UK - As part of the ongoing celebrations to mark Northern Light's 40th year in business, the company plans to raffle a rare bottle of 1971 vintage single malt whisky at this year's ABTT Theatre Show.

The single malt is from the Macallan distillery and is billed as a traditional Speyside malt with balanced fruit and smoke elements and a rounding sherry character.

Lois Ferguson, marketing manager for the company, said, "As a Scottish company formed in 1971, it seemed appropriate to offer a bottle of Scotland's most famous export from the same year to one lucky customer. This bottle is a vintage release from Gordon & Macphail, one of the world's most respected distilleries."

Individuals can enter the raffle by visiting Northern Light on stand 93 in the Lawrence Hall at the ABTT Theatre Show on 15 and 16 June and providing their business card or completing a form to go

USA - The call of the wild echoes throughout the Dallas World Aquarium, where visitors to one of the city's most popular attractions can experience nature from five continents, 14 countries and three oceans. As the sounds of wildlife emanate from the diverse range of live animal exhibits, a host of presenters and performers use a range of professional audio equipment to further enhance the visitor experience.

Crescent Sound and Light, a Louisiana-based production and systems integration company, recently upgraded the sound systems for several exhibits. The company chose Technomad Noho and Vienna advanced audio loudspeakers to reproduce intelligible voice and full-range musical audio in the Giant River Otter and Crocodile display in the Orinoco exhibit range; and the Temple of the Jaguar in the Mundo Maya exhibit range.

Mike Smith, president of Crescent Sound and

UK - Robe moving lights and Anolis LED fixtures were specified by lighting designer Simon Marcus from Enlightened to illuminate Bath Abbey, Pulteney Bridge and other key architectural features around the UK World Heritage spa town's city centre for the opening night of the 2011 Bath International Music Festival - Party In The City.

It is the second year that locally based Marcus has designed a lighting scheme for Bath Abbey, which was founded in 1499. His client was Bath Tourism & Leisure.

He needed a selection of reliable, flexible, bright lightsources which could be rigged over four levels of the Abbey. Having large quantities of both Robe and Anolis units in Enlightened's hire stock, and long experience of using them for many applications, he knew they would be suitable for the job. He also took the opportunity to use six newly purchased Robe Robin 600 LEDWashes.

T

Italy - Pala Phenomenon is a new multipurpose entertainment centre in the North of Italy. It hosts a space for live bands with a 150sq.m stage and live music five evenings a week. It has a disco bar with pre-disco, after dinner and post-live-music events, a restaurant, and a selection of large halls There is also a swimming pool, open from May to September, which is covered with transparent panels during the winter to become a dance floor.

Denis Biaggi was the scenic and lighting designer for the whole establishment. He reports, "One of the owner Marco Cerutti's basic requirements was to create a stage that could be adapted to different types of show: concerts, conventions, theatre and dance. In view of the various different purposes the structure needs to serve, my first concern was to set up widespread convenient suspension points for any future shows, and an adequate num

Paraguay - An Axiom system was chosen for the celebration of the bicentennial of the Independence of Paraguay.

The event was held in mid May in Paraguay's capital city, Asunción, and included the leading national pop and folk artists. Among the political figures who took part in the event was president Fernando Lugo, who welcomed the presidents of the neighbouring countries and addressed the enthusiastic celebrating crowd.

NJ Audio & Lighting was in charge of the technical production of this event, which was held in the park next to the Government Palace.

The features of the location led to the choice of Proel Edge bi-amplified monitors for the main stage, as they could provide the power and the acoustic clarity needed and also because their low profile fitted the purpose of keeping the focus on the event. The side-fills were two Proel Axiom clusters with relative sub-woofe

USA - A short but breathtaking drive from trendy Aspen, St. Benedict's Monastery reflects the natural serenity of its majestic surroundings. Nestled in a valley on several thousand acres in western Colorado's Elk Mountains, it offers spectacular views of nearby Mt. Sopris' twin summits. It is an idyllic environment for the Benedictine monks who mix their daily meditation and prayer with the running of a working ranch and bakery. The monks also operate the architecturally renowned Retreat House and Hermitages, hosting personal and group retreats, conducting daily liturgical services, and occasionally welcoming performances by world famous musicians from nearby Aspen.

