UK - Apex has announced the appointment of CUK Audio as the exclusive distributor for the innovative, all-in-one Liviau control platform throughout the UK and Ireland. CUK has already taken delivery of the first shipment of Liviau devices, and is preparing "to hit the ground running".

Liviau is available in two flavours: the first is Liviau R for conference room control applications, now with integrated Skype, YouTube and MirrorOp streaming software in addition to its high definition audio capabilities and all the other integrated services you would expect from a conference room control platform. The second version is Liviau S, now integrating the Spotify app, which is aimed at bars, clubs, retail, houses of worship and corporate applications.

Liviau S benefits from the same high quality audio functionality as Liviau R but with greatly enhanced video and lighting capabilit

Singapore - Loudspeaker system manufacturer d&b audiotechnik has announced the latest addition to its global network of wholly owned subsidiaries. d&b audiotechnik Asia Pacific Pte Ltd is to open in Singapore and will play a key role in the company's regional expansion.

The new Singapore premises will provide facilities and resources for d&b to strengthen its position in the Asia Pacific mobile market and make further inroads into the installation market. The APAC team will focus on supporting d&b Distributors and the company's growing customer base in the region. They will also roll out the industry leading d&b training program, providing resources and support as well as workshops and seminars.

By the end of 2016, the office will operate as a full service hub for the Asia Pacific region. The hub will enable d&b to deliver a faster service and provide a spare parts service

UK - At the recent AGM of the Institute of Sound and Communications Engineers (ISCE) Phil Price MInstSCE was appointed President for a term of three years, taking over from Tony Smith.

At the same time, Helen Goddard FInstSCE, managing director of AMS Acoustics, was appointed Vice-President.

In his inaugural speech at the AGM, RCF executive, Phil Price, thanked the outgoing President, who remains on the Council and will serve as a Director of the Institute.

Setting out his goals over the next three years, Price said he faced a challenging period ahead. "I want to 'spearhead' much more awareness of the Institute from outside our membership," he said. "I also want to see the Institute become more prominent as a 'recognised' body for ensuring the correct standards are applied when projects and installations are competed."

Furthermore, he said he sought recognition fro

Europe - L-Acoustics has announced the appointment of Scot Wakelin as regional manager, responsible for the Balkans and Central European regions, as well as Israel, Turkey, Cyprus and Malta. The newly created position reflects the company's commitment to emerging markets in Europe, which continue to represent growth for the brand.

Wakelin, who holds degrees from the School of Audio Engineering and Brighton College of Technology, is based in the UK and brings over 20 years of experience in the professional audio industry. Most recently, Wakelin handled vertical sales for the Northern European Install and Touring Markets at the TC Group, as well as developing key partnerships for the group internationally. Previous positions include sales posts at Dimension Audio and Marquee Audio as well as Crest Audio.

Jochen Frohn, director of business development at L-Acoustics states, "

Germany - Green-GO, the digital intercom over Ethernet system from ELC Lighting, is set to debut the sports edition of its professional wireless system at Prolight + Sound.

Silvio Cibien, sales manager at ELC Lighting, explains, "Vistors to the Green-GO stand can expect to see all the latest developments in the field of intercoms and the range of Green-GO products available to them. We are extremely proud to be bringing both our new wireless system and also our sports edition of the system to the show. Prolight + Sound is an important platform from which to launch these products, putting us in front of a truly international audience."

The new Green-GO wireless system uses DECT wireless technology and provides all the same features and flexibility expected from the wired system. Each PoE antenna will support up to four beltpacks and simply use additional PoE antennae to ext

USA - Built in 1971, the John Lance Arena at Pittsburg State University (PSU) in Kansas is home to the Pitt State Gorillas basketball team. The University recently received significant contributions, led by Alan and Roberta Whetzel, for renovations to the 6,500-seat capacity arena. Included in the improvements was a wall-to-wall maple hardwood floor covering the main court and two practice courts, new seating, new shooting standards and a VUE Audiotechnik sound system designed and installed by Reliant Media Systems.

