool and restaurant. The resort also leads the way in their use of renewable and environmentally frie

USA - Verizon Wireless is turning up the wow factor in stores and malls around the United States, from their two-story flagship store in Chicago to the Mall of America in Minneapolis, to Houston, Santa Monica, and Boston.

Smaller "Smart Store Plus" locations that include some, but not all, of the new design features of the flagship stores are also making appearances around the United States starting in Seattle.

One of the first video features customers see when entering the stores is the Brand Focal, a video column consisting of over 100 Christie MicroTiles. The feature si

UK - British alt.rock band Dry The River spent the second half of February on a UK tour to promote their latest album Alarms Of The Heart. With budget and space requirements at a premium, a Yamaha QL1 system was the ideal solution for engineer Lee McMahon to mix both front of house sound and monitors.

Last year, Lee and the band decided that the best way of getting consistency from show to show was to move from wedges to in-ear monitors, with touring a console making it possible for Lee to mix them as well as the house sound.

"I had to consider the logistics of carrying

USA - Belying its modest exterior, The Troubadour has featured prominently in the entertainment history of Los Angeles almost since the day it was opened in 1957 by the late Doug Weston.

Showing no signs of slowing down after nearly six decades, the legendary venue, which was named by Billboard in 2014 as one of the top five must-play clubs in the country and by Rolling Stone the year prior as the second best rock club in America, has just become even more attractive to touring artists with a major upgrade of its PA system to L-Acoustics components. Rat Sound Systems, In

UK - When Gary Willn reviewed the varied roster of work being serviced by his long running company, CSR Lighting, he sensed that the versatility of SGM's LED portfolio would not only provide unique solutions for him, but also his many dry hire customers.

The Nuneaton-based company opened their account by ordering a batch of P-5 LED washlights. "I have an enjoyment of outdoor projects and SGM's IP-rated products are wonderful - taking the industry to the next level," he says.

Aside from providing RGBW colour washes of building exteriors he has also found great application o

Germany - After the operator of the Dresden theatre Wechselbad der Gefühle (Rollercoaster of Emotions) ceased operations in May 2014, TW.O GmbH took over the business of the operation, rebamed Boulevard Theatre Dresden. After a four-month renovation, operations in the listed building started again in September 2014.

In addition to the complete redesign of the auditorium, there were also heavy investments in the modernization of the stage and the entire theatre technology. Dutch manufacturer Alcons Audio pro-ribbon solutions were chosen for sound reinforcement.

"After many advi

UK - In response to a recent increase in demand, Stage Electrics has decided to invest in a fifth manufacturing workshop. The already busy manufacturing function assembles a range of products including internally wired lighting bars, facility panels, equipment racks, mains and low voltage cables as well as standard and bespoke stage management desks.

This change in demand has prompted the decision to move the process nearer to the components stock, which will allow the team to cut their current production time by 15% and support the manufacturing department's effort of hitting their o

UK - The new Chroma-Q Color One 100 premium performance LED Par is being utilised on some of Northern Ireland's most prestigious opera and television projects after Belfast-based ACK Productions added the fixture to its rental inventory.

ACK Productions opened for business in 1991 and is a specialist hire company, installer, systems integrator and reseller, offering a wide range of theatrical equipment and services tailored to suit the needs of schools, theatres, venues and live events.

Owner, Alastair Kerr first encountered the Color One 100s at PLASA London 2014, and invested in a

UK - Avolites provided lighting control to Paines Plough's Roundabout which won Theatre Building of the Year at the 2015 Stage Awards. The touring pop-up theatre features lighting controlled via an Avolites Sapphire Touch console running Titan Version 9.

The structure, described as "one of the most exciting new spaces in the country" was praised for its unique portability by the judges. Roundabout shares the honour with The Everyman in Liverpool.

The Roundabout is one of the first venues to utilise Titan Version 9, having had close involvement with the Avolites team. Light

Canada - Winnipeg's striking new Canadian Museum for Human Rights explores the universal concept of human rights with a special emphasis on Canada.

Electrosonic was contracted to do the audio-visual design of the museum's 11 galleries, and subsequently the company directed the AV equipment installation working with local partner Advance Pro. The museum features theatres, interactive touchscreen stations, projections on a digital canvas and hundreds of video clips.

Eleven media partners were involved in the build-out requiring considerable technical coordination by Electrosonic. The

Germany - On 9 June 2015 Stage|Set|Scenery will open its doors. With Stage|Set|Scenery, Messe Berlin and DTHG, the organisers of the event, aim to address the industry's forward-looking international markets. Leading international manufacturers and service providers from various parts of the industry will be attending and showcasing their projects, products and innovations.

