Sting recently performed two intimate concerts at the Durham Cathedral in northeast England, marking the first time the legendary musician played selections from his upcoming album, “If On a Winter’s Night…” Sting recorded the performances live for DVD release and audio supplier Audio-Rent Clair provided the sound system for the event, which included a Studer Vista 5 SR digital console for front-of-house mixing.
Completed in 1133 AD, the historic Durham Cathedral is known as one of the finest examples of Norman architecture in the world and is a major tourist attraction within the northeast England region. Each year, more than 600,000 people visit the Cathedral, which is also well known for some of the Harry Potter films.
Sting’s performances featured an unconventional setup of Sting with a 16-piece string section, multiple percussionists, a brass section and backing vocals, as well as a large selection of traditional English instruments such as the Welsh harp, lutes and Northumbrian pipes. Rehearsals took place over a 2-week period in the “Chapter House” adjacent to the main cathedral.
Howard Page, Clair Senior Director of Engineering, mixed the performances, utilizing the Vista 5 SR to overcome the challenges of a 62-input orchestra in a cathedral setting. “The transparency of the Studer Vista 5 SR was certainly a great help to achieve a breathtaking experience for the invited guests,” Page said.
The compact Studer Vista 5 SR digital mixing console is a road-ready version of Studer's famous Vista 5 console and combines award-winning Vistonics™-based technology with a highly cost-effective price. The Vista 5 SR comes with preset configurations for front-of-house and monitor use. A stand-alone Config Editor tool allows the channel/bus structure to be customized, all of which can be saved for each particular show setup and instantly recalled from memory or a USB stick at a later date. The expandable I/O system allows the entire range of available Studer D21m Series I/O cards (including CobraNet and Aviom A-Net) to be added to the system. The MADI standard is used as optical snake link from stagebox to FOH rack, with the possibility to add a redundant snake for increased security. The Vista 5 SR also comes with numerous facilities to aid production, including Studer’s proprietary VSP panning system, which can be used to great effect to control panning without level shifts.
Studer is a unit of Harman International Industries, Incorporated (www.harman.com). Harman International designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment products for the automotive, consumer and professional markets, and maintains a strong presence in the Americas, Europe and Asia, employing more than 11,000 people worldwide. The Harman International family of brands includes AKG®, Audioaccess®, Becker®, BSS®, Crown®, dbx®, DigiTech®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon®, Mark Levinson®, Revel®, QNX®, Soundcraft® and Studer®. Harman International’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “NYSE: HAR.”
Looking to provide tremendous versatility in a cost-effective manner, systems integrator AV Communications recently installed a Soundcraft Si3 console as the centerpiece for its audio system design at the new Mapleview Community Church in Barrie, Ontario, Canada. Housed in a former sports arena, Mapleview Community Church currently seats up to 900 people, and is part of a much larger campus that eventually will include sports facilities, a daycare center and other recreational areas. In addition to the requirements for customary SPL, dynamics, and Percentage of Articulation Loss of Consonants, there were two requirements for this installation: It needed to fit within the designated budget and it needed to include a digital console. The console needed to handle 32 channels of mixing and a dozen auxes, and it had to be flexible enough to handle day-to-day presentations by members of the church, in addition to presentations by other members of the community who had already rented out the facility in advance. With the Soundcraft Si3 console, not only did Mapleview get the necessary flexibility and scene recall that’s unmatched in other mixing desks, but AV Communications also completed the entire installation within budget. “Not only did the Si3 fit all of the requirements for the project, but the learning curve was so short that we knew the sound crew would be up and running in short order,” said Gerry Harbridge, President of AV Communications. “After a short rehearsal, we were ready to go much faster than we would have been if we had just dropped in an analog desk. “Our client was just elated with the finished design,” continued Harbridge. “Top to bottom, the system is exemplary, and they are thrilled and actually amazed that we pulled it off within their budget, which we wouldn’t have been able to do without the Si3.”
