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UK - Technical entertainment specialists, Stage Electrics, are participating in The Gromit Unleashed campaign which is happening in Bristol. The company has sponsored a 5ft tall sculpture of the famous dog Gromit named Watch out Gromit designed by renowned cartoonist and illustrator Gerald Scarfe and is one of many such sculptures positioned across the city.

Gromit Unleashed is a new public art exhibition hitting the streets of Bristol for 10 weeks this summer to raise funds for Bristol Children's Hospital Charity, Wallace & Gromit's Grand Appeal. Spearheaded by Aardman, the art trail features 80 giant Gromit sculptures, each individually decorated by an eclectic mix of well-known and local artists, designers and celebrities.

Dan Aldridge Managing Director of Stage Electrics commented, "Raising funds for Bristol Royal Hospital for Children is such a w

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UK - Following the sustained year on year business growth, Sennheiser UK has moved its operation to new premises in Marlow, Buckinghamshire for the first time in 20 years.

Having set up the first formalised office with just six staff in 1990, Sennheiser UK is one of the UK audio industry's true success stories. In 1996, when the company moved to its former office at Century Point in High Wycombe, it had already grown to 26 employees and a turnover of £7.5m.

Now at 72 staff and grossing £45m, Century Point's 6,000 sq.ft of office more than reached capacity therefore the move to its new 15,000sq.ft home in Marlow has provided much needed space for the team as well as the new service facility.

"We have come a long way since our first foray into the UK market," says Sennheiser UK general manager, Phil Massey. "We are very proud of our achievements and

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UK - PRG will be holding a Sale of Used Equipment at the East Molesey office on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 July, 10am-6pm.

Sale items include an extensive range of professional lighting, audio equipment and unused consumables.

(Jim Evans)

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Brit Icon - Sir Elton John is to be the first recipient of a new annual honour launched by the Brit Awards organisers to celebrate major figures in music. He will receive the Brits Icon award at a show in September which will be broadcast later by ITV. The prize has been created by the BPI, the music industry's trade body. It will go to an artist whose writing, recording and performances have made a "lasting impact" on UK culture.

The BPI and Brit Awards chief executive Geoff Taylor said that Sir Elton had "achieved such a level of artistic creativity and originality, critical acclaim, global recognition and popular success" that he deserved to be recognised as a "true icon of our cultural life". Sir Elton has sold more than 250 million records globally. Proceeds from the show will go to the Brit Trust and the Royal Academy of Music, where Sir Elton

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UK - Event production specialist Ethix Management has marked an exceptionally successful 12 month trading period by appointing Doug Maddison to the position of technical director.

The company, which produces a wide range of events from product launches and outdoor festivals to corporate hospitality, has recently undergone a major corporate restructure, and Maddison's appointment is the next step in that process.

Paul Jones, founder and managing director of Ethix Management, explains, "In 2012, Ethix partnered with the Star Events Group to provide technical production, including sound, lighting and power, for the Olympic and Paralympic Torch Relays around the UK. In order to cope with the additional workload, I took the decision to split the company into two separate entities - Ethix Management, to service our existing clients, and the newly formed Ethix Production Service

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UK - ITV's BAFTA award-winning Granada Reports recently relocated their studios into the UK's new MediaCityUK in Manchester. According to programme director Mike Sergeant, "The relocation of the ITV Granada Reports News Studio from its Quay Street site to the 4th floor of the Orange Tower in MediaCityUK presented a fantastic opportunity to feature the view over Salford Quays to the Lowry Theatre and the Imperial War Museum as an iconic backdrop to our regional news programme."

''Operationally this presented a number of technical difficulties" says project manager Dave Wyatt who stated that one of the major tasks was "figuring out a method to control the variable light levels outside relative to the lighting on the news set itself."

Rosco VIEW, a two-part window control system consisting of wide width polarizing panels installed on windows and a

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Brazil - NEXT-proaudio has confirmed that Studio Brasil is now their exclusive distributor for the whole Brazilian market.

