ETC, working with its Danish distributor Bico, has recently completed commissioning of a new dimming and control system for the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen.
Working in the main Concert Hall, which holds over 1,000 people, Bico installed a Unison Paradigm system with 24 ways of dimming to control the house and rehearsal lights, along with an sACN network system, all connected both to a new Ion control desk and several wall mounted fader stations. Two 48-way Sensor dimming racks and five gateways were also fitted for show light.
Søren Jørgensen, sales project manager at Bico, explains: “This year, we were tasked with updating all their old dimmers with streaming ACN (sACN) and integrating the house and stage lighting. After doing on site tests with the Ion and another manufacturer’s desk, the Ion was specified because it operates silently – it will normally be placed in the middle of the auditorium, so it was important that there should not be any audible fan noise to disturb the audience or performers. Bico also supplied 40 ETC Source Four PARs and four Source Four Revolution moving lights – again, specified in order to avoid any unnecessary noise.
“The technical staff were up and running on the new desk almost immediately – so far we’ve only needed to give them two hours tuition, but promised to return if they feel they’ve reached the limit of what they can teach themselves.”
One of the major advantages that led to the installation of the Unison Paradigm system, says Søren, is that the Academy did not have to specify how the system should be programmed before it was installed – they only had to say where the button stations should be located. They then have the flexibility to change the lighting states as they wish later on. For example, in a month’s time, they might decide they want to lock something out, or do something different with one of the buttons – the technicians have the ability to easily change their minds.
“By integrating the Paradigm with the sACN and the preinstalled network,” he says, “the system can be used to snapshot the rehearsal lights – so they can set the performance lighting on their Ion, then the state can be recorded onto a Paradigm fader. So, say they want a pre-set state for the conductor, or some for a symphony orchestra, they easily program that to the system, rather than an operator having to be called to set the lighting each time.”
The Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen is the oldest and largest professional institution of musical education in Denmark, with approximately 400 students. English is the second language for the college and all students, whether Danish or foreign, are expected to be able to follow classes in both Danish and English.
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