Austin, Tx⎯Riverbend Centre is Austin’s newest alternative performing arts center located in the Texas Hill Country. The Centre is a multi-purpose venue that plays host to musical groups, theatrical productions, television specials, corporate and private events, and conventions.

Inspired by his extensive travels through the Holy Lands, Dr. Gerald Mann envisioned a modern version of a Greco-Roman amphitheatre offering the intimacy and symmetry of those timeless venues. In 1997, Overland Partners was commissioned by the Riverbend Church to design and build the multi award-winning building.

Designed in a classical style, the venue seats over 2,300. Recently, the Centre played host to a special NEXO presentation by FILO Pro Audio of Austin, Texas. Accustomed to holding many high-end events in the venue, Riverbend was set up for a demonstration of a NEXO GEO S 12 System with NX 4×4 amplifiers and a Yamaha more

BUENA PARK, Calif.⎯A Capitol Fourth 2009, the Independence Day concert on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol, featured a star-studded cast including Aretha Franklin, Barry Manilow, Vanessa Williams, Natasha Bedingfield, the cast of Jersey Boys, Michael Feinstein, and classical pianist Andrew von Oeyen with the National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of America’s prince of pops Erich Kunzel. Jimmy Smits hosted the 29th annual event that was broadcast on PBS and produced by Michael Colbert and Capital Concerts, Inc. Over 400,000 people were in attendance with millions who watched nationwide. more

BUENA PARK, Calif.⎯The Yamaha Commercial Audio Training Seminars (YCATS) group will hold its two-day Digital Sound Reinforcement (DSR) 101 class on Tuesday and Wednesday, August 11 and 12 in Covington, Kentucky. Sponsored in part by Shure Microphones, the class provides complete audio system design and networking solutions and will focus on set up techniques ranging from microphones to large-scale speakers. Topics include: gain construction, attenuator settings, and SPL estimation. more

BUENA PARK, Calif.⎯Located in the heart of downtown Athens, Georgia, The Grand Hall at the Classic Center was built as a meeting, special events and performing arts venue providing entertainment, unique dining opportunities and programs for all interests. Recently, Technical Services Audio Visual (TSAV) of Athens installed a NEXO GEO S12 line array system as the primary audio system for performance events in The Grand Hall. The Grand Hall can seat 3,175, and for the very largest crowds, the system may be augmented with near fills for the area directly in front of the stage. more

BUENA PARK, Calif.⎯At InfoComm 2009, Yamaha Commercial Audio Systems, Inc. marked the 30th anniversary of NEXO, one of the world’s most highly regarded professional loudspeaker systems. This year is also the first full year of NEXO’s transition to becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yamaha Corporation Japan, a partnership that provides customers with complete sound system solutions by utilizing products from both lines. Currently, NEXO’s distribution network extends to over 50 countries, with exclusive representation in the North America by Yamaha Commercial Audio Systems, Inc. (YCAS). more

BURBANK, Calif.⎯When Conan O’Brien took over the “Tonight Showâ€? (NBC) on June 1, it was the first time in nearly 40 years that the show received a new home. Crews worked for months to prepare the new digs at Universal Studios, the same Hollywood soundstage built in the 1950s and occupied by “The Jack Benny Show.â€?
Jeff Peterson of Green Audio was contracted by ATK AudioTek (Valencia, California) to handle the design and act as project manager for Conan’s “Tonight Show� sound system, and as part of the massive undertaking, chose two Yamaha PM1D digital audio consoles and an M7CL for the theater. more

CLOISTER, New Jersey⎯Temple Beth El in Cloister, New Jersey is a lively and active Reform Jewish Congregation of approximately 400 households serving the entire New Jersey Northern Valley. A Jewish gathering place for people of all ages, from nursery school children to the elders who founded the congregation, Temple Beth El began in 1950 as an initiative founded by a group of Jewish residents in the area who were looking for a place to meet and worship. At that time the only temples in the community were Orthodox or Conservative. The initial group of nearly 50 families decided to create a Reform Congregation with services initially held in an American Legion Hall in Closter. A year later when a religious school was added, the group used the nearby First Congregational Church. more

ORLANDO, Fla.⎯ Yamaha Commercial Audio Systems, Inc. will launch its latest power amplifier at InfoComm 2009 in Orlando. The Yamaha IPA8200 is a highly efficient Class D amplifier that delivers eight channels of 200W each (4 ohms) in a lightweight, but sturdy, 2U package. The new amplifier, which coincides with the recent release of the IMX644 rack mount mixer, is ideal for smaller-scale installations wanting the superior reliability and sound quality of a Yamaha product, and with the efficiency of Class D amplification. The IPA8200 is three times more efficient than conventional Class AB or Class H amplification and provides greatly reduced power consumption, heat dissipation and space requirements. more

NASHVILLE, Tenn.⎯Now in its second season, this year’s taping of Can You Duet (CMT Television) is being broadcast from the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville. Lance Smith hosts the show, which sets out to find country music’s next duo, and singer Naomi Judd has signed on again as one of the three judges for the new season. The competition is a performance-based reality TV series from the producers of American Idol. Audio production for the live taping includes two Yamaha PM5D-RH digital audio consoles, one at front of house and one at monitors, and Kooster McAllister’s Record Plant Remote dual DM2000 rig is used for remote broadcast. more

BUENA PARK, Calif.⎯Nearly a decade after the release of their groundbreaking debut in 2000, The Sickness, “Disturbedâ€? have become one of the most passionate and well-respected bands in the hard rock universe, a dependable source not only of pummeling riffs and jackhammer beats, but of personal and political insights into our troubled times. Yet success (in the form of three platinum-plus albums, with both Believe and Ten Thousand Fists topping Billboard’s album charts, and over nine million albums sold) hasn’t dulled this Chicago-based foursome’s taste for adventure. more