Built in 1958, the Monastery's main chapel is simple but elegant, its rustic red brick walls accented by a quarry tile floor and barrel-vaulted, pine-beamed arched ceilings that soar to 32ft at their peak. A single 1

USA - Following a period of rapid growth since its appointment as a distributor of Global Truss products in the USA, California-based GLP (German Light Products) US Inc has now announced that it has been appointed as the sole and exclusive distributor of Global Truss products for the US and Canadian markets.

Global Truss is an established manufacturer of trussing, support systems and clamp accessories. All products are approved to the stringent TÜV standard. "GLP German Light Products Inc have shown the utmost level of commitment to the Global Truss range since becoming a distributor, and hold a large stock inventory at its California head office. Offering immediate delivery, competitive pricing and outstanding customer service, the company is extremely gratified that it has been awarded exclusive distributor status," says a statement from GLP Inc.

(Lee Baldock)

Czech Republic - Metropole Zli?ín is a fashion and entertainment complex, nine kilometres west of Prague city centre. It includes a cinema with 10 modern movie theatres, equipped with high quality sound systems, one of the most modern bowling alleys in the Czech Republic, plus clubs, bars and restaurants.

The fountain is the heart of the Clay Paky rig. Alpha Spot HPE 300s and Alpha Wash 300s hang from the ceiling above the waterworks and illuminate them with various colours as the music changes.

The lights were installed by Art Jgs, Clay Paky distributor for the area, which also dealt with the lighting design.

(Jim Evans)

Middle East - Recent travels by the Sennheiser ME team have seen them visit Kuwait and Qatar, to provide local support to their partners.

In Kuwait, Phil Massey, general manager of Sennheiser UK and ME, Mig Cardamone, business area manager for Middle East, Ryan Burr, business development manager for ME and Heston Saldanha, consumer channel sales manager, met up with partner aDawaliah Trading, part of Universal Holdings, to undertake a two-day training schedule.

The first day saw Ryan Burr conduct a session on installed sound, focussing on how the various products within the Sennheiser's portfolio are suited to various situations.

This included comprehensive information on the new ADN conference system, infrared simultaneous translations systems, system 2020 for both tourGUIDE and translation, as well as the fully automated guidePORT system. The group of 15 attendees drew fro

Turkey - The recently opened Nomads nightclub in Istanbul features Coemar's moving heads. The iSpot 575 MB models have been installed in the large room and are controlled via the Director 768 mixer.

Nomads Istanbul follows the concept of the original Amsterdam venue, serving up a combination of European and Eastern culture in both its style and cuisine, with interior decorations and tableware sourced from Morocco and Egypt. With views of the Bosporus, a bar hung with hundreds of colourful, handmade Arabic lambs and a hidden garden, Nomads is set to make a mark on Istanbul's vibrant nightlife.

(Jim Evans)

Turkey - Jands Europe has expanded its dealer network as a direct result of "the phenomenal response" to the launch of the new Vista v2 software at this year's Prolight&Sound exhibition in Frankfurt.

Istanbul-based Atempo has been appointed as the exclusive new Turkish dealer for the Jands range of lighting controllers and dimmers.

Says Jands Europe's Neil Vann: "We ensure that we choose the best companies to represent and support the whole Jands range in their respective regions, and are delighted to welcome the Atempo Group as the newest member of our constantly growing international dealer network. They have all the technical expertise, dedication and attention to detail that we look for in a partner company."

Atempo's Istanbul regional director, Volkan Konuralp, comments: "Jands Vista v2 opens up a completely new horizon of lighting control for a

UK - West Country sound company, Evosound Pro Audio, managed PA requirements for the recent Night Surf event held at Lusty Glaze in Newquay, Cornwall, employing its Allen & Heath iLive digital mixing system to run FOH and monitors for bands, which included headline performances by Reef and The Kooks.

Night Surf is a sporting and music event, comprising a surf contest during the day with participation from many pro surfers, and a music event by night including a mixture of local talent and renowned bands.

Evosound first purchased an iLive system, comprising an iDR-48 MixRack and iLive-T112 Control Surface, in 2010, and has recently ordered a second, duplicate iLive system.

"'The flexibility & user friendliness of iLiveT112/iDR-48 means it is never in our warehouse and always out on hire. In my view, iLive has rapidly become an industry standard and continues to exceed ou

UK - Tower Productions recently provided a turnkey package in the grounds of Cardiff Castle for a Heineken Cup Final event, comprising power, heating, lighting, audio, video and networking.

