UK - Bradford Theatres have purchased a Haulotte Star 10 Vertical Mast for use in one of their city centre venues, the Alhambra Theatre. The Alhambra Theatre seats 1400 people and is regarded as the North's premier touring venue, hosting a range of large scale entertainment from ballet and opera to variety and comedy, musicals, drama and Yorkshire's biggest pantomime.

The Alhambra's Theatre's technical electrics manager wanted to improve safety at the theatre where they were using a tallescope for working at height. "We chose the Star 10 because it is driveable at full height, carries two people and is about 1 tonne lighter than other machines we looked at suitable for our stage floor. Haulotte also changed the speed setting on the machine to enable us to drive it slower so that we have greater control in difficult areas like the edge of the orchestra pit."

The Star

Philippines - ASL Intercom systems can be found right across the globe, in a wide variety of performance spaces - from the biggest concert halls through to schools and colleges. Two of the most recent installations of the latter type have been in the Philippines, at System Plus College in Angeles City and La Salle College of Saint Benilde in the capital Manila.

Systems Plus College is a non-sectarian private school offering a wide range of courses for students. Supplied and installed by ASL's Philippines distributor, Mandaluyong City-based Stage Craft International, a stage communication system comprising six BS15 belt packs, six HS1/D single muff lightweight headsets and a BS181 power supply has been installed in the main college auditorium.

Stage Craft has also supplied a large system comprising 16 BS15 belt packs, 17 HS1/D single muff headsets and a PS279 twin-channel Maste

Saudi Arabia - The inauguration of the new King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) has taken place in Saudi Arabia. Stage One was invited to join the event's creative team by Simon Ransom, technical director for Filmmaster Events, providing their set building and automation expertise to create a dramatic theatrical experience on a stage over 80m wide.

Stage One was asked to provide six giant tracking front projection screens, each a different shape and size, with the largest 14m high by 10m wide. They also provided two 20m long back wall screens, a further screen that lifted and another that folded down. All of these screens overlapped to form a collectively massive tracking projection surface.

"These were the biggest screens that I have ever seen in over 25 years in the industry and once in place they formed an awesome sight," said Steve Dolan, pr

UK / USA - PLASA (headquartered in the UK) and ESTA (headquartered in North America), two of the leading bodies worldwide for those working in the live events, entertainment and communications industries, have signed a Letter of Intent to merge.

The announcement comes on the back of long-term strategic reviews conducted by both Associations who believe that uniting as one body will lead to a stronger voice for members, the enhancement of existing initiatives and an expansion of the range of benefits and services.

The proposed merger has the full backing of both the ESTA Board of Directors and the PLASA Executive Committee who voted on the proposal this Summer and who will formally recommend the move to their respective memberships, subject to due diligence being completed successfully, during the Spring/Summer of 2010. If both memberships vote to go ahead, the first stage of t

UK - The Pavilion, one of Glasgow's oldest and best loved variety theatre venues, has recently overhauled its FOH system with a pair of Tannoy VQ 100 full-range loudspeakers. The new VQ 100s add a new level of clarity, definition and presence to the performances within the historic 1449-seat auditorium and have gone down well with both cast and audiences since they were installed during the summer season.

Having first opened on its corner site at the top of Glasgow's Renfield Street in 1904, the Pavilion Theatre is a rare example these days of a privately run performance venue that has carefully retained its period character, having avoided any significant renovations or acoustic treatments that would ruin the décor and atmosphere of the auditorium.

This was an important consideration when the venue management sought to upgrade the audio system. Discretion was key, with

USA - Theatre Projects is putting final touches on two unparalleled performing arts spaces: the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre and the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House, as last-minute preparations continue for the 15 October grand opening of the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas.

As creators with Sasaki Associates of the original plans for the Dallas Arts District and as design consultants for the AT&T Performing Arts Center, Theatre Projects has spent over two decades involved in the planning and building of one of the US's most ambitious new centres for the arts.

"It's been an amazing journey working with the City of Dallas, the opera and theatre companies, and the Foundation since the creation of the Arts District in 1984," said Richard Pilbrow, Theatre Projects' founder and chairman emeritus. "It's been our privilege to guide the theatrical design to c

UK - When Wembley Stadium decided to transform the VIP guest hospitality room for this summer's biggest concerts, they turned to entertainment lighting supplier White Light.

