Our industry is full of talented and creative people who, most of the time, careering through life and business at breakneck speeds, don’t have a moment to spare for indulging their ‘other’ passions in life! The various lockdowns worldwide have changed all that, freeing up time for so many ‘additional’ skills to flourish. Xavier Demay, general manager of French rental company Dushow is one of them!

The Salzburg Festival was inaugurated on August 22, 1920, when Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s morality play Jedermann was premiered on the Domplatz, directed by Max Reinhardt. Since that time, the Salzburg Festival has established itself as the most important festival for opera, drama and concerts.

Coinciding with the reopening of an iconic Manhattan venue, PBS recently broadcast a 60-minute primetime special, Michael Feinstein at The Rainbow Room, as part of its Fall Arts Festival programming. As a loyal DPA Microphones user, Feinstein’s long-time Production Manager and FOH Engineer Andy Brattain ensured that the performer’s microphone of choice was used for the taping, which included a variety show and a series of big band performances. Several DPA microphones were used for the production, including the d:facto™ Vocal, d:vote™ 4099 Instrument, d:dicate™ 4011 Cardioid and d:screet™ Miniature mics.

Conserving and restoring precious murals in a truly professional way is both time consuming and costly, usually taking years rather than months. Not only technical challenges await the specialists, but ethical ones as well. The answers to questions regarding conservation ethics have a direct impact on the actual work involved.
In the case of the beautiful renaissance murals at the Broemserhof in Ruedesheim, Germany, some of these questions led to some inspiring solutions to the problems at hand.

The Experience Lagos, is the world's largest Gospel concert, gathering some of today's best-known gospel artists. Originally, The Experience was an opportunity for Nigerians to put aside their differences, to come together and pray.

Earlier this year, His Holiness the Dalai Lama hosted Kalachakra, a religious event that takes place at various locations around the world every few years. With a now 79-year-old religious figure at the helm for the nearly two-week long Kalachakra 2014 prayer meeting, high importance was placed on finding a microphone that would project his voice to the nearly 200,000 followers who attended. The solution was found in DPA Microphones’ d:fine™ Dual-Ear Cardioid Headset Microphone, which was supplied from the company’s US office. The microphone was such a success that it is now the preferred microphone for His Holiness for all of his speaking engagements.

Located in Nashville, Tennessee, The Belonging Co. (TBCo) is quickly becoming one of the fastest growing and most culture-shaping churches in the USA:  its congregation has increased from just seven at its outset to many thousands in only six years. Along with weekly worship services, the church also includes a worship collective comprising a number of well-known Nashville-based artists who call the church home, an annual conference, and even a college. With such a strong reputation for the quality of its live services, TBCo has always prioritised excellent live production that amplifies its mission and DNA to create an experience where people can connect with God without distraction. With a recent video system installation by integrator Diversified, in partnership with THOR AV, developer of LED video walls and headset microphones, TBCo now has a beautiful LED video wall to match, driven by Brompton Technology’s Tessera S8 LED processor.

The National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing has staged Aida with the lighting designer Vinicio Cheli and a whole group of Italian professionals known worldwide: stage designer Ezio Frigerio, director Francesco Micheli, costume designer Francia Squarciapino, and Sergio Metalli, who dealt with the video projections. Cheli was asked to design the lighting for Verdi's opera.

Beautiful, elaborate, ornate, the Timisoara National Theatre in Romania is one of those European jewels of which we have been denied for so long. As a venue it stands within the Palace of Culture, an arts centre conceived in the Viennese style by architects Hellmer and Felmer, and was opened in 1875 at the height of the Belle Époque.

London’s iconic and respected arts centre, the Barbican, has invested in Robe DL4S LED profile and Pointe multi-functional moving lights which are integral to a new moving light rig installed in the 1,943 capacity Barbican Hall concert venue.

For the past 17 years, LD Paul Miller has directed the lighting of the “New Year’s Eve Celebration From Times Square.” Over the last four years, Christie Lites has been right there beside him, supplying the latest in lighting equipment and 24/7 support. It’s a live, six-hour gig for the production team, which must wrangle with winter weather, the ticking of the clock to the midnight hour, and the knowledge that billions worldwide are watching.

For the 58th time in its history, the Austrian TV station ORF broadcast the New Year’s Concert live from the magnificent Golden Chamber of the Vienna Musikverein with its unique acoustic. The prestigious cultural event is regarded as a worldwide successful classical music event and reaches over 90 countries and around 50 million viewers on five continents. This year, a total of 15 cameras ensured brilliant ORF pictures and matchless cultural delight

Celebrating cultural diversities from around the world in an effort to support people with HIV and AIDS, the annual Life Ball in Vienna is an extravagant event that attracts tens of thousands of international visitors. This year’s event utilized 100 channels of HARMAN’s AKG WMS4500, DMS700 and IVM4500 wireless microphone and monitoring systems for onstage vocal performances and announcements.

Teldex Studio Berlin continues to enjoy a busy recording schedule, both in the famous Recording Hall and on location. One of the most significant of the recent mobile recordings was the Vienna Philharmonic Summer Night Concert at the spectacular Schönbrunn Palace on May 30th.

TDC - The Technical Direction Company is proud to be deploying the full range of its professional and technical expertise in providing core technology and services to Destination NSW for the sixth annual Vivid Sydney festival. Anthony Bastic, Vivid Light Festival Directorsaid: “Vivid Sydney is a unique celebration of light, music and ideas that will see the centre of New South Wales’ vibrant capital transformed by a series of state-of-the-art visual and creative art installations. There are two components to Vivid Light. The first is the Light Walk, which is the publicinterface of Vivid Sydney. This includes numerous light installations by artists. Secondly, also forming part of the Light Walk, are projections onto some of Sydney’s most iconic buildings including the Museum of Contemporary Art and Customs House. We are thrilled to work with TDC in bringing the artists’ vision to light.”