Students were able to work with music from Bill Kenwright Ltd's new UK tour of "Fame", mixing on a brand new DiGiCo SD10 console and a d&b audiotechnik system with surrounds.

Held at Orbital Sound's purpose-built training rooms, programming suite and sound studio in Brixton, London, the course focuses on the practical skills and theory behind best-practice FOH mixing requirements for modern musicals. The intention is to provide students with first-hand experience of all the essential tasks associated with sound operating excellence, from basic mixing theory to working with the latest digital mixing technology.

Training co-ordinator, Alex Waddle explains:
"Mixing Musicals is much more than just another "this is how a mixing desk works" workshop – we really do take the students through every stage of the process – from the rehearsal room to setting up a desk in its base state, including the theory, introduction to why line-by-line mixing is so important, and what happens when you don't do it.

"This year, we worked closely with Bill Kenwright Ltd, who let us use a multi-track recording of the new UK Fame Tour and a brand new Digico SD10, which was set up in our main training room with the Fame multi-track, where Dan Bailey provided hands-on teaching. The d&b system with surrounds was rigged to give the students a real feel of what it is like to mix a big musical.

"In our programming suite, Marcus Wadland had a Digico SD8 console set up with the recordings from last year's production of Anything Goes at Killworth House. The focus here was to give the students a chance to practice line-by-line mixing and the subtleties that go with a classic musical production. Completing the line up was Richard Carter in our studio, complete with the Yamaha CL5 console, teaching the programming aspects with a multi track recording of Rent."