The challenge was to create a versatile design that could provide a calm but attractive feel to the room for the pre-show dinner and drinks, but then transform the space into an exclusive nightclub for the after show parties.

To achieve this, White Light's Dominic Yates used some of the latest technology from White Light's extensive lighting stock to create a design flexible enough to give the room a different feel for each concert, while dynamic enough to continue the excitement of the gig beyond the end of each show.

The design made use of the new Fusion672 LED panels, which allowed the creation of both dramatically changing lighting backdrops and corporate branding, with the 'Club Wembley' logo presen

Italy - New Sound Service chose Proel sound reinforcement systems for Tim Cup 2009, a major sports event attended many Italian football fans each summer.

The leading Italian football teams are the protagonists of this competition which is usually also the first opportunity for them to introduce their new players and line-ups before the start of the national championship.

This year, Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan competed for the Tim Cup at the Stadio Adriatico in Pescara, whose sound reinforcement system was complemented by a Proel Axiom system. The system chosen was made up of: 24 AX2265P AXIOM series vertical array compact speakers, 12 AX1115SP AXIOM compact subs, four Edge212P point source array speakers, four Edge121SP subs, six Proel PSW2600 amplifiers, four AXPACKK10 amplifier racks plus DSO digital processors.

"This event," affirmed Marco Lovato of New S

UK - Fifteen venues across the UK will open their doors to 13- and 14-year-olds from 15 October until 2 December 2009, for The National Skills Academy for Creative & Cultural Skills' first interactive Offstage Choices careers events.

These events offer young people aged 13 and above a taste of the job roles available behind the scenes and offstage in technical theatre and live music events.

Pupils from local schools will meet and experience the work of a number of professionals including lighting and sound technicians, marketing and stage managers and designers, in venues from the New Theatre Royal in Portsmouth, up to the SAGE in Gateshead. Behind the scenes staff will share the tricks of their trade and experiences, working out of the 'spotlight'.

Offstage is produced by The National Skills Academy for Creative & Cultural Skills (NSA), a network of industry speciali

UK - Harman International has announced the successful completion of an advanced networked audio system at Turf Moor, the stadium of English Premiership football club, Burnley FC. The club management engaged acoustic consultants, AMS Acoustics and integrators ETA Sound to design and install a fully integrated PA/VA compliant public address system that would put Turf Moor system in the same league as Europe's leading stadium systems.

The resulting system, designed and controlled using Harman HiQnet System Architect features components from Harman Professional brands including JBL, Crown and BSS Audio.

AMS Acoustics had already implemented an earlier first phase upgrade last season to bring three stands into VA compliance. During the course of this exercise the capture of a full range of measurements was required and the resultant data, after analysis, was used as the cornerston

UK - Adlib has designed and installed an L-Acoustics dV-DOSC sound system into Manchester live music venue, Band on the Wall.

The landmark 350-capacity venue on Swan Street in the Northern Quarter of Manchester's city centre has just been completely renovated, restored and reborn by registered charity Inner City Music with the help of a £4 million combined award from the Arts Council England, Manchester City Council and Lottery Heritage Fund to transform the venue into a 21st century centre of music with strong community ties.

The system was designed by Adlib's Roger Kirby who says: "We all agreed that dV-DOSC rig would work best in the space offering a detailed high frequency and solid low end response, with the system also having adequate headroom for the eclectic programme of live events that are planned."

The music will encompass a wide range of musical g

UK - Scottish Ballet has recently moved in to new purpose-built headquarter premises on the south side of Glasgow where the studios have been fully equipped throughout with Harlequin sprung dance floors.

The completion in May 2009 of the new building containing three studios follows an earlier project phase in 2008, which saw the conversion of two former stables at Glasgow's co-located Tramway venue. Here at the end of last year, British Harlequin installed Harlequin WoodSpring into the converted stables at Tramway; one being covered with Harlequin Cascade and the other with Harlequin Studio vinyl dance floors. All three new studios are also furnished with Harlequin WoodSpring basketweave floors and completed with a dance surface of grey Harlequin Cascade vinyl.

At 382sq.m, one studio is thought to be the largest in Europe. In addition to the new dance studios Scottish Ballet

USA - An extensive Electro-Voice XLD line array loudspeaker installation has raised the bar for the James T. Jeremiah chapel sound at Cedarville University in Cedarville, near Columbus, Ohio. Designed by Todd Gathany and Jeff Sanderson of consultants Onpoint Designs and integrated by AGI Professional (Kelly Baum & Kyle Anderson), the system features 36 XLD281 line array elements (two 10-box main arrays & two eight-box side arrays), 12 XCS312 cardioid subwoofers and two NetMax N8000 processors.

