USA - Seeking to provide exceptional audio quality for its diverse speech and music programmes, the Penn State Great Valley graduate school has recently installed a Meyer Sound Mina line array loudspeaker system in its 300-seat Warren V. Musser Auditorium.

"With Mina, we have future-proofed the room for any future needs," says Dave Brotman, president of Coatesville, Penn.-based DBS Audio Systems, which handled system design and integration. "Mina's clarity and coverage easily take care of all current speech requirements for educational uses and corporate conference rent

UK - With little over a week to go before this year's ISCEx2015, the Institute of Sound and Communications Engineers is reporting a record number of companies exhibiting.

The two-day networking event, taking place at the picturesque rural location of Coombe Abbey, a four-star country house hotel outside Coventry, will bring consultants, specifiers and manufacturers together under one roof. Following the AGM during the afternoon of Wednesday, 3 March, a networking dinner, with comedian Lea Roberts, will serve as a curtain-raiser for the following day's exhibition.

Wednesday, 4 March

USA - The in-store radio architecture is typically a patchwork of systems and components from different sources to deliver music and advertising to businesses, with challenging scenarios for licensing music and audio content. The formation of StoreStreams aims to simplify the launch and management of a multi-site in-store radio system, cleanly integrating IT network infrastructure with audio players-and providing the content, licensing and user interface to ensure a unified and profitable service.

StoreStreams brings together the music catalogue and network intelligence of XYZ Stream

USA - At the request of FOH engineer Jose Rivera, a Meyer Sound Leo and Lyon linear sound reinforcement system was deployed for Marc Anthony's recent mini tour. The shows - which included 360-degree productions in New York and New Jersey - were Anthony's first North American concerts to be heard through a Leo system.

"Everybody was extremely happy with the performance of Leo and Lyon, both on stage and throughout the audience," reports Rivera, who first used Leo at a stadium concert in Peru. "The overall sound was very transparent and open. Vocal intelligibility was imp

USA - From its start in 1996 as a small independent plant by Grandville, Michigan's Resurrection Life Church, Radiant Church in the Richland suburb of Kalamazoo has steadily grown its membership to 3,500. Recently expanding its service count to four each weekend - two on Saturday and two on Sunday - the church also freshly upgraded the audio facilities of its 1,050-seat sanctuary with a new ARCS WiFo (Wide and Focus) loudspeaker system from L-Acoustics.

Parkway Electric & Communications of Holland, Michigan provided the design and integration of the new system, which replaced an outda

UK - Adlib has been providing a riotous sound for favourite UK rockers, Kaiser Chiefs, renewing a long term working relationship with the band and reuniting many crew who have worked together over several years, on a tour that's been every bit as full-on and enjoyable as previous ones.

Adlib's George Puttock, Sam Proctor and James Petch joined the band's engineering duo of Chris Leckie at FOH and Ilias Andriantos on monitors for a rousing three week tour where all the energy and passion of the Kaisers' renowned live performances was exceptionally well received by the public.

Working

UK - Bombay Bicycle Club will forever be known as the last live band to play at London's Earl's Court venue. But preceding that already-famous December show was a tour that had started nearly a year before, on which DiGiCo SD9 and SD10 consoles played a starring role.

Front of House engineer Tom Wiggans joined the band in the summer, part-way through the tour. A DiGiCo user for around 12 years - including working with UB40, Squeeze, Wet Wet Wet and The Cranberries - Tom's debut with Bombay Bicycle Club came on festival shows, before he used a DiGiCo SD9 on the band's US shows. He then

USA - After Oscar awards were collected and the lights dimmed on stage at the Dolby Theatre, the stars hit the streets of Los Angeles to find their favourite after parties. Among these, the Governors Ball, held at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at the Hollywood & Highland Centre. Kicking off the event's entertainment this year was Grammy Winner Sergio Mendes, who performed songs with special guest will.i.am from their co-produced, Latin Grammy-winning album Timeless, using several DPA Microphones d:facto Vocal Microphones.

