Canada - The history of Knox Presbyterian Church in Toronto stretches back to 1820, and it has been in its current building across the street from the University of Toronto since 1909. Its ornate, high-ceiling sanctuary accommodates 550 people.
The AV integration department at local music store Sherwood recently installed a new sound reinforcement system that leverages the pattern control of Danley Sound Labs SBH-Series loudspeakers. The new Danley system keeps energy off the walls and treats congregants to crystal-clear, point-source fidelity.
“We started work on Knox Presbyterian’s troublesome sanctuary after completing several other projects that they were really happy with in other areas of their facility,” explains Craig Ritchie, project manager at Sherwood. “They had some thirty-plus year-old loudspeakers way up in the ceiling that were firing above the seating - just energizing the room, really. During the previous year, they had rented a ground-stack PA, but that came with its own issues. No one could understand anything!”
Ritchie and his colleagues at Sherwood had installed several Danley systems, and they invited the decisionmakers at Knox Presbyterian to listen to another Danley system that Ritchie had designed at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, in Kitchener. Although Ritchie arranged the meeting and demo, no one from Sherwood attended so that the members of the two churches could speak freely.
“Danley technology has provided great solutions for us, especially in difficult churches,” Ritchie says. “The pattern co

USA - An extensive package of ADJ lighting fixtures has been installed in the new contemporary worship centre of First Baptist Church in Stockton. Amongst other fixtures, Vizi CMY300s serve as the main moving head luminaires, creating beam effects and GOBO projections on stage, while COB Cannon Washes cover both stage colour and house lighting duties.
When the opportunity arose for the thriving First Baptist Church in Stockton, CA to acquire a neighbouring building they embraced it to create a dedicated space for their growing contemporary worship services. The church’s leadership worked with local supplier Nor Cal Pro Audio to specify a modern lighting system that would allow maximum flexibility for the space, allowing it to be used both for services and as a community centre.
Headed up by Jorge González, Nor Cal Pro Audio specialises in providing audio and lighting installation services to a wide variety of establishments - but especially churches - throughout the North California area.
“To work out exactly the right moving head fixture for the job,” explains González, “we organised a shoot-out at the church’s new building. I arranged for a number of different lighting manufacturers to bring along their products, and Saul and the pastors decided that the ADJ Vizi CMY300 was the option they wanted to go for.”
González and his team installed six of the fixtures on an upstage truss. This allows them to project Gobo patterns down onto the stage, cre

UK - Technical event production company Sterling Event Group has announced a partnership agreement with multi-purpose Manchester venue, Victoria Warehouse.
As part of the supplier agreement, which commences today (31January), Sterling Event Group will be the venue’s preferred technical production supplier and provide exclusive in-house rigging services for corporate clients across the venue’s wide array of unique spaces.
Richard Bowden, MD of Sterling Event Group, comments: “We are really excited to be back working with the team at Victoria Warehouse, a venue with their strap line ‘We are what you make us’, which for our projects team opens up a world of options for creativity.”
James Cohen, MD of Victoria Warehouse, adds: “We are thrilled to be partnering again with Sterling Event Group for production and rigging, their team have a genuine passion for exceeding client expectations. This combined with their array of in-house services means we can be sure our clients receive the very best experience.”
Sterling Events Group works in partnership with many venues across the northwest and the UK. The company, which marked its 20th anniversary in 2019, has recently added further two warehouses to its Manchester headquarters, and is committed to continue on its growth trajectory throughout 2020.
(Jim Evans)

USA - Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship (OCBF) was founded in 1976 by renowned pastor and author Dr. Tony Evans. Since those early days, the upward trajectory of the church in Dallas has blossomed it into a mission-driven mega-church with nearly 10,000 congregants.
The venue seats around 3,280 people, shaped in a semi-circle, with large balconies and unobstructed sight lines. But as time passes, so too does the efficiency of audio components while the need for increased acoustical quality grows. The bottom line: the old equipment was outdated and no longer up to par. Along with upgrades to its lighting and video systems, installed by master AVL integration firm Clair Solutions, the church determined its best path forward to meet current and future needs was to install a new sound reinforcement system.
“The existing system was installed in 1995, and many of its parts were failing. Even when it worked properly, it wasn’t meeting the needs of OCBF’s more contemporary services,” explains Mike Mason, regional vice president for Clair Solutions’ Dallas office. “When it originally went in, the major requirement was speech reinforcement - most of the music was delivered via organ and choir. What they needed was a brand-new system that would take them to the technological cutting-edge, so they made the decision to gut everything and essentially start over.”
For audio, OCBF’s vision involved grander musical impact, so the engineers at Clair Solutions called on sister-company Clair Brothers for a beefy line array comprised of C15 loudspeakers for main