Site access restrictions meant no large plant could deployed so Tower synchronised four 100kva machines from their own stock to give a 400kva generation package with 100% redundancy.

Christie Roadster HD18ks, Philips Vari-Lite VL3000 spots, and a dozen ETC Source Four profiles looked after the external branding/projection onto the castle walls with Dominator and NovaLight High Ground searchlights for aerial effects. 40 green 400W HQI's provided a solid base colour to the castle walls.

Inside the marquee, an array of HD plasma screens from Tower's newly formed AV department were recessed into the set showing the game, associated branding and information, live camera and a Sky HD feed.

In

Malaysia - At the Malaysian Grand Prix, part of the Formula 1 World Championship, Mercedes GP Petronas held their high-profile annual event. In partnership with Anglo-Swiss watchmaker Graham London, they arranged a party with music, fashion and much more at Simfoni Lake in Kuala Lumpur's City Centre.

The 'Mercedes GP Petronas Formula 1 Team' celebration was organised by CD to raise awareness of premium partners Mercedes and Pretonas as well as serve as a business opportunity for Mercedes Benz Malaysia and Petronas clients and business associates.

Working with CD Events, Kumar Shan and Yeap Hong Gee, early adopters of Hippotizer in Malaysia, created a video display for the occasion. They used two Hippotizer GrassHoppers networked via HippoNet and an HP Gigabit Switch connecting to four 15K Sanyo projectors to create some impressive curved screen projection. Front of House was c

World - A group of pro audio companies have formed an organisation to promote a standard system control architecture for professional media networks. Eight manufacturers have formed the group, whose mission is to secure the standardisation of the Open Control Architecture (OCA), a media networking system control standard for professional applications.

The Alliance has been formed to complete the technical definition of OCA, then to transfer its development to an accredited public standards organization. The standards organisation will render the OCA specification into an open public standard for control of professional media network systems.

The founding members of the Alliance are: Bosch Communications Systems, d&b audiotechnik, Duran Audio, Loud Technologies, Media Technology Systems, PreSonus, Salzbrenner Stagetec Mediagroup and TC Group.

Developed recently by Bosch Commu

Australia - One of the most popular events at this year's Vivid Festival held in Sydney was FireDance, a performance of dancing flames choreographed to music.

Using 40 jets of flame - higher than a three-story house - FireDance exploded several times a night every night of Vivid Sydney - making Campbells Cove in the Rocks, the world's biggest campfire.

Choreographed to music using the same technology that controls the Harbour Bridge fireworks every New Year's Eve, FireDance featured two different shows, alternating between each other on the 18 incendiary nights of Vivid Sydney. One show was more pop music with the firejet flames dancing to the Katie Perry hit Firework, remixed by renowned artist Peewee Ferris, whilst the other show saw them in a choreographed balletic performance to the magic of Stravinsky's Firebird Suite.

FireDance was produced and created by Howard & Sons

UK / Australia - PLASA has confirmed the line-up of international speakers for the PLASA sponsored international seminar programme at ENTECH 2011.

Taking place from the 19-21 July 2011 at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, ENTECH has been Australia's leading biennial trade show for the entertainment, live events and corporate installation sectors for 17 years. Visitor attendance to the event has always been strong and this year it will be further strengthened by the co-location of the SMPTE conference and exhibition - a major event for the broadcast, pro-audio, audio visual, lighting, staging and commercial integration markets.

Three keynote speakers have been confirmed as part of the PLASA programme, each bringing their expertise in the lighting, audio and rigging sectors to the event.

Lighting designer Rob Halliday is an internationally respected lighting program

USA - grandMA2 featured on the latest US tour of Hillsong United, the Christian band drawn from the Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia, which has grown from a worship team supporting youth meetings at the church to a defined touring band that travels worldwide.

Hillsong United's latest US tour spanned venues from LA's Staples Centre to Boston's Orpheum Theatre. Among the equipment complement was a grandMA2 full-size front of house for lighting control and a grandMA2 light as backup.

Ian Hendrick, who designed the tour's lighting and programmed and operated the grandMA2, has been using MA Lighting consoles for more than a decade. "I don't see any reason to stop," he says. "The original grandMA was a solid platform that was powerful enough for anything you could throw at it, scalable from the smallest gig to the biggest extravaganza, and surprisingly user friend

Russia - Martin Professional's Representative Office in Russia recently celebrated its first anniversary - a year of "unprecedented growth and success" - at a special party with partners and friends at club Lookin Rooms in Moscow.

