International News

LONDON – John Saunders Productions (JSP), which now has five DiGiCo SD8 consoles in its inventory, is continuing to stoke nostalgia with a West End production and separate tour for Thriller Live, a tribute to Michael Jackson, and the West End production of The Rat Pack Live from Las Vegas.

MOSCOW – Midas' Russian distributor, Theater Technics and Technology, has installed Midas XL8 and PRO6 systems into the 6,200-capacity Crocus City Hall in Moscow, which recently opened as the largest concert hall in Russia.

LA CHAPELLE-SUR-ERDRE, France – The Capellia Cultural Centre, which creates song, dance, circus, comedy, music and theatre programs, some geared for kids, is now using a Soundcraft SI3 console installed by local soundco DBAM.

TALLINN, Estonia – The Solaris Cultural and Leisure Centre, a new arts, retail, and cinema complex, features glass walls and roof that lets in sunlight for natural illumination and heating. The center's primary venue, the 1,829-seat Nokia Concert Hall, has been equipped with Meyer Sound's Constellation acoustic system and loudspeakers.

MANCHESTER, U.K. – The final show in a tour for former Stone Roses frontman Ian Brown took place at the Manchester Evening News (MEN) Arena, and rental companies Metro Audio, STS and Viking Sound collaborated with a sound system featuring Turbosound's Flex Array PA system.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Outline loudspeakers were used at the 2010 Global Competitiveness Forum, a meeting featuring appearances by world leaders and CEOs including Tony Blair and Michael Dell.

BELFAST – Built in 1844, St. Malachy's church needed extensive work on its interior and exterior. When in reopened after 15 months, parishioners marveled at the restored brickwork, plasterwork, marble altar, mosaic floor, "wedding cake" fan-vaulted ceiling, and new sound system featuring a pair of QSC AcousticDesign AD-S282H 2-way loudspeakers.

PARIS – At We Want Miles: Jazz Face to Face With Its Legend, an exhibition dedicated to Miles Davis at the Musée de la Musique, curator Vincent Bessière and sound designers Philippe Wojtowicz and Mathias Abherve used a compact Meyer Sound system for the two levels of the exhibit hall. The exhibit will move to Montreal in April, 2010.

BRNO, Czech Republic – Janacek Theatre, the second largest theater in the Czech Republic, updated its old communications system with a comprehensive installation from Riedel Communications. MusicData, Riedel's Czech distribution partner for Theater and ProAV, handled the installation.

COLOGNE, Germany – Padco supplied a Midas PRO6 for the recent European tour by Queen Esther Marrow and the Harlem Gospel Singers. The tour, which moved through Denmark, France, Austria, Switzerland and Germany, ended in Belgium at the end of January.

HONG KONG – This past winter, the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre performed 20 shows of Leslie Bricusse's Scrooge, a musical based on Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, at the Hong Kong City Hall's 463-seat proscenium theatre, putting HKRep's new Meyer Sound system to use.

MEXICO CITY – Two rental companies collaborated on providing sound gear for a concert with 35,000 attendees staged at the Foro Sol stadium for Mexico City featuring ballad singer Emmanuel.