France - The Château du Rivau in the Loire Valley is said to be one of the most important medieval monuments of the Touraine region of France. With its majestic keep, protective drawbridge and picturesque towers, the Château du Rivau looks as if it has come straight out of a fairytale.

In 1992, when the chateau was in danger of falling into ruin, the current owners undertook a massive restoration campaign to restore Rivau to its former glory. This also included the magnificent gardens and the legendary stables where medieval warhorses were bred and raised, and where Joan of Arc herself came to fetch horses in 1429, and which later became the Royal Stables of Francois I. One of the finishing touches of the restoration was to install a high quality yet physically discreet distributed sound system from APG throughout the chateau in order to bring the interior to life.

Benjamin

Slovenia - LumenRadio, a technology leader in wireless lighting controls, has played a critical role in a new, energy efficient lighting project for an unusual traffic intersection in Zagorje ob Savi, in central Slovenia.

The Las Vegas-style roundabout, including a sizeable fountain lit with submersed LED lights and a sound system synced to the water pumps, was equipped with additional lights that provide area-wide colour washes and special effects for public holiday celebrations such as Christmas and New Year. LumenRadio's Slovenian distributor, MK Light Sound d.o.o., was asked by the local municipality to supply a lighting control system that not only would leave an uncluttered look and be invisible to the public, but could also be installed without disrupting traffic.

Dean Karov, product manager at MK Light Sound d.o.o., Ljubljana, found the solution in CRMX technology - sp

Germany - From 24-26 April, Straubing was the venue for Dynacord's latest International ProLive Academy. The Dynacord team led by Frauke Jungbluth (sales manager Dynacord Europe), Martin Traut (senior product manager) and Andreas Köstlinger (tech support) welcomed 23 participants - pro audio experts from France, Sweden, Hungary, Serbia, Slovenia, Bosnia and the United Kingdom - to the event.

The principal theme of the seminars on this occasion was provided by Dynacord's newly introduced Vertical Array systems, which were examined in detail. As was the case at this year's Prolight+Sound trade fair in Frankfurt at which the five members of the new loudspeaker family were introduced, the new product line met here with an enthusiastic reception.

"The Vertical Array systems totally impressed the invited experts - above all through their versatility," reports sales manage

USA - This Easter saw 4000 people in attendance at the Journey of Faith outdoor service, where a dBTechnologies DVA T4 line array provided the sound for the Californian church worshippers on Manhattan Beach. Supplied by sound, lighting & stage company Broadcast Support Inc, the success of the event has ensured the team is now the Journey of Faith vendor of choice for future lighting, sound and stage events.

Comprising four groups of three DVA T4 on top of three S09 subs in a cardiod formation, and a further 8 DVX DM12 wedges as monitors, the PA did an great job according to Anthony Gallion of Broadcast Support. "I personally did surveys throughout the venue during the event and was very pleased with the consistency of coverage wherever I stood in the crowd. The dBTechnologies equipment was an excellent choice and our post-service follow up with the staff was as positive as

Australia - Monkey Baa Theatre Company produces high quality theatre programmes for young people, their families, teachers and communities throughout Australia and internationally. Established in 1997, the company has achieved critical acclaim for its work and today enjoys a national reputation for producing quality theatre programs for young people.

Monkey Baa has just moved into the Lend Lease Darling Quarter Theatre which is equipped with an ETC Ion lighting control console. When production and operations manager Toby Knyvett needed to specify a console for touring, he chose an ETC Element console.

"The ETC Eos/Ion/Element family of consoles is definitely offer the best control products for the Australian theatre sector at the moment," Knyvett commented. "They are what many theatre venues are moving towards."

Designed to handle lighting systems outfitt

UK - ATEÏS Europe has restructured its operations in the UK and appointed a new partner to handle exclusive distribution of its public address (PA) and voice alarm (VA) products and systems. Leading professional and commercial audio distributor Fuzion will take over responsibility for the ATEÏS product lines in the UK and Republic of Ireland. The ATEÏS UK office has now closed but Fuzion will be building on the work already done and expanding the range of services for the PA/VA market.

Fuzion is among the best-known audiovisual companies in the UK and represents some of the key manufacturers in the market. It has already worked with ATEÏS on a number of high profile projects in the rail sector, liaising with leading PA/VA installers such as Fourways Communication. The intention is to expand these operations and offer a full service to build, configure and integrate systems t

USA - Union Transfer is Philadelphia's newest midsize music space - a former Spaghetti Warehouse restaurant that's been transformed into one of the city's most dynamic live venues. Opening its doors in the fall of 2011, this general-admission hall comes complete with multiple bars, ample stage viewing angles, sky-high ceilings, a warehouse vibe, and a movable stage with expandable capacity and state-of-the-art lighting and sound.

