UK - Based in West Yorkshire, Universal AV has been designing and supplying innovative audio-visual solutions for more than 30 years, winning an AV Award for Reseller/Integrator of the Year along the way.
A recent move to new company offices presented an opportunity to design the ideal meeting room space, for both face-to-face and hybrid meetings with staff working from home. Once the integrated screen and camera technology was installed in the room, it became apparent that there was a need to address the effects of an acoustically challenging space, as marketing manager Shelley Townend explains.
“The first Teams meeting took place in the office with employees also working from home,” she says, “and those at home complained that they just could not hear us clearly, and that every time somebody moved the noise was unbearable. It was so bad that we ended up avoiding external calls in this manner until we had it resolved.
“The Audio-Technica team came to the office, where they carried out an acoustic test and made some recommendations for solutions that have really transformed the space and its usability.”
The solution involved the installation of several Artnovion sound absorption panels (distributed in the UK by Audio-Technica), as the company’s Tom Macklin, commercial Audio Business Development Manager UK North describes.
“We were faced with a very reverberant room,” he explains, “and it was obvious that some acoustic treatment was going to be necessary to allow meeting participants to hear each other clearly. In additi

UK - Bellowhead’s UK tour was an 18-city voyage that celebrated the tenth anniversary of the band’s Broadside album.
Reflecting the nautical theme of that seminal recording, the stage and backdrop on this tour were adorned with evocative seafaring scenery, like barrels, decanters, and wooden decking platforms, which, combined with multi-coloured stage blocks, created what one critic called “a visual delight”.
Contributing to this engaging panorama was a very flexible and dynamic Martin Dudley design that featured Chauvet Professional Rogue R2X Wash fixtures that were recently added to the inventory of Martin’s Lights Ltd.
Flown over mid-stage, the RGBW moving fixtures were used to enliven the stage’s 12m wide by 6m high backdrop with a variety of rich colours, a task they had no trouble accomplishing thanks to their high output. ”I had a specific lighting objective that needed to be met on the tour,” said Dudley, “and the R2 Washes were the right tool to accomplish it. In the past, I’ve used these fixtures as part house kits on a number of occasions and have been very happy with them. The R2X has greatly increased the versatility of my kit.”
Dudley needed all of the versatility he could muster up on this sold out tour. Made up of 11 musicians playing more than 20 different instruments as well as contributing vocals, Bellowhead’s performance draws on a deep sea of varied creative influences, as their music moves from traditional dance tunes, to folk songs and shanties; all supported at times by a four-piece brass

Italy - Located in the heart of ancient Rome, within the historic Palazzo Roccagiovine, FOROF is an exhibition space which combines the archaeology of the ancient city with contemporary art. The venue is right in front of Trajan’s Column and is a two-level space which features subterranean rooms that allow visual access to coloured marbles and the flooring of the Basilica Ulpia, in addition to the remains of the eastern apse.
It was created by, and is managed by, Giovanna Caruso Fendi and its inaugural exhibition (Lovotic) took place in the first half of 2022. Lovotic illustrates the blending of human and machine, with narrative voices intersecting and being reprocessed by an algorithm, resulting in a composite and unprecedented language somewhere between human and robotic. The event relied on an immersive sound installation created by New York based Soundwalk Collective who used a range of Outline products throughout the various spaces.
Founded by Stephan Crasneanscki and based in New York City, Soundwalk Collective is an experimental sound collective which operates in a constantly rotating constellation of sound artists and musicians. Its approach to composition combines anthropology, ethnography, nonlinear storytelling, psychogeography, observation of nature and exploration of recording and synthesis techniques. The source material for its works is always related to specific places, natural or man-made, and requires long periods of study and fieldwork.
“The audio programme played is quite peculiar: experimental, ambient, abstract and minimal