International interest in the event is high and exhibitors from the following 19 countries have registered to take part: Belgium, China, Germany, Finland, France, the UK, Italy, Canada, Latvia, the Netherlands, Aus

USA - Northern Colorado Cowboy Church, or N3C for short, is located in a former restaurant building in Lucerne, Colorado. Although a large number of cowboy boots walk through the door every Sunday, N3C is open to everyone. The "Cowboy" in its name reflects the church's down-to-earth attitude. As one might guess, services at N3C are lively and contemporary, with high-energy music complementing colourful sermons.

Although the church originally moved into the converted restaurant with a home-grown PA-on-sticks, N3C aspired to something with much greater musical impact and intel

UK - London-based creative technology expert Realtime Environment Systems Ltd (RES) has provided the media server know-how in collaboration with LM Productions and Mapp3D Producciones for a 'full dome' installation celebrating Mexican culture.

The temporary 25m white dome was constructed at Potter's Fields Park on London's Southbank for two weeks as part of the official Year of Mexico in the UK celebrations. Inside, the Mexican Tourism Board pop-up featured a huge projection mapped dome, where images of the country's rich cultural and natural heritage swirled above visitors' he

UK - Drapes, soft goods and LED special effects specialist S+H Technical services supplied large quantities of silver lame draping for the series and final of ITV's new Get Your Act Together talent show, where assorted celebrities had the chance to let their hidden talents shine by learning and polishing new skills ... and performing live onstage.

The eye-catching set was designed by Patrick Doherty with whom S+H has a long-standing working relationship. Patrick's design was a nod towards bringing a touch of classic 'variety' nostalgia to the performance space . . . but with a

UK - The new addition to Nexo's STM modular line array series, the compact M28, has been installed in La Belle Angele nightclub in Edinburgh.

Nexo has had a long history with the live music venue, which opened in 1992. For a decade, the original Nexo SI 2000 system provided sound for live acts including Oasis, The Libertines and Radiohead. Destroyed in 2002 by a fire which ravaged the Cowgate area of the city, the club's owner, Hafid Mahboubi, has fought a long and hard battle to have it rebuilt.

"After 13 years it was a great feeling to be able to return to the venue we built

Spain - With 85,000 people attending over the course of the four days, the Mobile World Congress (MWC) is the world's largest exhibition for the mobile phone industry. Held annually in Barcelona within the purpose-built arena Fira Gran Via, the MWC is renowned as the industry's forum for launching major technological breakthroughs.

Creative Technology (CT) has supplied various exhibitors at this event over the last nine years with the London office providing most of the equipment used. As CT Spain has heavily invested in new equipment, the 2015 event involved a much larger contributio

UK - Baldwin Boxall reports that Professional Sound Consultancy Ltd has reached Customer Gold Status level. Working closely with Baldwin Boxall for over a decade, Professional Sound Consultancy has gained an exceptional knowledge of the company's systems and products. The Gold Status reinforces the commitment between the two companies to promote, build, install and maintain systems of high quality with exceptional service.

Professional Sound Consultancy Ltd was formed by Katie Bradford and Stephanie France in 2003. The company takes great pride in its staff and employs top quality des

UK - To coincide with National Apprenticeship week, Skills Minister Nick Boles has announced that hundreds more top employers have joined the government's successful Trailblazers programme to design high quality apprenticeships in everything from renewable energy to video games. Within that group are 13 PSA member employers, led by PRG UK, who have been approved to develop an apprenticeship for Live Event Technicians - a role that, according to many employers, has not been successfully catered for by current apprenticeship models.

The Trailblazer scheme will help employers decide trai

Czech Republic - German production house Showem is the latest company to invest in a Nexo STM M28 system, which made its inaugural appearance at the new Skoda Superb launch. Both the car and the modular line array system were unveiled at the Forum Karlin auditorium in Prague, where a stunning new symphony was premiered to 500 invited media guests.

The symphony, performed by a 50-piece orchestra, was written to symbolise a new era for the 120-year-old Czech car manufacturer, and this fresh approach extended to the choice of sound system used at the launch. Showem's technical production

UAE - Lighthouse is one of the most successful and prolific lighting and production design practices in Dubai. Headed by Terry Miranda and his brother Steve, Lighthouse is busy continuously through the thriving events season in the UAE, and also works in other parts of the Middle East.

The Mirandas founded the company 10 years ago in 2003, initially with Terry as an LD and since then have evolved into a complete turnkey design and production house with a reputation for imagination and flair.

Lighthouse invested in Robe products immediately after they set up, and have stayed with the

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