Cedarville University's chapel auditorium was built in 1996 and originally featured main arrays and a delay ring from another manufacturer. Preaching and worship are a priority at the school, and the whole student body comes together each day in the chapel - audio is an essential element of the worship experience at Cedarville.

"The old system was installed back when the contemporar

USA - Launched in June, 2009, the Electro-Voice EVA (line array) and EVF (front-load) loudspeakers from the new EV-Innovation family of installation-dedicated loudspeakers are providing the sound solution for Snoqualmie Valley Alliance Church in Fall City, WA.

This system upgrade was specified by Jeff Sanderson and Todd Gathany of Onpoint Designs and installed by Morgan Sound. The system also features EV's latest XCS312 cardioid pattern subwoofers.

"Our EV rep Kevin Johnson (Left Coast Marketing) introduced us to the EV-Innovation family at the InfoComm trade show," says Gathany, "and we came away really impressed with their sonic characteristics - very smooth and warm-sounding. Add that to their clean aesthetics and attractive price point, we knew they would be solid choices for house of worship installations like Snoqualmie."

The main system at Snoqualm

Uzbekistan - Gerriets was chosen as stage equipment provider for the new convention centre in Tashkent. Gerriets, in close cooperation with SBS Buehnentechnik, Dresden, was responsible for providing all draperies and projection screens, the main curtain and a large scissor track system.

To equip the convention center with drapes and curtains, Gerriets used more than 10.000sq.m of grey and black Clivia 600 stage velvet. The fabric is heavy-duty and has the quality that is necessary for curtains of exceptional height.

For the main hall, Gerriets provided an Opera white projection screen. Further, 700m of Vario Dance and Design floor was also provided.

For the main stage, Gerriets manufactured a 37m Fence Scissor track system, one of the largest in the world. The track system moves the two-piece main curtain (each piece is 19 x 14.30 m) in the main hall.

Gerriets installed al

UK - Following two years of planning, the Palladium in London's West End has installed and commissioned new ETC Sensor dimmer racks - some 670 ways - and a Unison system for the house and worklights as well as the 'independent' circuits.

"We knew we needed to replace our previous dimmers, which were installed in 1964 and were definitely at the end of their working life," says the Really Useful Group (RUG)'s operations and technical manager, Julian Rees."When we looked around for alternatives, ETC's dimmers were the clear winner. They've been proven to be reliable, with a lot of installations in the London area. We also felt that we were going to get good support and backup when we needed it. I have no doubt we made the right decision."

As the theatre was in use at the time, Rees and his colleague, Palladium chief electrician David Draude, needed to find a s

UK - Northern Light has installed a customised lighting system in three Glasgow tower blocks which are poised to bring a splash of colour to the city - and predict the weather at the same time.

The Castlemilk Lighting Project, part funded by Glasgow Housing Association (GHA), will see LED lighting technology installed in the northerly stairwell windows of each of the three, 20 storey, Dougrie Place high rises.

As well as creating a colourful landmark which will be visible right across the city, the lighting system utilises up-to-the-minute internet technology to enable residents to check the current weather conditions - and view the weather outlook for the next day.

The Castlemilk Tenants Housing Association came up with the original concept for the project after taking part in workshops with GHA and Collective Architecture and. In addition to funding from GHA's Wider Action

UK - When the Imago art gallery in the heart of London's art centre underwent a recent refurbishment, they called on specialist contractor PEL Services to design, install and commission state of the art audio-visual, fire detection and security systems into its new contemporary art gallery.

The sophisticated new audio-visual systems feature the latest technology but have been designed by PEL to be easy to use. A Bose Professional Freespace 3 multi-zone, multi-floor sound system was installed, together with a Crestron control system for flexibility and ease of use. Each floor of the gallery can play different music, allowing the gallery space to be utilised to the maximum.

Music can be played via the five-disc CD player installed or using the iPod docking bay - simply drop an iPod into the unit and immediately play music throughout the system direct from it. In addition to the

UK - On the eve of staging the BBC Electric Proms 09, the Roundhouse in Camden has commissioned a new Martin Audio dedicated cinema system for its 102-seat Studio Theatre (where the BBC's New Music Shorts initiative took place to coincide with The Proms).