Europe -Hip-hop artist and producer Kid Cudi recently wrapped the European leg of his To the Moon 2022 World Tour with dates in Berlin, Amsterdam, London, Brussels, Paris and Milan that featured an extensive Ayrton lighting rig. ACT Entertainment, Inc. is the exclusive distributor of Ayrton products in North America.
Lighting director and programmer, Austin Schneider, who does lighting design and programming for US-based full-service production company, Raw Cereal, chose Ayrton Khamsin LED profiles and MagicBlade R LED moving lights for the European shows. The dates followed the North American leg of the tour and a stop in Japan. During the same period, Kid Cudi released his eighth studio album, Entergalactic, the companion to an animated special of the same name.
For the European tour, Schneider handled lighting only, modifying the design of the just-concluded North American tour. “We kept the idea of the North American run and simplified it with a rig of Ayrton fixtures that always have really great colour, look good on camera and punch through the video,” Schneider explains. “Kid Cudi likes to connect with his fans, so the show focused on IMAG with two vertical screens with Notch and no other content.”
As the name of the tour suggests, the show had a space theme with the European dates “embodying the feel of walking out of a spaceship,” Schneider says, “with low-lying fog, pixels with creative effects and big shapes for the audience. The Ayrton fixtures delivered space-themed looks that enabled fans to be in the same w

Slovenia - For the second year running, a lighting rig comprised exclusively of ADJ fixtures was used to illuminate the 2022 Miss Earth Slovenia pageant. Following an online only event the previous year, due to the global pandemic, the 2022 contest took place in front of a live audience of over 500 people.
Seventy-two ADJ lighting fixtures – including the new Focus Profile and Focus Flex moving head luminaires – created a dazzling lightshow while also lighting the contestants for the judges. The event’s production also incorporated an ADJ LED video wall, ADJ haze machines and the lighting was all controlled using ADJ’s myDMX 3.0 software.
Founded in 2001, the Miss Earth Pageant is an international contest with the purpose of ‘utilizing the beauty pageant entertainment industry as an effective tool for the promotion of environmental awareness’.
Culminating in a worldwide final in Manilla, the Philippines, featuring delegates from 90 different countries, the contest began with regional competitions in participating countries. Lea Prstec was crowned Miss Earth Slovenia and went on to place in the Top 20 at the world finals.
Lighting, video, and audio production for the live final, which took place at a newly-opened event centre located in the countryside to the south of Slovenia, was taken care of by Vertigo Productions.
At the back of the stage, under the video screen constructed from 24 of ADJ’s AV4IP LED panels, Tomy positioned four Vizi CMY300 hybrid moving head fixtures, while to the sides he utilized a pair of Vizi BS

Spain - The 17th edition of the Los 40 network’s Los 40 Awards Show showcased a wide range of talent representing a broad mix of musical styles and personalities. Taking place at the 17,00-capacity WiZink Centre in Madrid, the show celebrated the achievements of artists, ranging from Rosalia and Adele to Yungblud and Bad Gyal, to The Black Eyed Peas and Dani Martin.
The eclectic mix of artists appearing during the ceremonies satisfied fans’ taste for a variety, but the breadth and sheer number of performances on stage presented a challenge for lighting designer Alain Corthout and his team.
“This was a big production,” said Corthout. “We had over nine different types of spots and six types of washes, so we had to keep things simple to avoid becoming messy. We also had to be fast, due to the number of acts and the volume of last-minute changes.”
Helping Corthout meet these challenges were his two ChamSys MagicQ MQ500M Stadium consoles supplied by Fluge, the main rental company for the show. “Our ChamSys desks have been a great asset in this project,” he said. “The programming speed we can achieve with it was a game changer; we got so much music last minute, so we had to be very quick.
“The way we can timecode Cue Stacks in ChamSys is really fast,” continue Corthout. “We had our two MQ500M desks in a master-slave setup which works perfectly to keep things moving fast. To give you an idea of the our speed, there were short clips between the musical performances and the actual award presentations, and we were able to transit