Tom George of Eighth Day Sound configured a flexible system for the venue that they could grow into - an SD8-36 at FOH, SD8-24 at monitors and a D Rack - one that would accommodate their average 24-40 inputs per show and allow them to patch in guest consoles and literally to go from a house console to a guest system with a push of a button. Production manager Tom Shebest, who handles the majority of mixing for bands not travelling with an engineer, was

USA - With the installation of Audica Professional's MICROseries audio system at Fresh's flagship Union Square location in New York City, the high-end lifestyle and beauty store "gains a powerful, compact sound system that matches their design aesthetic and enhances the experience of customers by encouraging them to shop to the beat".

"Since we opened our first location in Boston in 1991, music has always been an essential element of the shopping experience at Fresh," says co-founder Alina Roytberg. In fact, Fresh updates its musical content programming on a monthly basis, but providing the ideal accompaniment for customers does require care, she adds. "You never want your customers to hear their own steps, but you don't want to distract customers from what our associates are saying either. The Audica Professional sound system works excellently in our sp

World - High End Systems products play an instrumental role in Tangerine Dream's spring/summer Electric Mandarine Tour 2012. The German electronic music group, founded in 1967, has become internationally known not only for their mind-entrancing music concerts but also for their film soundtracks.

LD Andreas Fink, from Austria's Preworks, specified two High End Systems DL.3 Digital Lights and two Showgun 2.5 and two Showbeam 2.5 automated luminaires. He's controlling the rig with a Road Hog Full Boar with Road Hog Full Boar Playback Wing including DMX Extension Kit. The gear comes from various rental companies throughout the tour.

The DL.3 Digital Lights, which feature an on-board media server, allow video designer Michael Koschorreck to use his custom content in HD quality. "Incredibly, it was my first experience with Digital Lights from High End Systems," he s

The Netherlands - After the success of the 2010 and 2011 editions, Euphoria 2012, organised by the Agency b2s was held last 12 May at the Central Studios in Utrecht. b2s is a major Dutch company specialized in the creation of big dance events.

Euphoria 2012 offered a highly energetic non-stop show from 10 pm to 6 am, performed by leading DJs including Wasted Penguinz, Psyko Punkz, Frequencerz, Noisecontrollers, and Deepack.

The new DTS LED moving heads NICK NRG 1201, installed on the dance floor by the Dutch rental company First Impression, added a great dynamic to the event.

Thanks to their long throw motorised zoom (8 ° - 50 °) and high-speed pan / tilt system integrated by 'FPR' (pan endless rotation), the NRG NICK 1201 were an integral part of the show, projecting extra-bright beams and very concentrated and saturated colours, with rapid and precise head movement

The Netherlands - There is something interesting going on at Thornico, a diverse family-owned business based in Rotterdam with a penchant for green values and a 'Company Karma' that espouses doing good as well as doing well.

The Thornico Group is made up of a variety of companies working in a broad array of areas from food to finance to fashion. At the Thornico Building, a large complex of office spaces, shops, dining and cultural facilities, atriums and large parking garage located in central Rotterdam, the 'Company Karma' philosophy is embodied by a host of green initiatives that includes the use of Martin LED lighting.

Danish design office Kollision, together with Martin Professional and in dialogue with Christian Stadil, owner of the Thornico Group, and Thornico real estate director Ronald L.M. Bouwens, developed and implemented a complete exterior lighting design for the

UK - Allen & Heath's Irish distributor, Rea Sound, recently provided all the lighting and sound equipment for the new Metropolitan Arts Centre (MAC) in Belfast, installing iLive and iDR digital mixing systems throughout the venue.

"iLive is a very powerful mixer with an easy to use interface. Even a technician who is new to digital can easily find their way around this console. The MAC is one of the most prestigious arts venues in Ireland with a variety of acts from across the world using its facilities. The audio consoles provide the venue with a very credible audio infrastructure that everyone visiting can use," explains Rea Sound's Roger McMullan.

