USA - When it was ready to upgrade its Meyer Sound MSL-3 loudspeakers of more than two decades at its 2,472-seat Andrew Jackson Hall, the Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) in Nashville chose Meyer Sound again, this time a system based on the M'elodie line array loudspeaker.

"The MSL-3s had served us well since the mid-80s," says Larry Bryan, TPAC's chief audio engineer. "But we were ready to step into the 21st century with the latest Meyer Sound line array technology."

As typically deployed, the system comprises left and right flown arrays of 16 M'elodie lo

Lebanon - New venue Life is one of the largest in Beirut, hosting 1,500 people in its indoor area with a large motorised, retractable roof, and double that number in its open-air area.

Maurice Salloum, sound engineer and co-owner of Life, chose the sound system as well as the right company to complete the installation. Having a long-term relation with Beirut-based Hi Fi Service, Salloum knew he is in safe hands: "I wanted an unparalleled system for our venue," he says, "a system that can generate high SPLs and at the same time produce an excellent sound. Additionally, I

Cuba - When Pope Benedict XVI recently visited the Cuban capital of Havana, the government of Cuba chose RCF TT+ (Touring & Theatre) series to broadcast the Papal Mass.

Hundreds of thousands of Cubans from the capital and neighbouring provinces filled Havana's José Martí Plaza de la Revolución - at 72,000sq.m, one of the biggest squares in the world.

The system specified comprised 64 x TTL55-A (16 elements left and right of main stage and two 16-hang out-fills) and 24 x TTS36-A subwoofers (12 per side). In addition, 27 x TT25-A's were deployed as delays - in 12 towers (each

USA - Lectrosonics has developed the SPNDNT network processor to expand the ASPEN digital matrix processor family. The new network processor is much more than a simple network interface. Instead, it is a full featured DSP processor that can address both the ASPEN and Dante matrices and add mixing, gain and delay functions to the digital audio signals, says the company.

Any of the 48 final mixes in the ASPEN matrix can be assigned to any one or more of the Dante channels for transport to other endpoints in the network. Dante signals can also be imported into the ASPEN matrix in a local

UK - Harman Professional's distributor for the UK, Sound Technology, has appointed Gary Jackson and Jonny Blower to the newly-created positions of area sales representatives for the south and north of the UK respectively.

Joining area sales managers Joe East, Darren Elliott, Jason Lovatt and David Titherington, Jackson and Blower will be responsible for independent MI dealers, installers and PA hire companies across Sound Technology's MI and Pro Audio portfolio.

Both men join Sound Technology with considerable experience in the MI and Pro Audio industries. Jackson joins from SSE Aud

France / Russia - L-Acoustics has confirmed that Sonoruss has become a new certified provider distributor in Russia. The newly-formed company, headed up by local industry expert Igor Verkolat, has a network of 200 dealers in place to support and promote the L-Acoustics brand in the region.

"L-Acoustics is very a famous brand in Russian show business," says Verkolat. "Their systems feature on the technical riders of leading artists, and many Russian rental companies include L-Acoustics in their inventory for a variety of events. Thanks to the sound, features and ease of

USA - dnp denmark is set to make a big impression InfoComm 2012, Las Vegas, 13-15 June in Las Vegas with seven screens on display at its own booth and many more being shown around the fair.

dnp will unveil two prototypes of its new Short Throw front projection screen line for the education, conference room and signage markets. Both displays are optimised for maximum performance in classrooms, smaller sized meeting rooms and shops or malls with limited space and lots of ambient light.

In the retractable screen category, dnp will present upgraded versions of the dnp Supernova Flex Cla

Poland - Established in 1976 by the Wroclaw actor Andrzej Dziedziul, the Zdrojowy Teatr Animacji (or Spa Theatre) in Jelenia Góra, is housed in the classically designed Spa Theatre, which was built in 1836. Used mainly for children's productions, it also stages adult plays as well as outdoor performances.

