ON THE ROAD: Cirque du Soleil
Below: Production Manager, Andy ‘Andy O’ Omilianowski; FOH Engineer Martin ‘Rocker’ Pare on his Solotech supplied DiGiCo SD7; Automation Stage Operator, Chris Davis used Kinesys, Stage Technologies and Fisher Navigator equipment for operations; the video crew: Louis-Philippe Gaudreau and Crew Chief, Jean-Francois ‘J-F’ Marin.
A PARTNERSHIP MADE FOR THE ROAD Meyer Sound Laboratories recently announced the appointment of Luke Jenks to the position of Product Manager for Loudspeakers, previously Director of European Technical Support. Based in Utrecht, the Netherlands, Jenks now provides Technical Support and Design Services to Meyer Sound customers in Europe, and works directly with Meyer Sound’s engineering, education, and marketing personnel to provide both dealers and end users with expertise on the operation and performance of new Meyer Sound loudspeakers. In the UK and Europe, as stated, a full Meyer Sound LEO linear large-scale sound reinforcement system will be used on the tour. Designed for today’s large-scale live productions, the LEO system comprises LEO-M main line array loudspeakers, 1100-LFC lowfrequency control element, and the Galileo Callisto loudspeaker management system. The tour requires extensive video and lighting equipment, leaving significantly less weight allowance for the loudspeaker setup than before. The brand new LEO system directly tackles these key challenges, including weight limitations and headroom requirements for the smaller UK and European venues. Other concerns that are addressed include HF horn accuracy, the size of the touring package, setup and teardown time, consistency, and reliability. Jenks told TPi: “LEO is a complete system 48 • TPi SEPTEMBER 2012
solution that covers the entire audio chain starting from the output of a console through to the listener. Solotech and Meyer Sound have been working together since the 1980’s and Solotech has about 2,000 Meyer Sound loudspeakers in its rental stock. Tours that Solotech has supported using Meyer Sound equipment include Cirque du Soleil shows, Celine Dion, Michael Buble, Leonard Cohen, Andre Rieu and the Montreal Jazz Festival.” Meyer Sound designed this system and worked closely with Solotech leading up to system deployment for the tour. And the Meyer Sound team is available for support as and when required. “This tour presents a incredible opportunity to work with Frankie, Solotech, Cirque and the music of Michael Jackson on our new system,” said Jenks. “The process leading up to the tour and the tour itself have been tremendously helpful for the Meyer Sound product team. The LEO system has performed beyond our expectations, filling all the arenas that Immortal visited without the need for a delay system. “Most importantly, LEO is delivering a new level of sound reinforcement to the audience regardless of the limitations in modern touring. The combination of Frankie’s system design, Solotech’s professionalism and the LEO system allow for the hard work of so many talented performers, musicians and designers to shine through to the audience like never before,” added Jenks.
John Meyer, CEO, Meyer Sound described the company’s relationship with the vendor and the tour: “Solotech presented us with a challenge that we couldn’t pass up: how do you provide extremely long-throw clarity and headroom for an arena touring package in which every single ounce counts? This project targets these very requirements that are paramount in today’s sophisticated live spectacles. We’re thrilled with the opportunity to collaborate with Solotech and push the performance boundaries of large-scale sound reinforcement.” FOH AND MONITOR WORLD When it comes to the tour’s desks, Sound Designer Desjardins highlighted: “When it was time to put this show on the road, we needed a console that can manage around 160 inputs. Since this show is supposed to go on the road for years, I wanted a platform that will clock a higher rate (96k) and that will not be obsolete in a few months. So, the obvious choice at the time was the DiGiCo SD7.” Following eight years at Solotech, Quebec city based System & PA Tech, Martin ‘Rocker’ Pare, is using the SD7 and stated: “I have worked on Cirque shows twice before. I didn’t spec the console but it’s perfect; it sounds great, and it’s ideal for this application. “This show is different, usually a Cirque show is quieter with a focus on the acrobatics, but this one has an emphasise on the music. For