Bielefeld Celebrates 800 Years With Yamaha
The German city of Bielefeld has been marking its 800th anniversary throughout 2014, with a highlight of the celebrations a unique ‘time travelling’ production which featured 800 performers. A Yamaha CL5 digital mixing system helped ensure that the complex show was a fitting tribute to the city’s history.
Titled 800 Jahre Bielefeld - Bi Motion, the production took place in the city’s Stadthalle on the 19th and 21st June, with two performances on each day. David Heuer of DH ProSound was asked to design and mix the show’s sound. He chose a Yamaha CL5 digital console, with two Rio3224-D i/o units and an additional Ro8.
David is very familiar with both complex events and Yamaha consoles, having been heavily involved with Dusseldorf’s 2011 Eurovision Song Contest spectacular, amongst many other high profile live and broadcast projects.
“The show brought 800 musicians, dancers, actors and from the city together, ranging from professional performers like the Bielefeld Philharmonic, Syrian clarinet virtuoso Kinan Azmeh and Tanztheater Bielefeld to school pupils and amateur dancers and musicians of all ages,” says David.
“I chose the CL5 because of its ability to handle such a big production, including a complete orchestra, choir and actors, on a small mixing surface. We were using 71 inputs and having the Rio units on the Dante network made for a very flexible setup. It meant we had the inputs and outputs exactly where we needed them, which makes a big difference on a complex show.”
Although there were five days allocated for the get in and technical rehearsals, David and his team only had two full rehearsals with the orchestra. But, thanks to the CL5’s multitrack recording ability via Dante DVS virtual soundcard, he was able to record the orchestra and do further soundchecks without the musicians present.
“Pre-programming and doing virtual soundchecks made a big difference,” he says. “Despite the difficulty of getting all the many elements of such a big production together to rehearse, it meant we could ensure that everything was perfect for the shows. Both we and the organisers were very happy.”