The venue has two main spaces, the main auditorium, downstairs, and an upstairs studio. An iLive-T112 Control Surface is located in the auditorium, linked by Cat 5e cabling to the iDR-48 MixRack located in a 'mic patch'

Azerbaijan - Parasol Advanced Systems of Vancouver, BC, Canada, was literally the centre of attention at the Eurovision Song Contest 2012, held at the 23,000-seat Baku Crystal Hall in Azerbaijan.

Amongst a stage and ceiling filled with hundreds of lighting fixtures, the ParasolTM KLRTM (Kinetic Light Ring) system stood out as the centrepiece over the stage. The Parasol KLR system allows moving lights to move along a circular truss in any configuration at up to 60 inches per second. Stopping, starting, reversing, accelerating and moving to an operator-specified position are all controllable features, providing entirely new ways of creating art and spectacle with moving lights.

The system in Baku included three concentric rings - two of which were the KLR rings - all lit with Clay Paky Alpha Beam 1500s. The inner KLR ring was 10ft in diameter with 10 Alpha Beam 1500s and the sec

South Africa - Christie has announced the opening of a new office in South Africa - its first in the Southern hemisphere.

The setting up of Christie's new office in Africa, effective from 1 June, 2012, underpins the company's long commitment to the territory. This new office will provide facilities for demonstrations, customer and partner training, as well as inventory management.

The move has been in the planning for almost a year, and Dale Miller, Christie EMEA vice president, said, "Over the last three years we have been working to develop the right relationships to grow our business. As an organisation we invest heavily in training and believes this lies at the heart of quality service and support. So we look to the same commitments from our Partners."

He adds, "Just over a year ago Stage Audio Works put their service team through our advanced level servic

UK - Clay Paky Sharpys, sporting Union Jack coverings, shone brightly alongside some of the world's most famous pop royalty to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee.

The patriotic Sharpys, dressed up in custom made Union Jack jackets, were a welcome sight amongst the pageantry of the day as they delivered a dazzling display of laser-like lighting at the evening celebrations that marked the 60th anniversary of Queen's reign.

Lighting designer Durham Marenghi employed more than 240 Clay Paky fixtures, hired from London based rental house Neg Earth, to deliver a stunning, varied and dynamic lighting design for superstar acts that included Kylie Minogue, Elton John, Sir Paul McCartney, Grace Jones plus a host of pop glitterati.

Broadcast worldwide, and locally to a series of video screens rigged along the full length of the Mall and surrounding Royal parks, Marenghi ha

UK - The Queen's Jubilee Concert was a major talking point of the UK's weekend-long Diamond Jubilee celebrations in London, and XL Events played a major part in this highly prestigious event.

Responding to a commission from the show's lighting designer, Durham Marenghi, XL Events' project manager, Steve Greetham, worked for several weeks to specify and supply equipment and crew, both for the stunning projection mapping onto Buckingham Palace, and the onstage wraparound LED screens and IMAG cameras for the concert stage. This was cleverly built around the Queen Victoria Monument in front of the Palace.

For the much-talked-about Buckingham Palace projections, XL Events supplied a total of 36 Barco FLM HD 20K projectors arranged in six stacks of six, 12 Barco Image Pros and two Lightware DVI matrices, all under the watchful eye of Master Projectionist, Andy Joyes and his team.

UK - The annual Theatres Trust Conference takes place on 12 June at London's Stratford Circus venue. Four years after the Trust first addressed how theatres could become 'greener', this conference will explore which steps theatres are taking to achieve the triple bottom line amid rising energy costs, tougher building regulations, and even more difficult economic times. Conference discussions will also look at the challenges of theatres to provide a catalyst for social and economic recovery in the communities they serve as well as addressing the sustainability agenda.

ShowTex is a corporate supporter of the Theatres Trust and will sponsor the conference this year for the second time. According to ShowTex marketing manager Jessica Ballenger, "Our focus is shifting more and more towards products that take environmental impact into account as well as durable investments vs. sho

UK - With throngs of people travelling to London to see the Diamond Jubilee celebratory events taking place, Creative Technology (CT) was asked by event organisers Innovision to provide huge modular displays in Trafalgar Square and St James Park and to supply signal distribution and supporting engineering services to the various mobile screens installed in the Mall and the Palace Forecourt.

CT provided an 87m² Lighthouse R7 screen in Trafalgar Square and a 39m² Lighthouse R7 screen in St James' Park South, enabling the tens of thousands of visitors and residents of the capital to view the long weekend's festivities in all its regal glory.