With the prevailing demand for state-of-the-art technology in theatre, the plan for Zdrojowy Teatr Animacji's modernisation began in 2008. Enter Polish entertainment technology specialists M.Ostrowski, with a brief to supply and assemble a lighting, stage management and theatre audi

Germany - The Nowruz celebrations mark the beginning of the New Year for Indo-Iranian cultures, which follow the solar calendar. Oberhausen arena hosted its 15th Nowruz celebrations this year - the largest of their kind in Europe - and the top-class line-up reflected the full spectrum of the Persian music world, from traditional folk music to pop and disco beats.

Soundart KG from Bochum has been responsible for the technical side of this festival for several years. Preparation is always highly complex in terms of meeting the artists' technical requirements: the final design involved a

Germany - HK Audio's new website (www.hkaudio.com) promises "a hipper look and feel, no-nonsense navigation, even more information".

All portals are clearly marked Musicians, Entertainers & DJs, Rental, Install Sound, Line Array, Worship Audio, and Personal Pro Audio, so finding your gateway to audio bliss is simple, says the company. The new navigation system takes you straight to the systems that are likely to be of the greatest interest to you.

HK Audio's revamped corporate design figures prominently on the website. Finding the latest videos and news is simple now that

UK - Boxing trainer Brendan Ingle whose gym produced the likes of Herol 'Bomber' Graham and current IBF light heavyweight titlist Clinton Woods is perhaps best known for being Prince Naseem Hamed's mentor from the age of seven to 25.

Ingle has now been given a new PA system for his gym at St Thomas' Club, Wincobank, so he can be heard above the noise of pounding punchbags. The TXA-800CD portable PA system has been donated by TSG Media and Monacor International. Ingle said. "I'm absolutely delighted with this fantastic system. It's very noisy when everyone is training but the syst

Australia - The Florida Beach Bar at the Crowne Plaza Terrigal is an icon venue on the Central Coast of NSW. Positioned opposite Terrigal beach, it is a favourite place for locals and visitors on holiday. The venue was originally designed as a small sports bar to service the beer garden and food services. In a recent renovation the hotel decided to tear down a connecting bar wall into what was once a nightclub entertainment venue. The design objective was to open up and combine the spaces, transforming the interior into a modern, fresh inviting destination.

The new venue's interior de

UK - Following the success of last year's events, Sennheiser UK has announced the dates of its 2012 integrated systems seminars. This year sees the number of events increased to three, with Hopetoun House, near Edinburgh, once again chosen as the initial venue on 23 May, followed by two new venues, Ragley Hall in Warwickshire on 29 May and Surrey's Pennyhill Park on 31 May.

"The format of the seminars has proved popular over the past couple of years, so we will be keeping the basis the same, but tailor the content to account for the constantly changing requirements of the industr

USA - The nominees for the 2012 Tony Awards have been announced, and the nominees in the lighting, sound, scenic and costume design categories are as follows:

BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A PLAY

John Lee Beatty - Other Desert Cities

Daniel Ostling - Clybourne Park

Mark Thompson - One Man, Two Guvnors

Donyale Werle - Peter and the Starcatcher

BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A MUSICAL

Bob Crowley - Once

Rob Howell & Jon Driscoll - Ghost the Musical

Tobin Ost & Sven Ortel - Newsies

George Tsypin - Spider-

Producer Power - Independent theatre producers are combining to launch an association that will represent their interests in negotiations with theatre managements, in the face of worsening trading conditions which they say threaten to put them out of business.

The League of Independent Producers will lobby and negotiate on behalf of its members with other trade bodies or with theatre owners directly, with the stated aim of "improving the lot of the independent producer". The body, which is in the process of being constituted and registered, has grown out of a more informal g

Czech Republic - Rental company T Servis has purchased additional L-Acoustics K1 WST line source enclosures from local distributor Pro Music. This brings the total of K1 enclosures in T-Servis' rental inventory to 64.

The Prague-based company recently relocated to a new, 3,000sq.m warehouse with a private rehearsal studio including four production offices, two dressing rooms with showers and its own cafeteria.