Green Day’s ongoing world tour in support of its latest album, 21st Century Breakdown, has its monitors mixed on the compact yet powerful Studer Vista 5 SR digital mixing console. It was the first and only choice for monitor mixer Beau Alexander, who has worked with the multi-platinum Green Day since 2004s American Idiot world tour. Alexander, who has also mixed for artists including Tool, Hootie and The Blowfish and My Chemical Romance, says the Vista 5 is an excellent fit with the Green Day tour. “What makes it a great fit for Green Day is the number of outputs it has,” he explains. “When we started the 21st Century Breakdown record cycle, I didn't know if we were going to be using in-ears or wedges for monitoring, so I had to set the desk up for both, and when I did that I was using somewhere around 40 outputs, which the Vista 5 can easily handle.” Alexander is currently running 71 inputs along with 30 outputs (Green Day ultimately chose to work with in-ear monitoring). But while Alexander initially chose the Vista 5 for its large input capacity, he quickly discovered how its advanced feature set and powerful performance characteristics worked in his and the band’s favor. “Now that I have it on tour there are so many more reasons to use the Studer over any other digital desk,” he says. “The Vista 5’s ease of use has made life simple. You can set it up to have all your master faders and VCAs all on a single page. And the Contribute function is amazing--being able to see everything that is going to the mix and being able to adjust on the same page with out having to first find the strip, then the aux, makes it incredibly convenient. The footprint of the console also helps us out tremendously because it frees up so much space for other equipment. And last but definitely not least, the board sounds great. It’s incredible. It’s the only digital board on the market that is giving analog a run for its money.” The compact Studer Vista 5 digital live broadcast and production console combines award-winning Vistonics™-based technology with a highly cost-effective price. The Vista 5 is the first Vista console to be produced with PCB assemblies from Soundcraft Studer‘s new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in the UK. While using a new SCore Live DSP engine, the tabletop-mounted Vista 5 follows the same operational principles and uses the same Vistonics screens as the Vista 6, 7 and 8. Artist Photo Credit: Julia Stryj
As South Africa’s leading supplier in technical event staging, Shattered Glass has depended on Soundcraft consoles to deliver flawless performances in some of the most highly attended international events for years. With its past experience validating Soundcraft’s ability to handle even the most complex setups and the 2010 FIFA World Cup coming to South Africa next year, the company recently purchased the Soundcraft Si2 to prepare for the events ahead. Shattered Glass has been using the Soundcraft Vi6 console for years for various types of live applications, including corporate events, concerts, and theatre environments, without ever having experienced the slightest interruption. After reviewing the features, Shattered Glass realized that the Si2 was also a perfect solution for all of its live sound needs based on the console’s ability to switch between channel and global mode, the FX and dynamics processing on every channel, and the easy VCA routing. In addition, the incredible versatility that allows the Si2 to be used for a multitude of applications meant that Shattered Glass will be prepared for any and every event at the FIFA World Cup. “We chose the Si2 because it is so user-friendly,” said Adriano Landi, the technical director for Shattered Glass. “Any good sound engineer will be able to use this desk in a matter of minutes without using it before. It’s compact, straightforward, easy to learn and so easy to train on.” Shattered Glass has already used the Si2 for several events, including the Coca-Cola Moment 4 Summer Recruit, the MNet Long Service Awards, and the Vodashop Spring Break at Sun City. With its totally independent filters, 31 band EQ and dynamic processing, the Si2 has already lived up to the high expectations set by the Vi6. “The Si2 is an absolute pleasure to work with and outstanding value for our money,” Landi continues. “We are delighted with our investment and look forward to many more performances to come.” Soundcraft is a unit of Harman International Industries, Incorporated (www.harman.com).
Harman International designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment products for the automotive, consumer and professional markets, and maintains a strong presence in the Americas, Europe and Asia, employing more than 11,000 people worldwide. The Harman International family of brands includes AKG®, Audioaccess®, Becker®, BSS®, Crown®, dbx®, DigiTech®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon®, Mark Levinson®, Revel®, QNX®, Soundcraft® and Studer®. Harman International’s stock is traded on the
New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “NYSE: HAR.”