Studio Brasil is an established high-end electronics distribution company based in Sao Paulo.

Studio Brasil CEO, Manoel Rodrigues said, "We are very motivated and at the same time very optimistic about the success of this distribution, because we just got back from the factory after 1 week of training and checking all the sound systems and each production step, which greatly impressed us, because the end result is a flawless sound and high quality."

(Jim Evans)

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USA / UK - TAIT has announced the acquisition of Stage Technologies and Delstar Engineering. A statement from TAIT says: "This acquisition sees the merger of the world's market leaders in the field of automation, staging and engineering for the live entertainment industry. The enhanced capacity of the groups provides the ability to offer unrivalled technology and expertise across the globe from locations on the East and West coasts of America, Belgium, Macau, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, China and Australia.

"The increased breadth and depth of the company will provide clients with an extensive palette of cutting edge technologies, which will include eChameleon, Navigator, F:Light, Sculptor toolkit for 3ds Max, plus a comprehensive range of winches and staging solutions for concert touring, theatre, corporate events, film and television and permanent installations.&qu

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Our House Revival - Madness musical Our House is to be revived in a new actor-musician version of the show this autumn. The production will open at the New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich on 24 September, following previews from 12 September, and will then tour the UK.

Written by Tim Firth with music by Madness, the new production is directed by Peter Rowe, with choreography by Francesca Jaynes and musical direction by Dai Watts. Set and costume design is by Mark Walters, with lighting design by Ben Cracknell, sound design by Simon Deacon and video design by Will Dukes and Mike Higgs. Casting is by Debbie O'Brien.

Our House's original production won the Olivier Award for best new musical in 2003. It ran for 10 months at the Cambridge Theatre and was directed by Matthew Warchus. The musical was revived for a UK tour in 2008, also directed by Warchus.

Theatre Fundin

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UK - Voting is now open for the Technical Theatre Awards, with 36 talented theatre workers shortlisted for the 12 'individual' awards, some of whom have been working within their speciality for over 20 years and are already extremely well established within the industry.

Alongside the awards dedicated to extraordinary individuals, four companies and three theatres will go head-to-head for the two company-based awards that are up for grabs: the Hire Company of the Year Award, and the 'Spotlight Accounting' Receiving Venue of the Year Award.

An additional award is dedicated to the theatre that has demonstrated the most effective awareness of venue sustainability and will be chosen and presented by leading industry specialists, :entertaining sustainability.

Voting is open to all members of the theatre industry and organisers are promoting each of the nominee's on the TTA websit

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UK - The world's leading set, costume, props, sound and lighting designers will be in Cardiff this September for the first UK-hosted edition of a week-long international festival showcasing and sharing what their creative skills add to the public's enjoyment of the performing arts.

World Stage Design 2013 is happening in Cardiff from Thursday 5 September, hosted by the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama (RWCMD) and using venues throughout the college as well as spaces in and around Cardiff city centre.

Project leader Sean Crowley, RWCMD's Director of Drama, says, "This exciting event only takes place every four years and global competition to host it is fierce. So, it is a real coup, that Cardiff's bid to bring World Stage Design to the UK - and Europe - for the first time has succeeded. It means that in September Wales will be the stage design capital of the world - th

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UK - Britannia Row Productions Training has been granted the status of Approved Candidate for Accreditation by the British Accreditation Council for Independent Further and Higher Education (BAC) as a Short Course Provider. This is the outcome of an inspection carried out by the BAC prior to Britannia Row Productions Training's opening.

This status allows applicants from outside the EU/EEA for the Live Sound Technology course to apply for Student Visitor Visa in order to attend the course at the company's Training Centre in London, UK.

In July 2013 Britannia Row Productions Training started its first 12-week Live Sound Technology course. The intensive full-time course is the first of its kind and is based on full integration of theoretical and practical training made possible by the dedicated training centre.