The new VUE sound system in the John Lance Arena consists of four arrays and two zones of fill speakers. The two arrays that face the North and South sides of the arena each are made up of four VUE al-4 Subcompact Line Array systems and one al-4SB Flying Subwoofer System. Each of the two arrays facing the East and West ends of the arena are comprised of six al-4s a

China - The Ko Shan Theatre in Hong Kong, China has installed MIna line array loudspeakers to upgrade its long-standing Meyer Sound system. Used to discreetly support a schedule of Cantonese opera productions, the compact Mina system was chosen for the 1,031-seat theatre due to its low profile, as it was important to theatre management that the system had zero visibility.

"The Mina system has been more than just a technology upgrade - it has truly transformed our entire audio operation and system workflow," says Yeung Tsz Yung, the theatre's resident deputy technical manager. "We are very impressed, and truly appreciate the support Meyer Sound provided before, during, and after the installation."

Aesthetics proved to be one of the project's most significant challenges. "The Mina arrays are hung within cave-like concrete compartments, and concealed behind black mesh cloth-t

New Zealand - PA company, Noise Productions Ltd., employed its new Allen & Heath dLive digital mixing system to provide various broadcast feeds for the annual International Sheep Shearing competition, The Golden Shears.

Sheep shearers from more than 25 countries travel to the small rural town of Masterton in New Zealand every year to compete for the most coveted title in the international sheep shearing calendar, which takes place in a 1600-seat stadium.

Coverage of the event is broadcast live to various national and international networks, provided by local AV provider, Noise Productions Ltd, which has been providing live broadcasts of the event for the last three years. This year, the company utilised its new dLive system, comprising a S7000 Control Surface with DM48 MixRack and DX32 expander rack, to provide the audio mix for the live broadcast.

"The new system lite

Italy - Adamson Systems Engineering has announced that Audiosales, the Italian company based in Sorbolo (PR), Italy has joined the Adamson network. The announcement was made by Jasper Ravesteijn, Adamson's European sales manager.

Since opening their doors in 1996, Audiosales has provided the highest quality professional audio equipment to production and rental companies, performing arts centres, theatres, and system integrators throughout the area. The company takes pride in doing extensive research on every brand they represent to ensure the highest performance and reliability.

"We are very excited to distribute Adamson in Italy," explains Stefano Rocchi, Audiosales owner. "Adamson has tremendous brand awareness in our country and we see an enormous opportunity with the new S-Series in our market."

Audiosales has taken delivery of a full complement of Adamson gear inc

Germany - Mega Audio, based in Waldlaubersheim, near Frankfurt am Main, has partnered with VUE Audiotechnik for distribution of its loudspeaker products. The partnership will provide VUE with Mega Audio's well-established sales network and support structure, and in turn Mega Audio will have access to VUE Audiotechnik's expanding loudspeaker products.

The partnership was a logical next step for Mega Audio explains Burkhard Elsner, CEO, Mega Audio. "This partnership is ideal for both of us; we have unprecedented access to VUE's European demo inventory as well as the added bonus of manufacturer's presence in demos and training. Mega Audio has a deep understanding of the German marketplace and will bring in new opportunities that take advantage of VUE's innovative designs and quality."

"Mega Audio is one of Germany's most prestigious distributors for pro audio products and we

UK - York-based Rock-Tech prides itself on being a comprehensive, one-stop solution for all the technical needs of today's houses of worship. As well as equipment supply and installation, the company's service includes free training seminars to help worship staff get the best from their equipment. This year Rock-Tech has teamed up with Yamaha to deliver training on QL and TF mixing consoles at venues across the UK.

Thanks to the continual improvements in live and installed audio technology, as general audience expectations rise, those in houses of worship do so in parallel. Rock-Tech's training helps to ensure that users not only get the best from their mixing console, but the entire signal chain from performer to loudspeaker.

"Our course aims to give church sound technicians a solid grounding in how sound works and how to solve common problems. Feedback, unexplained buzze

Finland - Newly established Finnish theatre sound consultancy Wavemark has recently specified and installed a complete TiMax audio showcontrol package into the Finnish National Opera (FNO), as part of a new audio system designed and implemented by Wavemark's Santu Sipila. The TiMax2 SoundHub audio spatialisation processor and TiMax Tracker automation system were sourced through established Finnish TiMax distributor, Electro Waves, for a major audio refurbishment of the venue's main auditorium.