Europe - With catchy hooks driven by pummelling rhythms, Volbeat’s intoxicating fusion of rockabilly, metal, and punk has built a loyal following since the Danish band launched in 2001. After co-headlining a North American tour earlier in the year, Volbeat closed out 2022 on the three-month European/UK leg of their Servant of the Road World Tour.
While the springtime tour carried a Meyer Sound Leo Family system, this leg of the Servant of the Road World Tour was powered by new Panther large-format linear line array loudspeakers supplied by POOLgroup of Emsdetten, Germany.
The venues on the tour spanned a wide range of capacities, from halls and arenas to over 30,000 at a roofed football stadium in the Netherlands. Ensuring that all Volbeat fans enjoyed the same experience at every seat in every venue - while drawing from a common production package - presented a challenge for the tour’s audio team, led by systems engineer-turned-FOH mixer Dennie Miller.
“We have a directive straight from the band that every fan will have the full impact of the sound, regardless of where they are sitting,” says Miller. “That’s not easy, particularly in light of the stringent maximum level restrictions in Europe, where they measure relative to the loudest point in the venue. That’s why we use delays in all but the smallest venues, because of the level loss due to distance. But fortunately, because Panther is self-powered and relatively lightweight, it is much easier to find optimum rigging points for the delays and scale the system as needed on a daily

South Africa - Audio-visual production specialists, Sound Stylists, have recently invested in two new Yamaha PM3 Rivage consoles to add to their extensive inventory. Shortly after, they had the opportunity to test them in situ, deploying them as part of a networked audio solution at the Samsung Galaxy Move Festival, hosted by 947, a South African radio station, on 4-5 November. The consoles were supplied by Stage Audio Works (SAW) who were also on hand throughout the festival to offer technical support.
In recent years, Sound Stylists have embraced the future of networked audio by updating their entire audio structure onto the Dante format. This allows all their devices to talk to one another and makes life easier for everyone.
“We were already aware of the Rivage platform, but simply didn’t have the need for it at the time. However, recently we were doing some research into new desks and were impressed to discover the Rivage surfaces all spoke to the same DSP. The fact that you can run two surfaces on a single DSP was an attractive concept, as it allows us to double our fader count as required. The DSP can also be run on its own, mirrored for redundancy or upgraded from the base 140 channels to an impressive 280,” remarks Kevin Glover, the director of Sound Stylists.
“What swung it was the ease of integration with our current systems with its Dante compatibility – the technology slots nicely into our existing Rio racks and obviously plays nicely with our Yamaha QLs and CLs, making it a smooth and cost-efficient transition.
“We co

France - Dark Matters is one of Europe’s most advanced and innovative virtual production complexes. From Simulcam and LED in-camera VFX technology to motion capture, it offers filmmakers and visual creatives a complete end-to-end service and unparalleled control to the very last shot.
Having heard only positive things from industry colleagues about Brompton Technology LED processing, the Dark Matters team chose 10 4K Tessera SX40 4K LED processors for their studio complex.
Dark Matters was founded last year by industry veterans Romain Cheminade, Jean-Louis Eude and Yaniss Boulanouar. Located 27 kilometres outside Paris, the complex features six customisable virtual production stages spread across 15,000m², and a 700-strong fleet of high-quality custom built LED panels powered by industry-leading Brompton Technology LED processing.
“At the forefront of every story is a human story,” says Cheminade, who is also Dark Matters’ CEO. “We spoke with people that we know and trust who have been working with Brompton for many years. They all spoke highly of their Tessera LED processors and 24/7 service support, so we decided to invest in them and have never regretted our decision.”
The company’s LED panels were designed and specified by co-founder and CTO, Boulanouar, who has over 20 years of experience working with Chinese LED manufacturers to design and import LED panels for live and broadcast events. With one of the key requirements for the Dark Matters’ LED stock being rich colour gamut, Boulanouar chose panels with 16-bit depth, 76