The BAC's inspection as the next step in Britannia Row Productions

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USA - The Audio Engineering Society (AES) recently wrapped its 50th International Conference, its first dedicated specifically to audio education. The conference took place 25-27 July, at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where more than 140 educators and industry representatives met to exchange ideas and experiences.

Attendance far surpassed the organisers' initial expectations, with attendees travelling to Murfreesboro from 25 U.S. states and 12 countries, including Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. The event also for the first time included a significant focus on live sound as a component of a pro audio education curriculum, a fact underscored by the event's keynote address delivered by Bob McCarthy, senior education consultant at Meyer Sound, who gave an informative and entertaining presentation on the history of the live sound indus

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UK - Damon Crisp's DAC Pro-Media Ltd has proved that even in recessionary times expansion is possible when the portfolio of products - and the markets they are aimed at - are carefully considered.

Following a period of sustained growth in the Audio Visual, Installation, Education and Commercial sectors - as well as his traditional heartland of MI/DJ - Crisp has announced a relocation of his operation to a new 3600 sq. ft warehouse in Surrey, the recruitment of a further sales rep and addition of a key brand to his burgeoning portfolio.

Explaining the underlying reasons, he states, "Over the past two years DAC Pro-Media has seen growth running at over 50% and now has 'Sole UK Distributor' status with many high profile manufacturers." These brands include Mono DJ Bags, Odyssey Cases, Symphony Acoustics, Panoramic Lasers, Laser Science and Newhank AV products.

In addi

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Japan - Turbosound has selected Sound House to handle distribution, customer support and service for its loudspeaker systems in Japan. The two companies already have a well-established relationship, with Sound House serving as a major distributor of parent Music Group's Behringer-branded MI products.

Sound House sales manager Kotaro Suzuki commented, "We are proud to become an official distributor for Turbosound in Japan. We will put all our effort into making Turbosound a well known name in music circles throughout Japan."

"We are delighted to be working with Japan's foremost distributor of music products," said Nigel Beaumont, head of Music Groups's Professional Division. "We are convinced that our live sound and installed sound products - including the new Milan series of portable powered loudspeakers - will fit perfectly within the Sound House port

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On The Fringe - The largest arts festival in the world, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe has got underway.The 2013 Fringe programme features 45,464 performances of 2,871 shows in a total of 273 venues across the city.

Family Affair - A Merseyside festival organiser has said he is "over the moon about getting not one but three" of reggae legend Bob Marley's sons to play. Liverpool International Music Festival's Yaw Owusu said it was a "real coup" to have Damien, Stephen and Julian Marley at the event. The brothers will appear at the Sefton Park event as part of the Ghetto Youths International Crew.The group, which includes Stephen's son Jo Mersa, will play on 25 August.

Face Value - The National Portrait Gallery in London is to host the first UK exhibition of portraits by Bob Dylan. A series of 12 pastel works, a mix of real and fictitious

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UK - Azule Finance, a leading expert in finance, leasing and solutions for the lighting and audio markets, will be exhibiting at PLASA for the first time this year. Azule has seen unprecedented demand in the lighting and sound industry in the past 12 months, having financed over £1 million of kit in 2013 for the festival circuit alone, and PLASA 2013 gives the company the opportunity to showcase the financing solutions it has to offer.

Gavin Scott, sales director at Azule commented on the significance of Azule's inaugural presence at the show: "Having become a member of PLASA earlier this year, it was a natural step for us to attend the event with a greater physical presence to increase our visibility within the industry. PLASA's well established as a landmark event for the live sound and lighting sectors, which are key markets for us. Our decision to exhibit this yea

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UK - PLASA London 2013 has confirmed that Robe Lighting, Martin Professional Lighting, Clay Paky and Roland will sponsor this year's show. Over 12,000 people have already registered to attend PLASA London 2013, which takes place at the ExCeL Centre, London from 6-9 October 2013.