Selected by Mendes' production manager John Baker, wired and wi

UK - Alchemea College is celebrating the recent success of several of its former students at this year's BRIT Awards, Grammy Awards, MPG Awards...and on the charts.

Jimmy Napes (aka James Napier, Class of 2004) was both songwriter and producer whose work contributed to Sam Smith's BRIT Award nods for British Breakthrough Act and British Global Success, as well as nominations for British Album and British Single. Other Alchemea alumni represented at the BRITs include Steve Sedgwick (Class of 2002), house engineer for British Male Solo Artist nominee Damon Albarn, and Robbie Nelson (Cla

UK - Flare Audio has been selected as the only audio supplier for this year's LEAF (London Electronic Arts Festival) at Tobacco Dock this March.

The event, created by Bestival founder and DJ Rob da Bank, is a two-day cultural celebration of electronic music, art, technology and digital futurism that will attract around 20,000 electronic music fans into the heart of London.

The LEAF conference is aimed at electronic music fans and the 'pro-sumer' market, with day one focusing on talks, demonstrations and discussion groups aimed at fans, enthusiasts, apprentices and connoisseurs, as w

UK - Sound Technology is hosting its second in a series of training courses for Harman's new HiQnet Audio Architect design, configuration and control software for installed audio systems on 11 March 2015. This free one-day Introductory Course is aimed at sales staff and engineers new to Harman's DSP products.

This introductory course will give an overview of all HiQnet hardware devices that can be configured and controlled by Audio Architect, and a demonstration of the core features and workflow of Audio Architect itself. This course is designed for those who may specify or sell Harma

UK - Orbital Sound has announced the dates for its annual Easter Sound Fundamentals for Theatre training course, running this year from 7-10 April at its purpose-built Brixton training facility. Over 500 students have already passed through the theatre sound training programme, helping to prepare technical theatre and theatre sound students for careers in live entertainment.

The Sound Fundamentals for Theatre course combines essential theory with practical skills, catering for a wide cross-section of skill levels. Students are typically drawn from the UK's leading drama schools, as we

UK - Armour Pro has announced that Audica is to review its UK sales, appointing Audiologic as a distributor for sales to installers and integrators of its commercial audio systems.

Simon Stoll, managing director of Harlow-based Audiologic said, "We have always been impressed by Audica's combination of impressive sound quality and superb styling, and are delighted to be able to bring this to our installation customers. Audica complements our portfolio and is a brand that undoubtedly strengthens our profile in respect of the retail sector."

"Our business model has chang

Germany / China - HK Audio has further strengthened its position in the Chinese pro audio market by signing a distribution contract with Algam China.

The new deal, which was signed at the recent ISE 2015 show in Amsterdam, is effective from March 1 2015 and will see Algam China focusing on building HK Audio's presence in the growing Chinese MI sector using the Lucas, Elements, Premium PR:O, Pulsar, Linear 5 and SoundCaddy ranges.

Shenzhen Melody will also continue to distribute HK Audio across China, with an emphasis on installation products.

François Lay, HK Audio's internationa

UK - Cliff Electronics has announced the introduction of its new FT Digital XLR Feed-Through connector series. The FT Series is a complete range of audio, data, and fibre connectors that can be front or rear mounted into an industry standard 24mm XLR connector mounting hole. The new FT Series are simple to mount into any panel designed to accept XLR connectors including instrument, control and rack panels, wall-plates, etc.

The new Cliff FT series is suitable for developing custom I/O solutions used in broadcast, AV installations, systems integration, home theatre, etc. The RJ45 versi

USA - NBC Network News relies on six of API's A2Ds when filming popular news programmes such as Morning Joe, The Today Show, and Nightly News with Lester Holt in their Los Angeles studio.