The FNO is the only professional opera company in Finland, tracing its history back to 1911 - though the Ballet was founded later in 1922. The Opera's fortunes have flourished alongside those of the country itself, though for decades the company occupied the tiny Alexander Theatre, in 1993 it moved to its own purpose-built Opera House as soon as it was finally inaugurated. The main audit

Spanish Stroll - The Rolling Stones performed in front of hundreds of thousands of jubilant Cubans, delivering a historic concert in a country that once considered the band's music subversive. Coming two days after Barack Obama finished the first trip to Cuba by a US president in nearly 90 years, Friday night's free gig in Havana cemented the communist-run island's opening to the world.

The veteran rockers started their first-ever show in Cuba with Jumpin' Jack Flash, a song recorded in 1968 when Cuban rock fans were secretly sharing pirated vinyl records and risked being sent to rural work brigades to cure "ideological deviation".

"We know that years back it was hard to hear our music in Cuba, but here we are playing. I also think the times are changing," singer Mick Jagger said to a roar from the crowd. Jagger spoke in Spanish throughout of the 18-song show of hit

USA - Spurred by worldwide growth, Meyer Sound has announced a number of new hires and promotions, creating a technical solutions team that adds depth to the company's respected global technical solutions and support programme.

John Monitto, an 18-year veteran of Meyer Sound, has been appointed to the newly created position of director of technical solutions. In his new capacity, Monitto heads Meyer Sound's business development team, a group of key managers that partners with consultants and integrators to offer comprehensive project support from initial design through final commissioning.

"Over the years, John Monitto has continually demonstrated exceptional leadership and technical expertise," says John McMahon, vice president of solutions and strategy. "With Meyer Sound branching into new, exciting verticals, we're confident that John will maintain the continued success

USA - KLANG:technologies GmbH of Aachen, Germany has recently appointed Group One Ltd of Farmingdale, New York to serve as its exclusive product distributor for the US and Puerto Rico. The announcement comes from KLANG:technologies founder and chief marketing officer Pascal Dietrich.

"Group One is the perfect distribution partner for KLANG in the States," says Dietrich. "In addition to having one of the industry's most active and effective sales and marketing teams, they have a deep knowledge base and highly attentive support effort for all of the products they represent. That's why Group One has such an extensive network of top acts, engineers, houses of worship and AV consultants using their brands' products; they're literally everywhere that quality sound matters."

Group One President Jack Kelly agrees: "We have deep relationships with both engineers and rental companie

USA - A variety of Audio-Technica 40 Series broadcast & production microphones and M-Series headphones have been used to both capture and deliver a remarkable sonic and visual art installation in Times Square, New York City.

From 1 April, Soundwalk Collective, an international sound collective based in New York and Berlin, will present Jungle-Iized: A Conversation With Nature - a month-long interactive multi-sensory art installation that will transform Times Square and transport over half a million visitors daily to the heart of the Amazon.

Presented in partnership with David de Rothschild, The Times Square Advertising Coalition (TSAC), Times Square Arts, Audio-Technica and CXA+ART, the immersive installation includes a participatory audio experience and an interactive video, to encourage a conversation with nature and to heighten awareness of the environmental impa

USA - Grammy-award winning hip-hop and R&B artist CeeLo Green recently completed an eleven-city Love Train tour celebrating the release of his new album Heart Blanche.

Although past performances featured a full acoustic band, CeeLo wanted to "pull it back" for this tour and, for these audiences he performed with just a sax and flute player, a percussionist and a DJ. However, the simplicity of CeeLo's stage masked a complex production with music ranging from hip-hop to jazz and a sophisticated audio system using an Allen & Heath dLive S5000 mixer and DM48 MixRack.

Art Merriweather, CeeLo's front-of-house and monitor engineer used wireless mics for CeeLo and all three backup vocalists and connected the sax player's pedal board, the percussionist's feeds and the DJ via direct inputs to the DM48 MixRack on stage.

Merriweather mixed and grouped these sources into as many as

Slovakia - Engineers from KV2 Audio are putting the company's VHD5.0 large format concert system through extensive testing in preparation for its first major public performance. The system will be used for two sell out concerts in Bratislava, Slovakia for one of the country's leading performers Lucie B

Austria - Nexo's STM Series modular line array design has been tested in -15°C temperatures and delivered winning results for Austria's volksmusik superstar Andreas Gabalier.