As a signal of the company’s intent to grow its business aggressively and efficiently in developed and emerging markets, Harman Professional today announced the creation of a new senior executive position, Head of Corporate Development, and the appointment of seasoned business development leader, Jim H. Huang, to fill the role. Reporting directly to Michael MacDonald, Executive Vice President of Marketing and Sales and to Greg Henry, Chief Financial Officer, Jim is responsible for driving growth strategies including market analysis, M&A activities and emerging market initiatives such as branding, channel strategy and local sourcing and manufacturing. Jim Huang will also work with David Jin and M.Lakshminarayan, China and India Country Managers and with Charles Owen, Vice President of Corporate Strategy, to dovetail Harman Professional strategies with the Harman corporate strategy. According to Michael MacDonald, Jim Huang will add a new dimension of focus, experience and commercial expertise to Harman Professional’s global business. “Harman Professional is now well-positioned to grow our business globally by providing our existing customers with new exciting products and new customers with Harman’s unmatched offering of performance, integration and value,” MacDonald said today. “With strong product development programs delivering compelling innovations; our step-change cost saving initiative returning strong efficiencies and the global economy showing positive indicators, we believe the opportunity is ripe for Harman Professional to grow market share in developed markets and provide strong value in emerging markets. I am confident that Jim Huang is just the person to help us achieve that growth.” “Harman Professional is matching ambition with action. We are determined to springboard into a period of continued fiscal growth and to do so we are taking strategic steps to expand our global market presence and to evolve our technology offerings. Jim Huang will be a strong and experienced leader in this initiative and I look forward to working with him during this exciting, positive time at Harman Professional,” MacDonald continued. Jim Huang has over 10 years of professional consulting experience. Prior to Harman Jim was a lead engagement manager in the transaction advisory practice of Ernst & Young with experience in over 40 M&A transactions with total value in excess of $15 billion. A seasoned transaction executive working with business owners, management teams, corporate and financial buyers and sellers, Jim has deep understanding of key business issues impacting overall profitability. He has supported strategic and private equity buyers in a wide variety of industries including retail, consumer products, construction, high technology, media, entertainment, restaurants, pharmaceuticals, communications, manufacturing, business services, sport franchise and staffing/professional services. He has also supported the divestiture of a number of public and private companies including pre-sale due diligence, seller due diligence and reverse due diligence. Commenting on his new position, Jim Huang noted, “I am very pleased to join this dynamic, ambitious team at the helm of a great company of innovative products and proven brands. I am confident that the direction Harman is on, will deliver considerable growth in the months and years ahead and I look forward to contributing to that growth!” At Ernst & Young, Jim provided operational consulting services in the advisory practice of working primarily with The Walt Disney Company. He served as an internal consultant to the company’s internal advisory function, which impacted companywide policies. Jim helped develop and execute business process controls review of ERP implementation of SAP, which allowed macro analysis of Disney products and line of business. Jim started his career in the assurance practice of Ernst & Young working with public and private companies in software, internet, technology, asset management and real estate industries. He participated in a dozen initial public offerings and secondary offerings for client companies. In the broader business community, Jim Huang is the Executive Vice President and Acting President of the Los Angeles Metro chapter of Ascend, the premier professional organization dedicated to enabling its members, business partners, and the community to leverage the leadership and global business potential of Pan-Asians. Currently, the national organization has over 4,500 members from 150 companies represented. Jim has a Master Degree in Accounting from the University of Virginia and Bachelors Degrees in Applied Economics & Management and Neurobiology and Behavior from Cornell University. Jim is a Certified Public Accountant and has passed the Series 3, the National Commodity Futures Examination. Harman International Industries, Incorporated (www.harman.com), designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment products for the automotive, consumer and professional markets. Harman International maintains a strong presence in the Americas, Europe and Asia, and employs more than 11,000 people worldwide. The Harman International family of brands includes AKG®, Audioaccess®, Becker®, BSS®, Crown®, dbx®, DigiTech®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon®, Mark Levinson®, Revel®, QNX®, Soundcraft® and Studer®. Harman International’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “NYSE: HAR.”
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