Tucked within the charming laneways of Sydney’s Angel Place, the City Recital Hall is a purpose-built live performance venue with world-class acoustics located in the heart of Sydney’s CBD.
After twenty-two years and as part of a major revamp, the venue has upgraded its lighting and audio systems. Show Technology is proud to be a part of the transition from old conventional lighting fixtures to a modern, LED-based rig supplying:
12 x Martin MAC Encore CLD
12 x Claypaky Mini-B
22 x Prolights CYC050
8 x Prolights EclFresnels 2K VW
20 x Prolights EclProfile CT+
12 x ShowPRO LED Blinder II
Richard Fenton, Head of Technical Production at City Recital Hall, was delighted by the service from Show Technology … as well as the product, of course!
“We got 12 x Martin MAC Encore CLD mainly because they’re very industry standard,” said Richard. “We wanted a fixture that if there’s ever an issue, we could easily get a replacement fixture. There are some other great fixtures we looked at, but they just didn’t have the local hire support.
“The other main reason is that we are a Recital Hall and we need moving lights to be as quiet as possible. The fixture needed to be super-quiet for the Recital Hall work but also excel at contemporary shows, delivering a big light show. The MAC Encores have been fantastic and everyone loves them, all the LDs that have come in are happy to have them.”
The venue also welcomed 12 x Claypaky Mini-Bs with Richard falling in love with them as soon as he saw them.
“I thought they were awesome,” he said. “They’re so bright and have a great range of zooming and focus capabilities which some LED washlights don’t. Plus they’re really small and cute whilst packing a lot more punch than you’d expect for their size. They were also cost effective allowing us to maximize our investment. Again, they’re a very quiet fixture, which is very important.”
Richard reports that the Claypaky Mini-Bs have been used on every contemporary show that they’ve hosted since their purchase. He adds that no one’s ever had any issues with them or wanted to swap them for something different.
The venue features seven acoustic reflective panels on the back wall, each measuring 1.2 metres in width and a V-shape making them point out a bit. Previously, COLORado Battens were used to uplight each of the panels to add colour and texture to the room.
The decision was made to replace the COLORados during the refurbishment and initially, Richard looked at purchasing seven Prolights CYC100 fixtures but then realized that 14 x Prolights CYC050 would allow for the light to follow the contour of the wall and get a much more even dispersion of light.
“The Prolights CYC050s fit evenly on each side of the little V to give much more even light off that reflective panel at the back,” explained Richard. “We purchased another eight Prolights CYC050s for where we need them on a contemporary show, and they’re mainly used to uplight musicians.”
Also from Prolights are 20 x Prolights EclProfile CT+ to replace the venue’s old ETC Source 4s and other ETC stock. Richard says that they looked at newer ETC products but decided the Prolights maximized their return on investment
“On top of that, a lot of them require extra lenses and things to make work, whereas Prolights EclProfile CT+ are compatible with our existing stock of ETC lenses,” he added. “So whilst we did buy a few lenses with them, the idea was that we could reuse a whole bunch of our existing stock lenses which is why we went down that path.
“The other reason we chose Prolights EclProfile CT+ was that they do a very good job at mimicking tungsten so our contemporary performers that are used to tungsten light, are happy with them.”
Eight Prolights EclFresnels 2K VW replaced the existing Fresnels to produce downlight from the grid.
“We’re trying to upgrade all of our lights to LED, largely for control and flexibility, and the Ecl Fresnals met our needs” remarked Richard.
For the contemporary performances, Richard added a dozen ShowPRO LED Blinder II although he admits that he personally hates being blinded at concerts! However the fixtures themselves have been fantastic.
“But you know, it’s the job of a venue to supply what the clients need and we’re regularly asked for molefays,” he said. “They are deceptively real looking as it does look like there’s a filament in there but it’s an LED.”
With a new LED-based lighting rig, The City Recital Hall is now set up for many years of low maintenance and cost-effective lighting whilst keeping performers and crew more than happy.