Now one of the most successful performers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Gabalier was the headline act at the WinterParty concert, held in Seefeld in the Tyrolean Alps in Austria. The show presented new challenges for the WinterParty's rental company Rental Pro Austria; an increase in the audience size and a new stage position to accommodate it.

To service the larger event, Rental Pro Austria teamed up with its Czech Republic partner Rental Pro EU, pooling their inventories of Nexo STM line array elements necessary for the large and wide outdoor venue.

"Last year, we used STM but the system was configured only with M46 main cabinets and S118 sub-bass modules because the venue was smaller

South Africa - DiGiCo has announced the appointment of DWR Distribution PTY as its exclusive distributor for South Africa from April 2016.

Founded in 2006, DWR has built a reputation in the South African market for supplying predominantly lighting products. The company has grown rapidly adopting a work ethic with a motto of "it's all about the people", which ties in with DiGiCo's own philosophy. DWR provides a complete service from concept through to installation and commissioning, but more importantly great after sales service, all from a highly motivated and experienced team. As a result, it has an impressive list of brands in its portfolio.

"I was truly honored to receive a phone call from Ian Staddon from DiGiCo, who was on the search for a new representative for his product in South Africa," said Duncan Riley of DWR. "I am really excited about this, and so is the whol

Germany - Meyer Sound will debut the three latest additions to its line of sound reinforcement solutions at Prolight+Sound 2016: the MJF-208 compact stage monitor, the MDM-5000 high-power distribution module, and the Lyon-WXT extended vertical option.

Also in focus will be the Leopard linear sound reinforcement system's Native Mode, a timesaving advancement that "delivers great sound right out of the box, regardless of the array size".

The self-powered MJF-208 stage monitor incorporates the performance and reliability of the MJF-212A and the MJF-210 into a smaller, lightweight package. Each MJF-208 measures less than 13 inches high and weighs 45 pounds. The monitor delivers impressive power-to-size ratio and very low distortion in a small-footprint, lightweight option for applications that do not demand the extreme output levels of the MJF-210 or the MJF-212A.

"The MJF

UK - In the wake of his successful Right Here album, released back in the Autumn, former Westlife star Shane Filan and his band recently embarked on a successful theatre tour, with a set list that mixed old Westlife favourites with new material.

It also reunited husband and wife sound engineering team of Chris Pyne (FOH) and Becky Pell (monitors) - metaphorically linked by 100 metres of cable - the former mixing the house sound on a Martin Audio MLA Compact System 36.

The two had previously worked together with Kylie Minogue, Anastasia, Il Divo and the original Westlife before Chris took up his position at Martin Audio as Asia Pacific product support engineer.

In the meantime he had picked up the mantle with some of Filan's solo dates in South East Asia, while his wife has continued to work with the artist for the past six years.

But as a representative for

The Netherlands - Playing around 180 shows a year, Dutch covers band Anderkovver (Another Cover) is a popular attraction at clubs, parties, corporate events and as a support act to higher profile artists. When the band's analogue mixer recently failed they decided to make a long-term investment in the form of a Yamaha CL3 digital console and R-series i/o units.

Formed by Raymond Weysters (bass/vocals) and Roger Damoiseaux (guitar/vocals), Anderkovver performs music of many different styles with, as the band says, "a touch of humour and a dash of chaos". With a large and varied repertoire, the band needed a mixing console that could adapt quickly to changes in the set list, as well as to the different styles of music that they play.

Run as a full-time concern, the band owns all its own equipment and transport, including full lighting and sound rigs. Raymond and the band's f

UK - Manchester-based audio specialist tube UK limited has installed a comprehensive new d&b sound system with Midas and Yamaha control into the popular 800 capacity site comprising bar, lounge and live music venue Gorilla which is right at the heart of Manchester, UK's vibrant nightlife.

Approaching its fifth year as one of the city's best loved venues and celebrating its past connections as the 'Green Room' theatre space, Gorilla has been adapted as a live music, performance and DJ platform.

A diverse mix of entertainment also includes cult film screenings and award-winning underground comedy. It's a favourite bespoke hire and party location as well as being among the best trending city bars and restaurants. This versatility has helped generate a lively mixed vibe for everyone with an interest in food, band and DJ culture, multimedia and the arts.

tube UK's team, led

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