CT also controlled the content across a total of 13 screens in central London, combining the main broadcast feed, locally generated live images and an advert roll with both ticker and emergency messaging options. Signals were distributed ov

UK - The team at Thorns Group has completed a complex challenge of erecting a fabric lining inside one of the substantial exhibition halls at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire.

The assignment has seen a 240m length of wall, extending to a height of more than seven metres, clad in black wool serge. It means the highly popular exhibition venue is able to mask the original brickwork, which was in a variety of colours, in addition to assorted electrical trunking, cables and piping.

As well as tackling the work in the venue's 3,100sq.m Hall 1, Thorns' team is also due to clean and repair similar fabric that has been in place for a number of years in neighbouring Hall 2, which measures 4,500sq.m.

The latest project has been tackled by the group's Classic Technical Services division, which is a leading supplier of lighting, electrics, theming, set design, audio visuals and sound syst

UK - LS-Live, Backstage Academy and STS Touring Productions supported emerging talent both on and off stage at Manchester's Raw Fest on Sunday 27 May.

Kris Sparrow, a young entrepreneur from Manchester, is one of 500 finalists in a BBC competition and decided to stage a festival as part of the next challenge. He turned to LS-Live Backstage Academy and STS Touring Productions to provide advice, training and production support for the event, which showcased the city's finest unsigned artists and talent.

Said Sparrow, "I love music but I had never organised a festival before and I wanted to do something out of my comfort zone because you have to challenge yourself.

"I'm so grateful to all the sponsors that offered to support me in my mission. The festival production would not have come together without them and their guidance has been invaluable."

LS-Live suppl

South Africa - The 13th Cape Town International Jazz Festival was held at the ICC on 3-4 April 2012. The event kicked off with a Free Community Concert held a few days prior to the event. Various South African rental companies worked on the festival days.

The Free Community Concert was hosted at Green Market Square on the 28 March and boasted the largest crowd to date. The concert is part of the build-up to the CTIJF and features some of the top headliners that also perform at the Jazz Festival. C&S Audio provided the full technical, where the biggest challenge, due to the event taking place in the centre of town, was to close off the streets to set up. In a mere 24 hours, C & S transformed the Green Market Square into a complete concert venue including stage, roof, screens, PA etc. They had six hours to return it back to its former state after the concert!

Around 15 000 peopl

Berlin - The last Friday in May saw the third part of the Digital Workflow seminar take place in Berlin. This workshop is the result of cooperation between Sennheiser/Neumann and Lawo/ Innovason. Whereas the first two sessions were held at Sennheiser and Lawo HQ respectively, (Wedemark and Rastatt, Germany) part three stepped out of pure theory and brought the equipment to a live stage with the British-Nigerian soul, jazz and funk singer-songwriter, Ola Onabule. The aim was to highlight the benefits of working with digital microphones and state-of-the-art digital consoles on a live stage.

The 35 participants were able to follow each step of the planning, setup, sound check and performance phase in a hands-on environment. In the morning they received a general introduction into the technology of digital microphones by Martin Liermann (SVS) and an explanation of the feature

UK - Sherman Cymru recently reopened to the public following a £6.5m transformation. The redevelopment of the building has not only created a new iconic creative venue for Cardiff, but has also vastly improved the experience that thousands of people have when visiting the theatre. The redevelopment marks another milestone in the short history of Sherman Cymru which was formed in 2007 through the merger of Sherman Theatre Limited and Sgript Cymru Limited. Since this time Sherman Cymru has consistently produced critically acclaimed and award winning work in both Welsh and English.

As part of the redevelopment, a new sound system was installed into the main house, which is a 468 seat auditorium. The installation of the system was by Marquee installation and Duran Audio UK supplied with two AXYS Scope T2115, two AXYS Scope T2112 (Both three-way full range loudspeakers) and two

UK - Liverpool -based Adlib's audio division has designed and installed a an Adlib FD sound system into the city's iconic live music venue Eric's - which is open again for business.

The basement space in Mathew Street, downtown Liverpool, opposite the Cavern, flourished from 1976 to 1980 as a must-play venue for the best and most innovative punk, post punk, alternative and indie bands. Raw, underground (literally) and edgy, it launched a slew of meteoric, critically acclaimed careers from Echo & The Bunnymen to Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, made history with incendiary performances and was a seriously credible hang out for the cool and creative.

More bands graced the stage at Eric's than any other club in Liverpool ... until it was unceremoniously shut in 1980, and closed again in 1981 after a brief afterlife as Brady's.

The room then lay forgotten, derelict and abused

Latest Issue. . .