The venue ordered three Martin Audio Screen 3s as a conventional L/C/R system, along with eight Effect 3Rs as a cinema surround sound, along with a Screen Sub1A (1 x 18") from Autograph Sales. The resellers also provided consultation, product recommendation and design and installation assistance.

Purpose-designed for screening rooms, the Screen 3 is a three-way system, with dedicated mid-range and high frequency sections, while the Effect 3R two-way passive system is a reduced-height enclosure specifically made for screening rooms with low ceilings such as this, to ensure that it can still be optimally installed a

USA - Founded in 1998 as a mission of St. Ann's in Marietta, Georgia, St. Peter Chanel has grown continually from its original six families, becoming a parish in 2000, and today includes over 2500 families. A new church, completed in 2008, adds a traditional neo-Gothic note to the St. Peter Chanel campus, yet features a contemporary audio system featuring Renkus-Heinz Iconyx loudspeakers.

Designed by CDH Partners and built by Van Winkle & Co, the traditional cruciform church includes a 1224-seat sanctuary and a smaller chapel that is open 24 hours a day for Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration. Lee Sound Design of Atlanta, Georgia designed the acoustical treatment for the new church. The sound system was designed and installed by Baker Audio of Norcross, Georgia.

"St. Peter Chanel contacted us in the spring of 2007," recalls vice president Jason Hicks. "They had som

Austria - The Lindner Seepark Hotel is one of the most luxurious new hotels to open in Austria, located on the shores of Lake Worthsee by Klagenfurt in the south of the country close to the border with Slovenia. The distinctive looking four-star conference and spa hotel, clad in an ultra modern aluminium skin, opened to its first guests at start of July with a grand opening later in the month.

The new premium standard destination hotel has nearly 100 Tannoy loudspeakers installed, including small format CVS and CMS in-ceiling speakers as well as Di5 full-range wall mounted speakers.

Installed by Graz based AV integrators Pichler Medientechnik, the choice of Tannoy loudspeakers was driven by some good previous experience with the products in similar hotel installations, as company owner Mr. Gerhard Pichler explains, "We used Tannoy's CMS 801 and CMS 801Sub in a recent inst

UK - The Ulster Hall, a concert hall and listed building in the city centre of Belfast, has been equipped with a new Electro-Voice XLD line-array PA system by Park Audio Productions, after winning a multi-way tender from companies all over the UK and Ireland.

In 2007, an £8.5 million modernising refit was completed. In 2009, Belfast City Council supervised the selection and installation of a line-array sound reinforcement system, cleverly specifying a level of portability within the design so that elements of the system could 'float' between Ulster Hall and its sister venue, the Waterfront Hall.

A lengthy tendering process culminated in the contract being awarded to Belfast sound rental and installation company Park Audio, regular suppliers to the Waterfront Hall. "At the Waterfront, we've successfully hired in Electro-Voice systems for all sorts of shows, and I've

UK - The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Ltd (LOCOG) is inviting an expression of interest from live events production companies to provide the production services for the Opening and Closing ceremonies of the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

LOCOG is seeking a highly experienced live events production company who have Olympic, Paralympic or large scale events experience to provide administrative and production services to the Creative Directors of the four ceremonies. The Creative Directors will be recruited directly by LOCOG through a separate process and so creative content proposals are not being sought from potential production companies. The chosen production company will manage and execute the production process from conception to delivery.

Bill Morris, LOCOG Director of Culture, Ceremonies & Education said: "The

UK - Multiform Lighting were recently contacted by Environetics, suppliers of 'Magic Fountain' systems, who were intending to use the company's MultiPac 4-channel DMX dimmer to control fountain pumps and lighting in their new 'Solo Mio' sound activated interactive fountain systems.

Multifoem says that Environetics chose the MultiPac because of its unique range of facilities including Soft Patch, Multiple Curves, Manual Presets, Programable Preheat, Limiter and Inbuilt Crossfades plus Multiform's renowned rugged serviceability.

Magic Fountain systems range from a single pump to 18-pump fountains with multi-coloured underwater lighting. They are supplied to public authorities, theme parks, special needs schools and also lottery winners! Unlike simpler sequentially programmed systems, Magic Fountains analyse the music signal electronically, converting this into DMX data which is

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