Europe - Yamaha Corporation has announced its latest portable, professional PA, the compact and feature-packed Stagepas 200. The cube-shaped enclosure measures just 30cm on each side, and - for the first time - a battery-powered option, the premium Stagepas 200 means you can take your performance literally anywhere.
A 1.4” HF + 8” LF high quality coaxial compression driver is powered by a 180W Class D amplifier, delivering exceptional sound pressure, phase response, natural high frequency dispersion and detailed sound. An onboard, five-channel (3 mono mic/line and 1 stereo line) digital mixing section offers ‘unprecedented flexibility’ for a compact ‘one box’ PA system
With 1-knob EQ/preset and 1-knob Effect controls, plus a ‘Mode’ compressor on the main outputs, you can easily and intuitively create the sound you want. Input channels 1-3 feature a built-in microphone simulator, allowing optimal sound for acoustic guitars to be set with a single control, while a priority ducker reduces the volume of other sources when a microphone or specific source is in use and a smart feedback suppressor automatically eliminates unwanted feedback. Stagepas 200 also supports Bluetooth audio streaming.
As well as straightforward onboard controls, Yamaha’s iOS/Android Stagepas Controller app provides realtime, precise remote operation of volume, EQ and effects. Settings can be saved and recalled, greatly reducing setup time and ensuring consistent sound.
Alongside the standard Stagepas 200, Yamaha is offering Stagepas 200 BTR, which features

USA - Located near the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, Pomona College is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. College faculty and staff actively encourage students’ intellectual curiosity to help them discover their passions while making numerous resources available to support students’ emotional and physical well-being.
The college’s 30-year-old recreation centre no longer met the student body’s needs, so it embarked on a large-scale $55m project to revitalise and expand the centre’s offerings. Due to their high directivity and speech intelligibility, beam steering arrays from Renkus-Heinz were deployed in the main sports venue, Voelkel Gymnasium.
Joseph Brennan, director of IT operations, turned to Darryl Lima, president of DJL, to design the audio system for the gym and supporting facilities. “Basketball courts and other sports facilities are very challenging acoustic environments,” said Lima. “The active, steerable line arrays were used to focus the sound in just the seating areas to minimize the acoustic aberrations of a sports court.”
Four ICLive X Series loudspeaker arrays were flown above the gym while four TA151 compact loudspeakers were used as down-firing court-fills. Each array comprised one ICLLX module, two ICLX modules, and two ICLX-118S subwoofers. The ICLive X arrays are equipped with Renkus-Heinz’s Acoustic Source Multiplier (ASM) waveguide, allowing the high-frequency section to be coaxially mounted in front of the low-frequency section. The result is consistent and symmetrical deli