The six A2D mic pre amps are put to work all day long, and are used in both the Newsroom Set and Studio W or Studio West. Audio engineer Stan Ouse explains, "The backdrop of the Newsroom Set is a functioning news room. In Studio W we support all of the NBC networks and we do shows and live shots all throughout the day. For example, last week we did Hardball with the host plu

USA - Located in the rural Illinois town of Carlinville, Blackburn College serves six hundred undergraduates. Its work programme keeps costs low and campus community involvement high by employing students in a range of non-traditional student jobs under the direction of professionals, for nine of the campus's 16 buildings.

A recent $3m upgrade to the 430-seat Bothwell Auditorium continued that tradition, with the student construction crew providing much of the labour. Amid a range of new infrastructure is a new sound reinforcement system centred on Danley Sound Labs loudspeakers and s

UK - Another year has flown by, and it's time to start nominations for the Technical Theatre Awards 2015.

The nomination period is now open on the new website - head to www.technicaltheatreawards.com now to put your colleagues forward.

Says the organisation, "We have a great year planned ahead, including streamlining the voting process and bringing together a committee of industry leaders to finalise our shortlists.

"We are also heading to Europe for Stage|Set|Scenery, as well as our annual visits to PLASA Focus and the ABTT Trade Show.

"Our awards ceremony will b

USA - After struggling with a challenging acoustical environment and a sound-reinforcement system that couldn't distribute sound consistently throughout all areas of their sanctuary, Prescott, Arizona, United Methodist Church decided enough was enough. After all, if the congregation can't hear clearly, the message is lost. To solve the problem, church management upgraded to a line array system drawn from the TrueLine catalogue of Greensboro, North Carolina-based WorxAudio Technologies, a division of PreSonus.

CSD Group was contracted to design and install the church's new sound system

Korea - The AmorePacific Beautiful Life Centre in Osan, Korea, has reinvented the factory tour and brand centre with the award-winning Story Garden, an interactive multisensory and multimedia experience, involving sight, sound and touch. BRC Imagination Arts hired Electrosonic to do the initial audio-visual design and provide AV support for the Story Garden on the cosmetic company's expansive campus.

Story Garden will receive a Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement at a black-tie gala on 21 March 2015, at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, Califor

USA - D.A.S. Audio has announced the appointment of Arthur 'Loren' Robinson to the newly created position of business development manager-installed sound. In his new capacity, Robinson will be tasked with overseeing nationwide sales for the company's installed sound accounts.

In this capacity, Robinson will serve as the company's interface with integrators, consultants, and design / build firms, and he will also assist in managing and hiring the various representative firms that coordinate sales throughout the various territories. Robinson started in February and will be based out of

Greece - The National Bank of Greece in Stadiou Street is located in the former building of the first Athens Stock Market. The beautiful neoclassical structure, has an impressive interior and many renaissance features.

Constructed in 1890, the building provides the National Bank of Greece with a cultural venue for exhibitions, events, presentations and meetings. To service this multi-purpose usage, the bank needed audio of the highest quality and vocal intelligibility, and commissioned Athens-based Automation Broadcasting Audio Security (A.B.A.S.) to design and install the system.

K

USA - Such is the abundant talent of Sara Bareilles that 2015 will see her score a new theatre musical, record her next album, and no doubt add one or two performances for the Nation's First Family for whom she has performed numerous times. All this from an artist who only recently completed her first full production headline tour, travelling right across the USA, rounded off with visits to Australia, New Zealand, and several Asian cities.

Trey Smith, who has worked for her since 2008, was particularly careful in his choice of audio system for the Bareilles tour.

"For about fiv

UK - EM Acoustics has announced the appointment of Pro Audio Systems as a main dealer. The Bradford-based company is well-known for its work both in the UK and overseas in sales, installations and hire, handling a diverse portfolio of projects for local authorities, high-profile retail clients, theatres, houses of worship and education. Their independence and focus on delivering best-case solutions was a key factor in the appointment.

"Our business is really based on delivering bespoke solutions that have to meet both budgetary and operational criteria," explained PAS sales

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