UK - The Warehouse in Leeds will bring back live music to the fore later this month, building on a legacy that includes performances by U2, Oasis, The Stone Roses and Soft Cell.
Celebrating its 40th anniversary, The Warehouse has had a quarter of a million pound investment into the production infrastructure and now boasts three rooms with a capacity of 600 for live music and 1100 for DJ-led events.
Curated by TEG | MJR, the live music 2020 programme will showcase a mix of touring artists and local musicians on a regular basis, with the first events kicking off later this month.
The Warehouse relaunch weekend will kick off with a live performance from singer-songwriter Badly Drawn Boy on 23 January, followed by two sold out performances from Terrorvision on 7-8 February.
TEG | MJR has added a new L-Acoustics sound system which brings the live and club experience into the modern day. The venue now also has a new Chauvet R2X line of lighting fixtures, covering the entire main room and is accompanied with a new video wall and CO2 jets. In addition, the stage will be suitable for live and club events, with the ability to extend for larger set-ups.
Dan Ickowitz-Seidler, chief operating officer of TEG | MJR, says: “Live music is a huge driving force in any big city and we wanted The Warehouse to showcase a real plethora of events. The venue was built on live music and what better way to celebrate 40 years of The Warehouse than bringing back its roots.
“We’re looking forward to welcoming a credible selection of performers and club

UK - Arena Birmingham is set to be renamed Utilita Arena Birmingham as a part a new partnership with Smart Pay As You Go (PAYG) Energy provider, Utilita. .
Utilita has a growing presence in the UK live events industry, having partnered with a number of major music festivals in recent years including Parklife, TRNSThe city centre venue will take up its new name on 15 April 2020MT, Creamfields, V Festival, Bestival and Camp Bestival – as well as Newcastle Arena (now Utilita Arena Newcastle).
Utilita’s customers are set to receive exclusive access to pre-sale tickets at the 15,800-capacity venue, which has recently hosted the likes of Ariana Grande, Jack Whitehall and Take That, as well as VIP experiences and exclusive ticket offers.
The energy supplier will also use the Arena’s pre-show entertainment areas to get audiences thinking about their energy usage as part of its new #EnergyHigh5 campaign, designed to get 5m UK households to reduce their energy consumption.
As part of the new deal, Utilita will also become a partner of the NEC Group’s other flagship arena, Resorts World Arena on the NEC campus just outside Birmingham City Centre.
Utilita founder and CEO, Bill Bullen, said: “We are thrilled and honoured to have our name above the door of such an exciting and well-known venue. As well as providing our customers with fantastic opportunities to see some world class shows in the heart of the country, this will also help us to deliver our #EnergyHigh5 message to nearly a million visitors a year – and millions more across the

UK - So successful has been the debut of Martin Audio’s new WPS line array on the Eddie Izzard tour that Capital Sound has taken the opportunity to extend its inventory, after winning the bid for the Tim Minchin tour - since the two UK itineraries overlapped.
WPS is the latest model in the Wavefront Precision series, which features scalable resolution for greater flexibility in amplifier management and optimisation of coverage, consistency and control. WPS comprises 2 x 8” LF drivers, 4 x 4” midrange drivers and 4 x 1” exit HF compression drivers loaded by a moulded HF horn which occupies the full width of the enclosure.
In addition to stand-up comedy, WPS this time also needed to reproduce a full band, with the artist’s grand piano supported by brass, keys, bass and guitar, requiring 56 inputs at the sound desk. FOH engineer would be the experienced Dave Roden, who has worked through many generations of Martin Audio PA’s over the years with his regular charges, the Stereophonics (and recently with their lead singer Kelly Jones).
Roden had been asked to seek alternative bids for the tour when Capital Sound’s Paul Timmins intervened. “Dave had possibly been considering another brand solution due to its weight and size when I mentioned the Martin Audio WPS system which I thought would also meet the criteria, when other systems would have been too heavy,” he states. “I told him about the success of WPS on the Eddie Izzard tour and he seemed happy with the solution. Martin Connolly worked up the quotation and we were successful, afte