Key rental companies, representatives of installation firms, major dealers, industrial retailers and leading journalists were all on hand to share in the celebration with Martin's Russian team.

The evening's programme included talks by Martin Professional's vice president of distributor sales, Bruno Garros, and head of the Russian Representative Office, Mikhail Kuznetsov. Also on the programme were several surprises like a draw with the main prize a trip to the Martin factory in Denmark.

"Russia is our most important market from a growth perspective and is currently the largest market outside our traditional subsidiary markets,"

USA - Looking to trim ticket prices despite soaring fuel costs on its Love Come to Life Tour, Nashville-based Christian rock band Big Daddy Weave slimmed down production by trading conventional loudspeakers and amp racks for Meyer Sound's Mina compact line array loudspeakers. This tour was the first for Mina, the newest addition to Meyer Sound's Milo family of self-powered line array loudspeakers.

"Taking an equipment truck simply wasn't an option," states the band's production manager and FOH mixer, Matthew Grunden. "To cut costs, we had to fit everything into a trailer behind the bus. The MINA arrays were key to making that happen."

With tickets for some shows as low as $10, Big Daddy Weave's tour hit the road in March, zig-zagging between Wyoming and Florida through spring and summer, playing 800 - 1,000 seat venues that include churches, meeting

USA - Bosch Security Systemsreports that more than 4,000 customers have interacted with Bosch products on the Safe & Sound Tour. Since its debut at the ISC West Conference & Exposition in Las Vegas, the tour has travelled more than 3,500 miles to stop in 12 cities across the Western region of the U.S.

"Customers appreciate the opportunity to explore our offerings without the need to travel to a trade show. In turn, we benefit from more focused attention over a longer period. The return is higher for both the customer and for Bosch," said Jeremy Hockham, president of sales - Americas, Bosch Security Systems. "The truck also exposes customers to the breadth of our portfolio - opening up new opportunities for dealers looking to expand their solutions offerings."

Featuring high definition video surveillance, access control, intrusion and fire detection,

UK - Organisational changes at Midas and Klark Teknik have seen the departure of former managing director John Oakley at the beginning of June.

Midas and Klark Teknik are now undergoing a restructuring of the management team to accommodate Oakley's departure and allow for better integration within the shared services of the parent MUSIC Group. Newcomer Ian Riley, who joined Midas and Klark Teknik from Harman earlier this year, takes on the role of VP Operations and R&D, while Jonathan Chitty is VP Customer Support, a new division which handles day-to-day commercial and financial matters.

On the manufacturing side, the MUSIC Group has invested $10m in a dedicated manufacturing facility for the Midas and Klark Teknik brands, with another $10m in state-of-the-art SMT and optical inspection systems. Also driving the next phase of Midas and Klark Teknik's development is the expandi

UK - Entries are now open for The Theatres Trust second annual People's Choice Award, following a launch event at the ABTT Theatre Show 2011.

Entries are invited from entertainment industry manufacturers/suppliers with a product that they consider is making a difference to theatres sustainability, either through design, manufacture or operation. Successful applicants products will be displayed on The Theatres Trust's stand 2-M14 at PLASA 2011 from the 11-14 September and visitors to the show will cast their vote for the People's Choice Award.

Visitors to stands at both the ABTT Theatre Show and PLASA 2011 will be able to see a variety of information on the Trust's European Regional Development Fund-backed 'Ecovenue' sustainability project, which is improving the sustainability of 48 London performing arts venues.

At PLASA 2011, after three days of visitor voting, the award w

USA - LDI, the annual US trade show and conference for the entertainment design and technology industry, has announced a five-year partnership with PLASA, the international entertainment technology trade organisation.

The purpose of the agreement is to expand the reach of both PLASA and LDI, and broaden training options for industry professionals.

According to organisers Penton Media, PLASA's international reach adds a broader global dimension to LDI. The Technical Standards Updates track, now from PLASA (formerly ESTA) will again form part of LDI's training line-up this year, giving LDI professional attendees the latest information on essential issues at the heart of the industry.

PLASA will be able to share its technical updates with the industry at large and benefit from the additional US exposure for its trade show and association. By partnering with LDI, PLASA also adds

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