Twenty-three years on from the debut edition of the compilation, RG Jones are proud to be supplying the sound for The Annual Classical seeing the Ministry of Sound touring the UK with a 50-piece orchestra, which began with a world premiere at London’s Royal Festival Hall on January 26th and has already taken the UK by storm.
Reproducing major classical music events for promoters like Raymond Gubbay is familiar territory for RG Jones as the company has been the first name on the sheet for numerous live classical events for many years, based on unparalleled experience built on longevity and people.
Blending the perfect mix of an orchestra sound with the world’s most iconic dance brand is a bold concept. This is more than a concert, it’s an out-of-this-world experience. Stirring the senses, triggering memories – the unique ambience that is created by the magical wonders of a live symphony orchestra. FOH engineer, Phil Wright was at the helm with highly experienced system tech Mark Edwards on system.
“The key thing for this event was to keep sound levels to a minimum on stage,” explains Phil “To this end we employed 17 Allen & Heath ME-1 personal mixers for the key players and the conductor, and an additional 18 Martin Audio DD6’s for compact low level distributed monitoring.”
Using a DPA solution, we also had to mic much tighter than for a conventional classical show because of the need to reach 100-105dB(A) at the FOH position. The company has invested a significant amount in DPA mics and hold an extensive stock to meet the high demand in classical applications.
The challenge of keeping the stage quiet and clean while delivering festival levels at FOH meant the choice of the MLA family had been axiomatic. “It is the only system I would consider for this kind of event,” the sound engineer exclaimed. “The Hard Avoid® feature on stage and the incredible cardioid subs meant that we could really meet audience expectations while maintaining reasonable levels on stage.
As for the system, Phil and RG Jones knew the award-winning Martin Audio MLA Compact was the perfect solution.
Phil continues “In addition to the extremely accurately defined coverage, the system needed to be very flat and linear, so that I achieved maximum gain before feedback and transparency since the show is much more dynamic than a purely electronic event because you’re dealing with real instruments on stage.”
The show required a click track which he played in from his dual-redundant ShowCueSystem rig; this provided Click & Bar numbers on video to stage and also SMPTE to lighting for sync purposes.
In summary, Phil Wright credits RG Jones’ skilled stage crew for the delivery of an excellent show.
“We’re incredibly proud to be part of this sell-out production – our roots in pop and dance stretch right back to the studio era, so blending that heritage with the precision of a live orchestra feels like coming full circle. Projects like this — where technical craft meets pure performance energy — are exactly what define us.”
Sarah Gellas, Director, RG Jones
Photo credits: Sam Millien and Phil Wright
At a Glance
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Client: | Ministry of Sound / Raymond Gubbay Ltd |
| Tour: | The Annual Classical — UK live orchestral tour |
| Venues: | Including Royal Festival Hall (London premiere) |
| Scope: | Full orchestral sound design, system supply, and operation |
| System: | Martin Audio MLA Compact with Hard Avoid® and cardioid subs |
| Monitoring: | 17 Allen & Heath ME-1 personal mixers, 18 Martin Audio DD6s |
| Microphones: | DPA close-mic system for high-SPL orchestral capture |
| Team: | FOH Engineer Phil Wright, System Technician Mark Edwards |
| Outcome: | A powerful, well-balanced mix of orchestral performance and electronic energy, delivered to sell-out crowds |