France - After more than two years of renovations, the celebrated Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris has recently reopened its doors to the public. With the intention of restoring the venue to its original splendour, the project saw the inclusion of an array of products from ETC and High End Systems.
Christophe Leuba - one of the venue’s two lighting managers who assist lighting director Renaud Corler - recognised the potential of ETC Eos consoles after attending an ETC training session. “I loved the event and as soon as I got back to the Châtelet I arranged an ‘Introduction to Eos’ session for our entire team,” says Leuba.
Subsequently, two Eos Ti consoles were installed in the theatre’s control room - one of which is used in the audience during creation phase - and a more compact Ion Xe 20 was chosen for use elsewhere.
Even though decision-making for lighting control and power control was not connected at the outset, the Eos consoles chosen complemented the Sensor3 Power control system selected, with both product families originating from ETC. “It's really convenient to be able to control the dimmers from the consoles,” says Bernard Maby, the theatre’s other lighting manager. “In addition, it’s very nice to have the feedback directly on the desks.”
The electrical room features seven Sensor3 power control racks fitted with 582 modules, plus 24 modules in an additional rack for lighting. The team opted to work in sACN for communication between consoles, dimmers and fixtures.
Technical solution provider Dushow was ap

Croatia - The historic Istrian People’s Theatre (INK) in Pula is now hosting international music ensembles as well as dramatic productions, thanks to a major audio upgrade. It has recently replaced all of its sound reinforcement and monitoring systems with L-Acoustics Syva and X Series technologies, as well as LA4X amplification.
This European venue has had an eventful life. Its origins lay with the much smaller Teatro Nuovo (New Theatre), built in 1854 when Pula was part of the Austrian Empire. That was replaced in 1879 by a much a grander version, which itself has stood the test of time through various governments.
In 2004, the theatre was officially renamed the Istrian People’s Theatre, City Theatre Pula, and is now generally branded as 'INK' (Istarsko Narodno Kazalište). Its main auditorium has a capacity of 699, spread across the main siting area, lodges for spectators on the first and second floor and on the balcony on the third floor.
Miodrag Flego is the sound manager at the venue, and largely responsible for specifying the new L-Acoustics PA. After many years of coping with a very tired audio system that, according to Flego, was poorly specified for a theatre of INK's calibre and quality, the decision was made to invest in new audio infrastructure. The theatre turned to the L-Acoustics distributor for Croatia, Dicroic. “We were looking for something with fantastic sound quality that would also blend in with the spectacular historic architecture,” he explains. “We decided that Syva had the best of both worlds.”
Syva is a

Sweden - ELC Lighting has announced that Stockholm Stadsteater (City Theatre will benefit from a new ELC Lighting network distribution system based around the dmXLAN Node8GBx range of DMX-to-network converters.
The system, including 63 dmXLAN node3 units purchased from ELC Lighting distributor mLite AB via local dealer Intersonic, is being installed across multiple performance spaces as part of the Stadsteater’s technical renovation.
Situated at the heart of the city in the bustling Kulturhuset cultural hub, the Stadsteater is one of Sweden’s most popular theatres, producing up to 40 productions each year on its various stages. Its new ELC dmXLAN system, which operates over Art-Net, sACN and Shownet as standard protocols and offers remote programming and monitoring via ELC’s dmXLAN software, is set to provide a new level of flexibility throughout the site.
The Stadsteater’s main house, where new lighting trusses are soon to be installed, will house seven dmXLAN Node8GBx units, each offering eight fully programmable DMX ports and a dual Gigabit port switch with user interface.
“We wanted to rethink how the lighting consoles send out their sACN,” says Stadsteater technical manager, Tommy Leandersson. “Even if we only have eight full DMX universes from the lighting consoles, we could spread all the outputs on multiple universes so we can use dedicated, fixed universes on every lighting truss. With a standard 8-port node and DMX-splits you are limited within those eight universes - we are not. We can use any universe, wherever we wa