"T Servis required more K1 inventory to supply its growing international clientele throughout Central and Eastern Europe," explains the company's managing director,

UK - A mock castle in the centre of Northampton has been reborn as an opulent new cocktail bar, called Borjia, equipped with an impressive Nexo PS10-R2 system by local installer Fabtronic.

Dating back to the 1920s, the building was created as a memorial to a fallen soldier in the First World War, complete with turrets and ramparts. Despite being a landmark in the town, it stood empty for five years until James Smith, Paul Clarke and David Ward moved in to transform it into Borjia.

The bar has a capacity of about 140 but this is set to increase to 200 after some extra building works.

UK - City Park is a six-acre public space in the heart of Bradford which contains the largest man-made water feature in any UK city, and which provides a superb intra-urban landscape comprising fountains, trees and attractive green spaces. Bradford-based Pro Audio Systems recently provided a comprehensive technical infrastructure to support the gala opening of the new facilities.

A variety of entertainment was on offer during the day, from a street theatre group featuring a giant inflatable lobster to the City of Bradford Brass Band, the award-winning Bradford-based Mind The Gap theat

USA - Allen & Heath's iLive digital mixing system was selected by promoters, Cato Music, to manage FOH and monitors on the British Music Embassy stage at this year's iconic SXSW festival in Austin TX, USA. Showcasing the UK's brightest new bands and artists, the British Music Embassy was exclusively based at downtown Austin's Latitude 30 club, where an iDR-48 MixRack and iLive-T112 Control Surface was installed at FOH, digitally split using a Dante networking card to a duplicate iDR-48/T112 for monitors.

There were performances from nearly 60 bands over the course of the week-long fes

UK - Liverpool based Adlib rounded off a busy April 2012 tour supplying sound, lighting and rigging equipment plus crew to comedian Jeff Dunham on his Controlled Chaos tour.

In doing so, the company was renewing its penchant for working with some of the funniest people on the planet!

The tour already had a lighting design in place and a spec to which Adlib worked. Based on four trusses, the front one was in the 'advanced' position, around 30ft out from the front of stage. This was rigged with eight Martin Professional MAC 700 Wash moving lights, four ETC Source Four Profiles

Croatia - If jazz music is epitomised by freedom of expression then the VIP Jazz Club in Zagreb is better placed than most to understand that concept. Its location on Bana Jelacica square is practically at the heart of Croatian contemporary history; situated in downtown Zagreb, the square is significant for being the cradle of Croatian independence. The club itself is comparable in size to the venerable Ronnie Scott's in London and indeed hosts a similar range of recognised international jazz artists. Like Scott's it also boasts a d&b audiotechnik sound system.

Owner Mr. Kokanovic was

UK - Canford has announced that it has acquired the brand Enclosure Systems, based in Borough Green Kent and will take over manufacture and distribution of the range from this point forwards. Enclosure Systems (ES) has a range of high quality racks and accessories and is a leading player in the audio-visual, IT and data networking sector. Having been one of Canford's principal suppliers of 19 inch racks for the last 10 years, the brand has established a very strong position within sections of the broadcast systems integration and audio and video installations markets.

Canford will ret

UK - Centric Commercial Finance, an expert in SME funding, has provided Martin Audio with a £1.3 million invoice discounting facility. The additional working capital will be used to ensure the on-going growth of the business.

Martin Audio is an affiliated portfolio company of Sun European Partners, LLP ("Sun European Partners"), the European advisor to Sun Capital Partners, Inc. This is one of a number of deals completed by Centric with private equity houses in the first quarter of 2012, the company says.

Tim Hawkins, commercial director at Centric, comments: "A

USA - When it was ready to upgrade its venerable Meyer Sound MSL-3 loudspeakers of more than two decades at its 2,472-seat Andrew Jackson Hall, the Tennessee Performing Arts Centre (TPAC) in Nashville chose Meyer Sound again, this time a system based on the M'elodie line array loudspeaker.

"The MSL-3s had served us well since the mid-80s," says Larry Bryan, TPAC's chief audio engineer. "But we were ready to step into the 21st century with the latest Meyer Sound line array technology."

As typically deployed, the system comprises left and right flown arrays of 16 M

Latest Issue. . .