SNL Pro celebrates Zubin Mehta’s birthday
Published: ASIA
INDIA: Sound and Light Professionals (SNL Pro) supplied an L-Acoustics solution for a concert recently held in Mumbai by the Mehli Mehta Music Foundation in celebration of Zubin Mehta’s 80th birthday. The rental and installation company was chosen by the event’s organiser at the request of the technical crew, which had previously worked with SNL Pro on a similar project.
The concert was staged at the Cricket Club of India’s Brabourne Stadium and saw the Indian conductor joined by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrea Bocelli and Maria Katzarava. The orchestra setup consisted of a wide range of instruments from the string, woodwind, brass, percussion and keyboard families.
The SNL Pro team, comprising system engineer Bruce Rodericks and stage technician Jagdish Mutke, flew 13 K1 line arrays and four K1-SB subwoofers each side of FOH. Meanwhile, three Kara units were flown per side as down fills, while 115XT stage monitors were employed as front fills, with the 5XT providing near fill onstage, and twelve SB28 subs on the ground.
The sound system configuration was designed by Mr Rodericks using L-Acoustics’ Soundvision software. ‘L-Acoustics K1 was the preferred choice of Zubin Metha’s technical management team,’ commented Manish Mavani, director of SNL Pro. ‘They are aware that this is the manufacturer’s flagship product and did not want to settle for anything less.’
‘The sound on an open air concert is not easy,’ explained Norman Pocka, the production head/technical director for this and many of Zubin Mehta’s concerts around the world. ‘A rock concert needs to be loud and onstage you have maybe five or six musicians, but a classical orchestra contains perhaps 80 people or more, each with individual instruments. So we really have to take care with which sound equipment we use and we need the people to work with it in the right way. It’s not only the loudspeakers, it’s the cabling, it’s the trussing, everything and I’m glad we engaged with Manish and the SNL Pro crew, and hope we’ll work with them again’