For the second year, the Platinum Sponsor is Robe Lighting, the Czech manufacturer of innovative, high quality moving lights and digital lighting products for the professional entertainment & leisure, architectural and themed environment industries. Josef Valchar, general manager, Robe Lighting said, "Our company philosophy is centred around working as closely as possible with our business partners and end users, listening to their needs, thoughts and wishes in order to understand their markets. PLASA London is an essential event for us as it provides the ideal opportunity to meet many of them in pe

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UK - Adding to the growing list of new exhibitors at PLASA this year is uTRAC, an online scheduler and workforce management software aimed at providers of short term labour onto projects in live events, security, hospitality and catering.

Born out of the event sector and launched to the market in January 2013, uTRAC is currently working with companies Aikens Promotions and Knight Rigging Services. The software has become integral to ensuring events runs smoothly, allowing clients to stay on top of the essential back office administration involved with assigning staff to jobs, greatly reducing errors and hassle. uTRAC streamlines all the financial and administrative functions including wages reports, client invoices, and business reporting.

Ronan Moore, managing director at uTRAC started out as crew member at Event Services Ireland (ESI) before launching uTRAC as an independent

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Sony Withdraws - Sony has dropped its sponsorship of the annual Radio Academy awards after 32 years. The ceremony, seen as the radio equivalent of the Baftas, has presented awards to the likes of Chris Evans, Sir Terry Wogan and Christian O'Connell. This year John Humphrys took home the journalism award for his grilling of former BBC boss George Entwistle over the Jimmy Savile scandal. Sony said it was time to "move on" but gave no other reason for its decision.

The organisers of the event said it would be renamed The Radio Academy Awards and that a new sponsor will be announced soon. Ben Cooper, chairman of the academy, said the ceremony would "continue to celebrate the very best of the UK radio industry". "It is now time for Sony to move on and focus on other areas of the business," said Chris Bowen, from Sony United Kingdom and Ireland. We wish T

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UK - The Beacon Arts Centre, opened in January 2013, is one of the finest new arts venues in the UK. It replaces the Greenock Arts Guild Theatre, which served the area well for more than 65 years.

The Beacon is situated at Customhouse Quay in Greenock, overlooking the River Clyde estuary, with stunning views towards the hills of Argyll and Dunbartonshire. The infrastructure of the new Centre has been carefully designed to accommodate the widest possible variety of uses, comprising as it does, a 500 seat theatre, a black box studio space, three large rehearsal rooms, as well as a bistro and bar.

The main stage itself is one of the largest in Scotland and it is anticipated that The Beacon will become a venue of choice for touring productions of all kinds, as well as providing a first rate facility for local community groups. The first spade in the ground, at the commencement of

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UK - LSi Online has learned the sad news of the death of Derrick Saunders, for many years one of the best-known figures in the UK's professional lighting industry. Derrick passed away on Friday 16 August after a long illness. As sales and marketing director of Pulsar Light of Cambridge, Derrick was a familiar figure from 1970 through until his retirement from the company in 2000. Even in retirement, he remained actively involved with family business Adda Super Cases, alongside his wife Monica.

Derrick's funeral will be on 30 August at St. Andrews Church, Oakington, Cambridgeshire, CB24 3AN. All who knew Derrick are welcome to attend. The family has asked for donations in lieu of flowers to be sent to St. Andrews Church fund.

(Lee Baldock)

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In The Open - A new performing arts consortium formed from six outer-London venues has been launched to tour large-scale outdoor productions within the venues' resident boroughs. The Albany theatre in Deptford, Artsdepot in Barnet and Millfield Arts Centre in Enfield have joined forces with Watermans in Hounslow, Harrow Arts Centre and Tara Arts in Wandsworth to create Circulate, the new consortium. Arts Council England has provided the group with a three-year grant of around £500,000 from its strategic touring programme, which aims to bring more shows to areas in the UK with limited access to the arts.

The group plans to take one major show annually to six high street locations close to each venue, which will be free for audiences to attend. For its first year, Circulate has commissioned London-based Emergency Exit Arts, which specialises in site-specific work, to create

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  4. Gottelier Award 2013 - Recognition for the people behind the products
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  6. Lighting companies support Backstage Academy students
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