Australia - Sydney Catholic Schools presented four special performances of School of Rock - The Musical in an arena spectacular based on the original Broadway show and staged at the 16,000-capacity Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.
Lighting designer Mark Hammer created the lighting design and found an ingenious Robe RoboSpot solution for his extensive follow spotting needs. Mark worked under the direction of Great Big Events, who produced the show on behalf of Sydney Catholic Schools.
The stage was designed with a 270-degree viewing angle, complete with a full choir at the back for some sections of the show, and a prominent ‘B’ stage in the middle of the arena floor for ‘rock out’ moments, so Mark needed multiple follow spots.
He thought it was a perfect time and scenario to specify four Robe RoboSpot systems to run 12 x BMFL FollowSpot moving lights.
The 12 x BMFL FollowSpots were paired with four RoboSpot BaseStations each running three fixtures, all supplied by Sydney based lighting vendors, Chameleon Touring Systems, and Mark was delighted with the results.
He often uses Robe products on his shows, but this was the first time he had spec’d the remote follow system, although he admits to being impressed with it since one of the early Australian demo sessions presented by distributor Jands back in 2018.
“Follow spotting was vital to this show and with a 19 / 20m trim height I needed really bright units – and lots of them – so this was a ‘must-have’ on the lighting plot,” he explained.
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Tunisia - A vibrant artistic and cultural centre, Hammamet in Tunisia is a place that connects Europe to Africa, and East to West. Now in its 60th decade, the 56th International Festival of Hammamet brought together a host of international artists to this Mediterranean city for a diverse programme of events taking place over a five-week period last summer.
The sound system for a main stage that would see performances ranging from opera and orchestral to jazz and rap was a Nexo Geo M6 compact line array, deployed by local events services specialists Sybel Event Company.
Hangs of nine Geo M620 cabinets on either side of the stage were each complemented by ground stacks of two NEXO LS15 and two LS18 subs, with six Nexo ID24 and 2 x IDS110 used as front-fills. Amplification and processing for the front of house system came from three Nexo NXAMP4X1 and one NXAMP4X4 powered TD controllers.
Flexibility was key to an onstage monitoring system that would have to adapt quickly to very different groups of performers, so 20 of Nexo’s PS15 point source cabinets were available along with two LS1200 and two LS18 subs to create drum monitors and side-fills, all powered by 22 x Nexo DTDAMP1.3s with DTD controllers.
Commenting on behalf of Sybel Event Company, sound engineer Ahmed Mohamed El Fekih says: “In fact the venue was quite difficult to deal with as it is very large like an ancient theatre. But the most amazing thing about NEXO is the versatility and compatibility of all speakers from the different ranges. I and every engineer who came to the festiv

UK - Bristol-based SLX was asked by DB Partnership to work alongside them to create a spectacular after-dark illuminated experience Spectacle of Light at Sudeley Castle in Gloucestershire. Excited by the opportunity to extend its presence within the experiential market, SLX called upon its skilled technical and creative team to work together with Nic Beeby, DB Partnership’s creative producer and designer to create a stunning outdoor design that transformed the castle gardens, ruins and woodland into a magical and immersive experience.
SLX combined its extensive knowledge of creating light shows with the latest technology to bring this ambitious creative vision to life. This included designing bespoke projections and displays, to developing audio streams that would synchronise with the light movements.
"As leaders in the industry, we're vigilant in our search for creating new innovative ways to tell stories. Working on the ground and seeing these spectacular visions come to life has been incredibly rewarding and is a testament to what the SLX team has always set out to achieve," says Alex Keighley, creative designer & project manager, SLX
Now in its eighth year, the Spectacle of Light has gone from strength to strength and welcomes over 50,000 attendees to the gardens each year. First intended to be a yearly recurring event throughout the festive period, its success has created new possibilities for SLX and DP Partnership to expand its collaborative work, with there now being seven hosting locations throughout the UK featuring Spectacle of Lig

USA - Greg Klimetz and the team at Relevant AV Solutions gave themselves a clear mission statement when they began planning the Transformation Project at New Covenant Church’s worship centre in Valdosta, G, in the spring of 2021. “The key word in our planning was ‘yes,’” said Klimetz. “As in when the church asked us “can we do…” our answer had to be ‘yes we can!’”
It was a simple, direct, and succinct goal, but one that was not without its challenges, given the diverse mission of this dynamic church, which was founded in 1980. In addition to embracing Sunday services, the church hosts vibrant touring concerts, multiple conferences, and events for community members of all ages.
Built in 2004, the church’s worship centre served the purpose of its time, but the building wasn’t supple enough to meet the multi-faceted needs of today. Fixed pews and stained glass on three of the room’s walls, made doing anything beyond a Sunday Service, and hosting a wedding, nearly impossible. Moreover, the space wasn’t camera friendly, which was an issue, given that the church livestreams its services.
“We worked hand in hand with Scotty Williams and Chris Shelton from New Covenant to help visualise and realise their dream for the AVL systems,” said Klimetz. “Working from an overall design and concept, we remained open-minded throughout the entire process working to explore the best solutions.”
Following this collaborative process, the worship centre was renovated “from the ground up,” including the removal of so

