Bedales was founded in 1893 by the innovative educator and author John Bradley with the aim of being profoundly different from other public schools of the day. Putting the key elements of the child's education, welfare and happiness right at the core of its values, Bedales continues to be one of the most sought after educational experiences in the UK, encouraging independent thinking and inquisitive minds to flourish.
Entec's relationship as a technical partner started 10 years ago with the very first Bedales Rock Concert via the company's long association with legendary rockers The Who, when guitarist Pete Townsend's son attended the school.
Entec's head of sound Dick Hayes first worked with The Who in 1969, a relationship that has continued in various different formats to this day, with Entec also gaining the band as a client and servicing their live sound needs in the UK and Europe. Bob Pridden, long time Who stalwart, contacted Dick in 2005 ... and the Bedales Rock Concert story began.
The Bedales Rock Concert now features two days of shows involving ten different acts, artists and ensembles ... and is fully sold out.
The first Bedales Rock concert, recalls Hayes, was a relatively simple affair audio-wise, with a 24 channel analogue console and some speakers.
Ten years later, this has grown into Entec supplying a full concert system, complete with Midas PRO9 control console and d&b C7 racks-and-stacks.
The theatre is relatively compact, so a stack of d&b C7s a side is a perfect fit, together with Q7s each side to cover the balcony which goes around three sides. A Protools HD2 hard disc recorder was also part of the package, together with a KT DN9650 network bridge and an SSL Delta-link MADI interface.
Monitors were run from a Midas PRO2 console, and comprised d&b M4 and E3 monitors. A strings section utilized Shure PSM900 IEMs as space is tight onstage, and a number of Shure UHFR hand-held radio mics were supplied, together with a selection of Shure, Beyer and AKG mics, plus Schertler transducers for the strings.
Two of Entec's top engineers crewed the event - Mark 'Magic' Ellis-Cope looked after FOH together with Simon Higgs on monitors.
(Jim Evans)
