Iceland - Andrea Manzoni, Milan-based pianist, composer and sound recordist, represents a new generation of pianists take an innovative approach that blurs the boundaries of traditional music styles. Manzoni recently embarked on a transformative journey into the Icelandic wilderness to gather nature sounds for the sound design of Qivittoq, a theatrical production depicting a dystopian love story set in the solitude of the North Pole, in a world rapidly depleting its resources.
Working from a draft script from the director of the theatre show, Manzoni was keen to immerse himself in the ambience, and secured a 30-day residency in the remote town of Isafjordur in the Westfjords. Manzoni embarked on 12 excursions over the 30 days to remote locations devoid of human presence

USA - Elation has announced William Irwin as a new regional sales representative for the U.S. Mountain States region.
William has been involved in production and systems integration since 2006, including as business development director for Clearwing Productions. Prior to joining Elation, he worked at GLP as a brand manager and product developer for Scenex Lighting, the company’s custom LED solutions division. He has also been active with IATSE, specializing in atmospheric and pyrotechnics for film.
William comments, “I’m looking forward to being a driving force behi

Europe TAF has introduced the new PA Vertical Tower 1 (PAV1). It’s designed for safely and securely hanging heavy speaker arrays at large-scale events. Through its versatile design, the PAV1 not only serves as an independent PA tower or part of the stage setup, but also as stable support for LED walls.
Utilizing TAF’s specially designed top section and heavy-duty HT44 or TT44 truss segments with quicklock connection system, provides certified loading up to 1,000 kg at heights up to 8m.
Stability is ensured by its robust base, which accepts ballast up to 2,000 kg and fea
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ETC Hyperstar

ETC introduces the High End Systems Hyperstar: a new, companion to the popular Lonestar automated luminaire. Powerful, compact, and optimized for projection versatility, Hyperstar will help create uniquely beautiful designs for a variety of venues. Hyperstar is the same size as Lonestar, and is just as bright, compact, and affordable.

South Korea - Maris Stella, named after the patron saint of the busy port city of Incheon in South Korea, is a comprehensive senior care facility established in 2013 by the Catholic Foundation.
The first of its kind in the country, Maris Stella provides an integrated programme of pastoral care for its residents with an offering of social and cultural events and pastimes, plus the daily celebration of Mass in the facility’s dedicated 400-seat auditorium – which also hosts lectures, film screenings and live performances.
A decade on from its initial construction, the dec

Finland - Genelec has announced the appointment of Steen Tychsen to the position of international sales manager, with responsibility for SE Asia, Eastern Europe and Canada. With over 25 years of professional audio experience in a succession of senior roles, Tychsen brings with him a deep knowledge of the industry.
Tychsen’s previous high-profile roles at both DPA and Neumann have given him extensive experience of overseeing sales and business development in both EMEA and the US.
“I’m thrilled at the opportunity to represent a brand synonymous with excellence in audio t

Greece - Lighting designer and programmer Kostantinos Ntovas lit a 2.5-hour show by award winning singer Petros Iakovidis at Thessaloniki’s Club Vogue, one of the largest nightclubs in Greece. Ntovas wasn’t relying solely on the lights he controlled with his ChamSys MagicQ Stadium Connect to change perceptions. He also called upon the profound power of dark space.
Using a variety of off-centre light angles and creating distinct fields of bright and dark spaces around his sometimes-silhouetted client, the Greek designer created an engaging narrative that opened new perspectives

USA - Country music group Midland is out on the road with a lighting system provided by Bandit Lites. Comprised of Mark Wystrach (lead vocals, guitar), Jess Carson (guitar, vocals), and Cameron Duddy (bass guitar, vocals), Midland’s neotraditional country sound has led to their three studio albums resulting in seven singles landing on the Billboard country chart.
With two years of touring with Midland under his belt, lighting designer Drew Lombana was confident in his ability to both create something that was as unique as the trailblazing country band as well as his aptitude to
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Strictly FX Highlights

Strictly FX was founded in 1996 by industry veterans Mark Grega and Ted Maccabee. Our expertise and knowledge of the world’s leading pyrotechnic, laser, and flame manufacturers allows us to curate astonishing live events. With over 500+ shows performed a year, there’s good chance you’ve seen some of our work!

USA - Ushio, parent company to Christie, has announced the appointment of Takabumi Asahi as chief executive officer of Christie Digital Systems USA. Effective 1 April 2024, Asahi will assume his new role, succeeding Koji Naito. Asahi previously held the role of managing executive officer and chief financial officer, Ushio. He has held positions of increasing responsibility since joining Ushio in 2017 as deputy general manager.
Previous to Ushio, Asahi worked for Oki Electric Industry, a Japanese information and communications services company, where he acquired global business ma

USA - Drake kicked off his touring season with an 11-week trek with J. Cole running from Florida in February to Colorado in April. Onboard for the It’s All A Blur Tour - Big As The What? is Demetrius Moore, on his 14th year as the artist’s front-of-house engineer.
Drake now has another distinction: he’s officially the first artist to take a new Clair Global-supplied DiGiCo Quantum852 console out on tour, starting 2 February in Tampa. “I was on the Quantum852 for two weeks before the first show, at rehearsals at Drake’s place in Toronto and then at the Izod Centre in New

Hungary - Máté Lukacsovics and Ale Geszler from Budapest-based lighting design studio Highlight Studios created the design for a high-profile one-off sold out concert by Hungarian artist and pop-rock band Valmar at the 12,500-capacity Budapest Arena.
It was the band’s largest concert to date, and the brief was to create a memorable lighting design that met the occasion and thrilled everyone involved, from the artist and his production team to his enthusiastic and ever-growing fanbase.
Máté and Ale utilised over 150 Robe moving lights – a combination of iFORTES, Poin