Qatar - Lighting designer Matthew Tunchon and Qatar Vision Production Company WLL (QVISION) utilised a large Claypaky rig to light the first test event for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 inside the newly built Lusail Stadium in Doha, which hosted the tournament’s final match between France and Argentina.
The event marked the official unveiling of the World Cup uniform for staff and volunteers. Since the soccer pitch was being prepared for the final match, the ceremony’s attendance was limited to 25,000 people but the event had to feel big in size and scope.
“Executive producer Dan Bolton and creative producer Tom Davies both from Dubai-based BE Experiential, expressed the need to make this event fill out the stadium,” says Tunchon of Silver Bullet Projects in Sydney, Australia. “The production designed by Nathan Heverin needed to work around the pitch and be quite compact, so it was up to the lighting to really give the event a big arena look.”
To help achieve that, Tunchon assembled a rig featuring 50 Claypaky Scenius Unicos, 40 A.leda B-EYE K20s, 25 Sharpys and 30 Hepikos.
“We used the B-EYEs in the seating area behind the stage to provide some great effects and to backlight the performance stage,” Tunchon explains. “The big face of these fixtures as well as the huge amount of looks you can get out of them meant they were really great at helping to pull the stage out from its position in front of the seating area.”
Along with the B-EYEs the “real star fixture” at the event were the Hepikos beam-wash lights, he report

Italy - Gian Carlo Vannetti is an experienced lighting designer based in Novellara, who specialises in creating theatrical lighting designs using Obsidian Control Systems' Onyx platform. With nearly 30 years in the entertainment technology industry, he has had the opportunity to work on a wide range of projects, from big and small Italian artists to festivals, corporate events and more.
Gian Carlo's passion for lighting design began early in his career when he found himself attracted to the lighting console, despite starting out with more basic tasks such as prepping cables and loading trucks. “I really love all the features in lighting control software and all the lovely things you can create with cues and timing,” he states. “I try to follow the music and re-create somehow that feeling so people can also participate visually. That’s what makes me shiver and feel good! Trying to create something that makes sense in that moment.”
Over time, he gained experience operating a variety of consoles, including Coemar, Avolites, Martin Case, Whole Hog, GrandMA, Jands Vista, and ChamSys. This eventually led him to Obsidian Control Systems’ Onyx platform and he now owns several Onyx-driven products including an NX Wing, NX Touch, M-Play, NX DMX, and Netron EP4.
Currently, Gian Carlo works on the theatre side of the industry, collaborating with a dance company that has a creative approach to light. He explains, "There is a lot of 'dark' so a light at 5% has and makes a huge difference!" He began exploring Onyx in 2020, intrigued by its features and

USA - Jason Lovins Band, an independent Christian rock group based out of Kentucky, has been touring consistently in houses of worship and college campus ministries since its formation in 2001. “We’re on the road about 40 weeks a year,” said the band’s production manager and sound engineer Chris Music. “It’s a big operation.”
The band’s audio needs are handled by a 96kHz 64-channel Allen & Heath Avantis console. “We’ve loved using the Avantis,” said Music. “We used to have some external plugins included with our touring rig, but the Avantis’ dPack upgrade has eliminated the need for most of those.”
Allen & Heath’s dPack plugin package brings Avantis consoles to the next level, featuring DEEP processing functions from the brand’s flagship dLive series. “The dPack is where the Avantis shines, for sure - especially the analogue compressor models. I like compressors that can give a channel some character to make it sit differently in the mix.”
Music still keeps a 128-channel Waves card installed in his Avantis, both to run some specific plugins off a server and to run playback tracks off a computer for virtual soundcheck. The band also employs an Allen & Heath GX4816 stagebox for remote I/O, which features 48 mic preamps and 16 line outputs. An additional DX168 expander is then daisy-chained off the main stagebox, which Music uses to cleanly connect all the drum mics with minimal cabling.
Since switching to Avantis, Music has found his workflow significantly improved. “I love the way you can lay ou