Spain - In a move to a more sustainable future, the Teatro Calderón has chosen to upgrade its lighting systems with ETC products, supplied by the company’s dealer in Spain, Stonex.
Based in Valladolid, the Teatro Calderón has long been recognised as one of the best theatres in the country. It was decided that over the next few years the theatre will renew its lighting equipment in order to allow both LED and conventional luminaires to work together as effectively as possible. In order to do this, the Calderón chose ETC’s power control and entertainment consoles.
ETC’s Sensor3 power control system and ThruPower modules were installed into the theatre, replacing a Smartrack model which was in place for the previous 20 years. The Teatro Calderón now has five Sensor3 ESR3AFN-48 power control racks, filled with ETR15AFR and ETR25AFR ThruPower modules, in addition to Net3 Conductor and Concert to manage the network, and report any faults.
Gio and Ion XE console desks were also selected to control the stage lighting in the theatre. The Eos family consoles offer powerful programming and endless options of color control in an intuitive and simple format. In addition to this, the theatre added an ETCpad which conveniently allows remote control of the luminaires and acts as an accessory for any ETC lighting system.
With the upgrade of ETC lighting equipment, the Teatro Calderón aims to become a more sustainable venue in favour of green technology, that will ultimately reduce its energy costs by up to 80%.
(Jim Evans)

USA - Situated in the heart of New York’s Times Square, seven floors up amid the luxury of the new Edition boutique hotel, is nightclub and performance space Paradise Club. The ‘brainchild’ of Studio 54’s Ian Schrager and home to an immersive dinner theatre and modern-day cabaret called The Devouring: A Marriage of Heaven and Hell Paradise Club hosts an Elation Professional lighting rig specified by AVL design and integration firm Clair Solutions with input from Yossy Marquez of J. Marquez Consultants.
Paradise Club is a fully-immersive experience with an attention-grabbing starburst LED ceiling, depth-producing upstage video wall, enchanting décor, and atmosphere-generating dynamic lighting system. Following the multi-sensory Devouring cabaret show, performed by resident artist company House of Yes, the space transforms into a colourful nightclub with DJs spinning until the early hours.
Clair Solutions served as audio/video/lighting/control consultant and integrator on the comprehensive Times Square Edition project, which included several spaces around the boutique hotel. Michelle Caron of Clair Solutions was the performance lighting system designer and project manager for the AVL system in the building and designed the theatrical lighting and control for the 200-seat Paradise Club.
Caron says she sought flexible lighting fixtures to meet the artistic needs of many types of artists. She chose an Elation lighting system of Artiste DaVinci LED moving spots, Fuze Wash Z350 LED moving head washes, SixPar 200 LED PAR lights, and S

UK - Stage Electrics has supplied, installed and commissioned new LED lighting to replace the existing house lighting at Kings Place, London.
Originally opened in 2008, Kings Place is a multi-purpose venue including a concert hall as well as the home to The Guardian and The Observer newspapers. Stage Electrics were contracted by Paul Russell, technical project manager for Kings Place, to replace the lighting in Hall 1 which is the main concert hall, a system originally installed by sister company Northern Light.
The new feature Lighting in addition to general auditorium lighting provides illumination, with full colour mixing, of the acoustic void around the upper walls of the auditorium as well as the stage and seating areas. This additional feature allows the venue to offer corporate clients the ability to customise the room in their corporate colours something the venue wanted to offer to its increasing number of corporate customers as well as update their existing offering to performing artists. The final installation included fixtures from dLED Technologies and Chauvet with control and power distribution provided by ETC.
“As with any existing building, access to existing containment systems was difficult. However, to facilitate the new LED lighting specifically for the acoustic void, we had to discreetly install additional control wiring for 56 new fixtures,” says Michael Percy. “This is made more difficult because the auditorium structure at Kings place is entirely independent of the rest of the building so it’s effectivi

South Africa - Few holiday traditions are more treasured in Joburg, South Africa than the annual pantomime, held at The Mandela Stage at Joburg Theatre in Braamfontein.
This year, writer, director and South Africa’s queen of pantomime, Janice Honeyman has brought to stage the story of country boy Jack the Joller, and his adventures with a family cow, some magic beans, an enormous beanstalk, an unfriendly giant and an enchanted hen that lays golden eggs.
Long-standing technical manager at the Joburg Theatre and industry veteran, Enos Ramoroko, points out that the panto is one of the biggest draws for the Joburg theatre over the December holidays, and is a highlight in the year for cast and crew alike. “The characters on stage are always larger than life, and everyone has a leading role. In some productions, you can switch the followspot from one lead to another – but this simply does not work for the panto,” he points out. “You need at least six followspots on the stage to keep up with the action.”
According to Enos, the Joburg Theatre has been relying on some fairly out-dated fixtures to serve as followspots for a number of years. “The followspots that we have been working with at Joburg Theatre are well past their prime. When we finally decided that there was space in the budget to upgrade the theatre’s followspots, I turned to a number of colleagues in the industry for product reviews and the overwhelming response was that Robert Juliat was the brand to invest in,” he says.
Enos had the opportunity to see the Robert Juliat