Italy - From 2-26 March, the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma hosts the Richard Strauss opera Salome with its famous Dance of the Seven Veils, based on the play by Oscar Wilde.
Stripped of lavish scenery, this pared-back production directed by Marc Albrecht with conductor Barrie Kosky invites the audience to focus exclusively on the characters, the dialogue and the music, with sound therefore playing a role of heightened importance.
At some moments of the production, the voice and movements of the performer on stage are required to generate a dynamic effec

Taiwan - Seapower Technology is to distribute 1 Sound in Taiwan. Seapower met with 1 Sound’s APAC sales executive, Leonardo Dani, who visited their headquarters in New Taipei City where they were able to make the partnership official.
Dani discussed the 1 Sound pro audio and fully outdoor IP55 loudspeaker catalogue and offered deeper training with the brand’s products, including their Mono+Stereo Technology, cardioid columns, robust and sleek accessories, and more.
Seapower Technology is an establidhed distributor for a number of brands including Powersoft, Sennheiser a

UK - Birmingham’s latest high-adrenalin attraction – the new F1 Arcade in Chamberlain Square – has become the latest venue to benefit from a high-quality AV solution supplied and integrated by TVC Technology Solutions.
F1 Arcade is an F1 racing experience with no fewer than 53 bespoke full-motion racing simulators that can cater to every level of driving skill – and all in an environment that also offers a range of food and drink.
TVC delivered a comprehensive multi-zone audio system from KV2 to help create the pulsating energy of the race circuit. The experience i

South Africa - ChamSys has appointed Audiosure to be the exclusive distributor in South Africa of its line of lighting control consoles, software, and networking devices.
“We are very familiar with the excellent level of professionalism and customer service that have become trademarks of Audiosure, given that they are one of the oldest distributors of all Chauvet brands,” said Stéphane Gressier, international sales director of Chauvet and ChamSys. “Over the years, we have witnessed firsthand, how the Audiosure team has gone the extra mile to ensure customer satisfaction.”

Funding Cuts - West End stars and creatives including actors Beverley Knight and Sheridan Smith and playwright Jack Thorne have called for local arts funding to be protected, warning that "terrifying" cuts will be irreversible and damage services such as youth theatre. They join Andrew Scott and Imelda Staunton, in speaking out about the importance of the arts – particularly at local level – in the face of swingeing cuts that have seen venues warn that they will have to scale back their operations.
In recent weeks, Nottingham City Council and Birmingham City Council have both

USA - The American Society of Theatre Consultants (ASTC) has announced that Keith Friedlander, Kascey Haslanger and Paul Whitaker have been approved for membership in the organisation. The Board of Directors admitted the new members at the ASTC annual meeting which occurred during the 2024 USITT Conference in Seattle. In addition, new directors of the board have been elected and new officers have been selected.
The three new members are experienced theatre consultants and meet the qualifications for membership.
Before joining Schuler Shook Theatre Planners in 2015, Keith Fr

USA - The Warner Theatre, close to the White House in the American capital city, has since 2013 offered its visiting engineers, performers and artists the sonic advantages of an Outline Butterfly system tuned and maintained by house sound engineer Ishai Ratz.
Originally opened in 1924 and having hosted everyone and everything from Frank Sinatra to ZZ Top and from Vaudeville to cinema, since a full restoration in the early ‘90s it is an established showcase venue for the DC area.
Jason Farah of Outline’s US office describes the genesis of the new installation: “Followin

Germany - At Prolight + Sound 2024, Highlite International, celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, took the opportunity to present a number of new products from their brands Infinity, Showtec, DAP, DMT, Showgear and Wentex.
From Infinity, no fewer than four new IP65-rated Raccoon models were introduced: three Pars (P7/7, Junior P4/7 and Junior P7/4) and a strobe/wash combo (S420/4). The P7/7 is a high-quality RGBCALDB Par that features seven custom-made 7-colour LEDs with maximum brightness and maximum colour quality modes offering versatility. The Junior P4/7 is a more compa

USA - If you’re looking for a place to hear live country music day or night while enjoying a meal on the Vegas Strip, Ole Red is your ticket. The recently opened restaurant, bar, and live music venue in the heart of Las Vegas features a Clair Global Integration (CGI) and an innovative lighting design by Bryant Woelk, owner/ senior lighting designer of FXLighting LLC, featuring lighting from Elation.
The Blake Shelton inspired Ole Red, operated by Opry Entertainment Group, offers patrons a full experience with live music, delectable dining, and a vibrant bar scene. The first Ole

China - The Ballad of the Canal is an opera exploring the stories of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. Created over 2500 years ago, the canal is a feat of engineering on par with the Great Wall of China.
The opera entwines both classical Chinese and western styles of opera, integrating these different forms successfully alongside an unamplified orchestra required a thoughtful solution combining the venue’s existing SD5s and two additional DiGiCo Quantum 7s. First performed at National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) in 2012, The Ballad of the Canal was the first

UK - Welsh ragga-metal band Skindred played their first arena headline show in March at the OVO Arena Wembley, with Claypaky Mythos2 and Sharpy Washes supporting the musicians’ intense, high-energy performance.
Will Furze, the band’s designer/ lighting director, discussed the show with Skindred band members last year while on tour. They wanted to incorporate existing elements of their stage set, which featured artwork from their latest album Smile, and lasers were a must-have as well.
Furze decided to use the existing tour backdrop and four vertical scrim frames f

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