South Africa - Durban-based SA Van Conversions is an established panel van conversion company that produces modifications across South Africa and the SADC countries. Previous projects have garnered them respect from peers within the industry, as well as from the government. While they specialise in panel vans, the team is adept at fitting a range of vehicles including ambulances, taxis, camper vans, trailers and more.
As part of a recent project, SA Vans Conversions teamed up with Stage Audio Works to deliver a fully AV-equipped touring bus for KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board Maritime Centre of Excellence (KZN Sharks Board) to utilise during their live demonstrations, which include the dissection of a shark in front of their audience.
Stage Audio Works were brought in to design and install a complete AV system for the touring truck which opens up to create a full stage complete with integrated PA and large video screen. Stage Audio Works specified a Plus Audio and Pixel Plus solution to handle audio and video respectively. These tools help to immerse and engage audiences – especially younger generations. The company also supplied a full DJ Setup, comprising a professional grade Denon DJ system, along with a pair of Plus Audio M13 stage monitors.
“After talking with SA Van Conversions and the end-client, we decided on a Plus Audio sound system based on the compact Li-series which offers an excellent quality-to-price ratio and is ideally sized for the project,” explains Victor Vermaak, sales representative for SAW. “Four L208 loudspeakers and two

Germany - Since 1985, the Theaterhaus Stuttgart has brought together various artistic genres, experimental and popular productions, internationally renowned artists and newly developed projects under one roof. The Theaterhaus maintains its own theatre and dance ensemble and raises almost 65% of its annual costs itself. The Theaterhaus has around 300,000 visitors every year, with an average of 900 events ranging from theatre and dance to concerts, comedy and cabaret, readings, lectures and exhibitions.
Recently, the Gauthier Dance production performed by the Theaterhaus Stuttgart’s dance ensemble has attracted the most attention. For this, the in-house lighting team used Robert Juliat Dalis 860 8-colour mixing LED cyclights for the first time, as well as Dalis 862 tunable white LED footlights, all of which have recently become part of the Theaterhaus’ permanent lighting inventory.
The decision to go with the Dalis fixtures was made after an extensive shootout at the theatre with several manufacturers’ products. Wanja Wenzel, deputy technical manager at the Theaterhaus Stuttgart, was particularly impressed by the light quality and beam pattern of the asymmetrical 300W Dalis LED cyclights, which provide excellent illumination of the stage over its entire depth with very little spill. "For Gauthier Dance, the entire stage area is in play, for which we needed a horizontal luminaire that could illuminate a projection screen at a short distance in the best possible way."
The stage at Gauthier Dance is sparse and empty - only the dancers inhabit the

Israel - To cater for a wide range of events, KZPRO recently collaborated with Harman Professional Solutions to outfit Dua by Lago with a new networked audio system consisting of JBL Professional, Crown and BSS solutions.
Lago is a large event complex that houses three different venues - Spirit, Soul and Dua - for conferences, exhibitions and events of all sizes. Located on the edge of Rishon LeZion Lake, Dua by Lago is one of Israel’s premier venues for weddings, proms and other special occasions. Lago required state-of-the-art audio solutions suited to each area of the venue.
Lago’s management turned to integrators KZPRO (Professional Sound Division of RBX / Kley Zemer) to outfit Dua’s indoor dance floor, dining areas, outdoor garden and canopy with a complete Harman networked audio system featuring JBL Professional loudspeakers, Crown amplifiers and BSS network processors.
“We were asked to install a distributed sound system that would provide unified sound quality throughout the interior and exterior of the venue,” said Libby Kochan, marketing, KZPRO. “They wanted to be able to play music in the event garden as well as inside the hall in a way that would be user-friendly and uniformly distributed. We also needed to ensure each speaker’s properties were suited for the environments, in terms of both sound quality and visual aesthetic.
“JBL’s wide selection of speakers allowed us to pick the right solution for each area. JBL speakers deliver the sound quality we need while blending in seamlessly. Our clients are very happy