Germany - The German theatrical tradition has always relied on colourful and vivid productions to convey the intricacies of the nation’s intricate language and rich culture. For more than two centuries, this tradition has flourished at the Stadttheater Aschaffenburg, which has played host to countless seminal productions since first opening its doors in 1811.
As part of a long term renovation of this bastion of German theatre, Siegbert Blattner, technical director at Stadttheater Aschaffenburg, oversaw the creation of a modern and versatile lighting system that is comprised entirely of Chauvet Professional fixtures, including 26 Maverick MK3 Spots, 28 Maverick MK2 Washes, 56 Ovation E-930VW variable white ellipsoidals, 10 Ovation E-260WW warm white ellipsoidals and 34 Ovation F-915FC Fresnel units.
The Stadttheater Aschaffenburg traditionally presents audiences with a wide spectrum of performances throughout the theatrical calendar.
The versatility of the new lighting system was evident recently at the theatre's re-opening, which featured a challenging interpretation of Max Frisch’s novel Homo Faber by the ensemble of Theatre Chemnitz.
"The combination of MK3 Profile and Ovation series provided a solid basis for creation of a powerful palette of looks," Blattner said when describing that production. "Perhaps the most important factor for a play of this kind, however, is the high CRI of the fixtures. This capability in our fixtures, along with the incredibly talented director, cast and scenic designers from Theater Chemnitz all co

China - Hangzhou, the capital of the Zhejiang province, is home to a new One Third club destination located in a former locomotive depot, another of the NOA’s Arc Group’s entertainment ventures.
The third in the chain (including one in Beijing), the 2,500-capacity dance venue, specialising in Hard style, has been equipped with Martin Audio’s MLA Multicellular Loudspeaker Array.
This was supplied to the Dutch creative team, Live Legends, and their creative director Daan Oomen by Martin Audio’s Chinese distributor, Sino Hui Feng, who worked hard to win the project with the Martin Audio bid to ensure One Third Hangzhou stands out in a competitive marketplace.
The One Third vibe is all about the story of an old locomotive factory that comes to life. Live Legends delivered all creative elements from concept to execution, including show production, interior and technical design which included coordinating all the visual disciplines and optimising the guest experience with their usual flair and imagination.
Live Legends was asked onboard, to bring their extensive skills, knowledge and visions from the world of live events.
After sampling several competitive sound systems, it was decided that MLA would be “the perfect weapon” for this application and that Martin Audio overall was the best loudspeaker partner for all the subsidiary spaces.
The installation was carried out by Sino Hui Feng’s audio technical team, supported by Martin Audio Product Support Engineer, Robin Dibble.
All the rooms were equipped with Martin Aud

Poland - Teatr Narodowy (National Theatre) in Warsaw has invested in 40 Robe DL7S Profile moving lights which are part of a lighting upgrade to replace over 100 halogens and gel-scrollers in their rig with new LED light sources, a graduated process taking place across all three of the theatre’s performance spaces.
In addition to modernising their house lighting systems - including some previous moving lights that had been in place for nearly 20 years - they were essentially looking for quieter fixtures, stated head of lighting, Zbigniew Szulim.
They considered all the options, and apart from the silent running of the DL7S, also liked the colour rendering and the smoothness of its dimming. They also wanted a luminaire that could replicate the effect of halogen lamps.
The National Theatre Warsaw, one of five in Poland, each associated with a major city, stages nearly 500 shows a year across all its stages - Bogusławski Hall (Big Hall), the stage at Wierzbowa (Small Hall) and the Studio Stage - a mix of own produced shows and those received from other companies.
The capacities of the Small Hall and the Studio are 120 and 100 respectively, and in these rooms, the audience is sitting very close to the lights, so having less ambient noise coming from the fixtures is a real bonus for those watching.
The theatre’s current building in Teatralny Square was reconstructed after a major fire in 1986 - the fifth in the theatre’s history - and it reopened in its current format 11 years later in 1996.
This is when Zbigniew Szulim joined the

