GLENVIEW, Ill.⎯Gand Concert Sound of Glenview, Illinois recently provided a NEXO GEO T, GEO S, CD18 subs, PS15, PS10 and PS 8 monitors for the Evangelical Lutheran Youth of America Gathering held at the Superdome in New Orleans, LA. The event ran from July 22 thru 26, in addition to a five-day load in and set up, and was attended by 38,000 teenagers from all over the world. Music acts included Skillet, Group 1 Crew, the Katinas, rapper Agape, and Peter Mayer from the Jimmy Buffet Band. Sunday morning featured a musical mass with Lutheran Bishop Mark Hanson including communion for 37,000.

Known as ‘The NEXO Guys’, the event utilized the largest NEXO GEO T Tangent Array system ever flown in North America, beating the previous record set by Gand at the Atlanta Dome for Elton John. The rig consisted of 60 GEO T plus 24 GEO S, 8 CD18′s⎯all flown, and 24 CD18′s on the ground. Amplifiers included Yamaha PC9501Ns with NEXO 242 processors. Audio consoles included a Yamaha PM5D, MC7L, and LS9. Over one hundred channels were utilized for live performance, video playback, spoken word, DJ and theatrical production. The event used three main stages plus two outboard stages in the audience, designed by Steve Bass of Oscar® Award fame. Over 7000′ of cable was used.

“We bought the first GEO T system in the USA for this event in 2003 and have increased our inventory every year to keep up with the growing demand,� states Gary Gand, President of Gand Concert Sound. “This is our third and biggest ELCA event. The ELCA likes what we do and the NEXO gear has worked flawlessly.�

FOH engineer Adam Rosenthal said, “No other system has the cardioid ability that NEXO provides. I can have it cranking in the house and the band can still hear each other on stage. It’s shocking how good this rig can sound in some of the largest venues in the country, which can be acoustic nightmares.�

The ELCA chose New Orleans Superdome as the sight of this year’s event for a number of reasons including maximum seating capacity and a ceiling height tall enough to fit a 150′ tall cross and 200′ wide stage. During the daytime rehearsals, the teens were bussed out to devastated areas for community service including building and painting houses, replanting the Bayou, and assembling school packages for underprivileged students. They distributed 180,000 books and raised $130,000 in coinage from their “Change for Change” project. Mayor Ray Nagin thanked the youth in person for working to rebuild over 200 public sites claiming they ‘did 98 years of work in one week.’ President Barack Obama sent a letter that was read to the audience.

For more information on Gand Concert Sound and to see the ELCA slide show, visit www.gand.com.

For more information on Yamaha or NEXO products, visit www.yamahaca.com.

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About Yamaha Commercial Audio Systems, Inc.:
Yamaha Commercial Audio Systems, Inc. (YCAS) provides a full line of integrated professional audio products offering complete systems solutions for the broadcast, sound reinforcement/installed sound, touring, commercial recording, and post production markets. With the recent purchase of NEXO loudspeakers by Yamaha Corporation Japan, the company remains the official U.S. and Canadian distributor for all NEXO models. YCAS offers comprehensive in-house and field product training for its customers, a dedicated dealer network, and 24/7 technical support.