Poland - Established in 1977, the Witold Lutosławski Chamber Philharmonic in the Northeastern city of Łomża was named in honour of the Polish composer and conductor, considered to be the country’s greatest musician since Chopin, and ranked amongst the most significant 20th-century classical musicians.
After many years in different locations, almost two thousand performances, and receiving numerous awards for its artistic achievements and contribution to the development of musical culture, the Philharmonic took the ambitious step of rebuilding an existing venue and refurbishing it to an ideal specification for music performances. That specification includes a comprehensive loudspeaker system from L-Acoustics.
“The building that we chose was designed for sports, not for music, so we needed to completely rebuild it for the Philharmonic,” explains Jan Milosz Zarzycki, general and artistic director of the Łomża Philharmonic. “The project was several years in the making and included significant structural changes, followed by a delayed opening due to the pandemic.”
To achieve the Philharmonic’s goals, the roof needed to be rebuilt from scratch to accommodate heavier loads. The concert hall interior was deepened, and the foyer was adapted into a new concert space for chamber concerts. “As the construction advanced, we began to search for an audio system that would be the centrepiece of the new hall,” continues Zarzycki. “While many classical performances would remain acoustic, we required a flawless sound reinforcement system for pop

Finland - Tampere Hall hosted Lucid Dreams, a photographic exhibition of Mikki Kunttu’s work, Light & Shadow, an international lighting seminar that included contributions from LeRoy Bennett, Christopher Bauder, Benjamin Dupont, Ralph Jörg Wezorke and Ola Melzig, a performance by the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra of Gustav Holst’s The Planets suite lit by Kunttu, and A Night of Light international gala concert lit by one of Finland’s talented young lighting designers, Alex Hautamäki.
The germ of the idea came from Tampere Hall’s managing director, Paulina Ahokas, who has worked with Kunttu extensively. The result was a collaboration with many artists with whom Kunttu has worked throughout his career, with Kunttu himself lighting the seven-part masterpiece, The Planets, in cooperation with the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra.
“The Planets is one of the best-known classical compositions of the last century, and for a visual designer it provides a fantastic canvas to paint on,” he says. “In practical terms it was straight-forward enough to design within the tight and busy timeframe of the weekend, yet gave me plenty of scope to create some exciting space-themed looks. It is already written in the music, a journey into space.”
Kunttu chose to design, programme and operate the lighting and video for The Planets to give it an artisanal, back-to-roots feel. Centred around a circular video screen above the orchestra, the design featured over 100 Ayrton fixtures, including 26 Ayrton Cobra

Canada - Broadweigh was the load monitoring brand of choice for the CF Toronto Eaton Centre’s Merry Merry Music event this festive season. The centre, which attracts over 50m visitors annually, staged a programme of celebrity performers at Christmas, in place of its festive tree tradition, which has had to take a break due to a major roof replacement project.
Rigging company Paradigm Rigging was brought on board to support some of the technical aspects involved in bringing a holiday atmosphere to the mall space as well as supporting and enhancing the musical performances.
Michael Sorowka, MD, Paradigm Rigging commented: “We were brought on board to work with the rigging and load monitoring of the grid structure being used to suspend multiple snowflake scenic elements, as well as a large 5000lb circular video wall. Given the space the project was being assembled in and the intricacies of getting the grid flown into place, Ryan Brenton from Palmer Audio knew he would need some expert hands on-site to ensure the project was delivered both on schedule and more importantly, safely.”
Palmer Audio, an Ontario based, full-service event production company, has worked with Paradigm Rigging in various capacities for almost ten years, with Paradigm typically being brought in for more intricate rigging projects where extra specialised experience is an asset. Michael continued; “Rigging a 5000lb circular video wall in the middle of the Eaton Centre doesn’t come without its challenges. A larger grid structure had to be built at ground level, raked while