China - Grace is a national chain of bar/restaurants with live entertainment. The latest venue is in Yangjiang city, Guangdong province, where an Alcons Audio pro-ribbon system has overcome architectural challenges to serve up an appetising audio menu.
Grace in Yangjiang has a 400sq.m main area and a 100sq.m mezzanine, with internal architecture that created significant acoustic challenges. Its classical Chinese style features a tiled roof decoration with varying heights, producing multiple reflections. Additionally, a tall decorative column was likely to cause issues with sound coverage from one side of the stage.
The live performances feature vocals, bass, guitar, keyboards, drums and have a wide dynamic range. Guangzhou-based EAD was asked to design and install a sound reinforcement system that would make sure diners throughout the venue enjoyed high quality sound. The company chose an Alcons Audio pro-ribbon solution.
The main dining area is covered by four RR12 point-source array modules, with four BF362 high-output subwoofers installed under the stage. Four VR8 compact versatile monitors cover the mezzanine area, with two more filling the area behind the decorative column. These have a set delay to ensure the frequency response curve and sound pressure on the left and right sides of the space are equal. The system is managed by two Sentinel10 amplified loudspeaker controllers.
“We set up the RR12s in increments of 30° in the coupling plane and, thanks to their asymmetric 60° (+20°/-40°) in the non-coupling plane, we could cover the

UK - Success is serving the independently owned, 1,700 cap Electric Brixton well, a two-step refurbishment programme refining the venue’s image and functionality.
LED fixtures light the building’s front wall, which has been resealed and repainted, amplifying the Electric’s standing on Brixton Hill.
Through the doors to the main space the second room wall has gone, improving sightlines and bringing more flexibility in terms of operating the area. It also makes for a much larger bar stage left and quicker service.
An LX console front of house, with additional motors above stage and across the room, and new fixtures, gives LDs easier access to the venue’s lighting equipment and more capacity to shape the image of a performance/club.
Production manager, Tom Cull, comments: “This is all brand new, state-of-the-art equipment. It was about improving the quality, the reach, of the system but at the same time making it easier for touring parties, so we have more scope in the main room for designers.
“The buildings around us have been subject to multi-million refurbs and we thought the time was right to update the Electric outside too. Our LED treatment means it really glows at night now.”
Club nights at Electric Brixton are typically capacity events and the number of live shows is up 25 per cent in the last six months.
Electric Brixton works with Live Nation, SJM, AEG, Metropolis, Kilimanjaro, DHP, Eat Your Own Ears, Rockfeedback, Bird On The Wire and Crosstown Concerts. Upcoming shows include Bakar, Ari Lennox and P

South Africa - A recent technical upgrade at Joburg Theatre includes four Robert Juliat Cyrano 2500W HMI followspots which have been installed for use in the 1000+ seat Mandela Theatre.
The complex’s largest auditorium, The Nelson Mandela Theatre, regularly sees over 75% of capacity audiences and remains open a minimum of 50 weeks in each year. In the past decade, it has hosted many hit shows, including William Kentridge’s acclaimed interpretation of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, the West End and Broadway musicals West Side Story, Chicago, The Color Purple and Spamalot and top-of-the-line global touring shows, such as Le Grand Cirque, Lord of the Dance and Brazouka.
Joburg Theatre is also the permanent home to Joburg Ballet, Jill Girard and Keith Smith’s Peoples Theatre Company, and one of the country’s most respected community development projects in the arts, the tiny ‘black-box’ theatre known as space.com. Its varied and loaded schedule also includes Joburg Theatre’s season of annual pantomime productions.
“The Mandela Theatre’s followspots, which have probably stood the test of time for around 30 years, have been replaced by four Robert Juliat Cyranos,” says Kevin Stannett from DWR.
“We are very happy for Enos Ramoroko and his team, who have always been amazing to work with. I think Johan Tshiwo who handles all maintenance at the theatre, will be pleased to have fewer repairs on his hands.”
The recommendation and installation came from DWR Distribution. The

UK - Creative technical production experts Hawthorn and AVC Live have been appointed as the preferred technical production partner at Wembley Stadium in London.
As part of the long-term joint partnership agreement, the companies, which are both part of the PSAV International family, will be the preferred technical production suppliers for events across all eight of Wembley Stadium’s event spaces and 160 pitch-facing corporate suites.
With a capacity of 90,000, Wembley is one of the largest stadiums in the UK and offers a flexible set of event spaces.
Michael Simmons, business development manager at Wembley Stadium, comments: “We’re delighted to have AVC Live and Hawthorn onboard as we continue to bolster our offering to event organisers. Wembley Stadium is a venue with a fascinating history and with that in mind, it’s vital that we work with highly knowledgeable and trusted technical partners, like those within the PSAV International family.
“We’re always looking to take what we offer our clients to the next level and help them create those wow moments. With AVC Live and Hawthorn’s impressive track record of building successful partnerships with prestigious venues, alongside their reputation for delivering creative technical solutions for events of all shapes, sizes and budgets, we can’t wait to see what we can achieve together.”
Scott Rooney-Ashby, account director at Hawthorn, adds: “We’re thrilled that Hawthorn is embarking on this exciting new partnership with Wembley Stadium and our sister company AVC Live. The

Finland - The University of the Arts recently upgraded some of its AV facilities to improve the student experience. Electro Waves, a local integrator, carried out the work which includes new Christie APS and the GS series laser projectors in a number of lecture theatres and music performance halls.
With its combination of disciplines including fine art, music and theatre studies, the new university offers varied education opportunities to students in Finland and overseas. And, with increasing numbers of students attracted to the university through its growing reputation, the in-house AV team were keen to add first-class projection to enhance the teaching and presentation facilities. Kai Tuovinen of Electro Waves organised a trial period to test which projectors would be suited to the university’s requirements.
“In partnership with the in-house AV team we decided to put various projectors through their paces before we made our final choice. Christie came out on top overall and we were happy to settle on the one brand for the two separate requirements - classrooms and music performance areas,” explains Tuovinen. “The APS Series are perfect for the teaching environment and the versatility and performance of the GS Series made it a natural fit for the performance areas.”
The GS series have been installed in four of the main music theatres which are for acoustic and electric music, opera and organ music. “The projectors stood out for the almost silent operation, the uniformity of the image, flexible lens choices and the general cost-effective

France - The Amphithéâtre de la Verrière, located in Aix-en-Provence, recently added Robert Juliat Dalis 863 Access lighting fixtures to its in-house inventory. These LED battens can be used to illuminate a cyclorama, or as front of stage lighting.
Located inside the Cité du Livre, the Amphithéâtre de la Verrière is a 450-seat multi-purpose hall. Jean-Marie Albaladejo, technical director of L'Amphithéâtre, was looking for an LED solution to replace old luminaires and provide effective low-angle lighting. Until now, this had been problematic in this amphitheatre-shaped venue, with an audience that sits very close to the stage.
"We are already equipped with many long-standing Robert Juliat luminaires, so it was only natural that we should turn to the same brand with confidence to find an appropriate solution, and choose LED sources that are more energy efficient," says Jean-Marie Albaladejo.
"TEXEN (Robert Juliat’s distributor for the area) presented us with Dalis 860 cyclorama fixture as a first step. This fixture has a proven record as very effective with a high quality of light and an extremely wide colour palette. However, our budgetary constraints made Dalis 860 inaccessible. TEXEN then advised us of a very interesting alternative, the Dalis Access 863 model.
"The Dalis Access 863 beam is very precise and the colour rendering is perfect, with great evenness on the cyclorama,” continues Jean-Marie Albaladejo. “It is a fixture that we can also use as a footlight to illuminate artists or various speakers. We are completely sati

UK - On 5 November, Bristol-based specialist installer Stage Electrics marked 40 years in business with a staff party held at Bristol Zoo.
The company was formed in 1979 by a group of theatre lighting and sound equipment enthusiasts and has since grown from three staff to over 120 whilst amassing an impressive portfolio of sales and installations.
Offering a range of services, including installation, product sales and testing, inspection and maintenance services, Stage Electrics has a sales team of over 20, including a field sales team. Its export business has also seen significant growth in recent years.
“We tailored our service to suit our customers, who all have differing needs,” explains sales director, Anna Western. “Some clients like to see their contact person on a regular basis, while others like to have someone available on the end of the phone. We also offer a huge range of products from special effects, trussing, staging and sound, to lighting and control. We hold around £1.2m of sales stock, so we can guarantee next day delivery, which is vitally important.”
Stage Electrics also manufactures a range of cables, IWBs, panels and racks, custom-building for its own projects, as well as selling one-offs to its customers.
“It’s all about getting our customers what they want, when they want it,” Western continues. “To facilitate that, we don’t operate on an exclusive basis with any manufacturer - we want to be completely unbiased in our recommendations and make sure we always provide the right product from rig