The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD) has invested in a Roland M-400 V-Mixing System with 32-way Digital Snake, supplied by Stage Electrics. Purchased as part of a new equipment inventory for the RWCMD’s new £22.5 million performance facility, the M-400 is being used for a variety of applications – from classroom training to summer balls – in advance of taking up residence at FOH in the 160-seat Richard Burton Theatre.
The extensive development on the College’s existing site in the grounds of Cardiff Castle is due to be completed in early 2011.
“We’re already used it in our black-box theatre, where Firenze Guidi has just directed her production of The Miracle,” reported Ian Evans, senior lecturer in Technical Studies. “The M-400 offers the great advantage of portability in addition to functionality, so we can move it around the college’s different performance and teaching spaces.”
Roland Systems Group product manager Simon Kenning is an alumnus of the RWCMD, and had persuaded the college to become one of the earliest users of the Roland Digital Snake system in 2007. “Then we studied the spec of the M-400 and found the feature set very interesting and easy to use. We start our student training on analogue consoles, as it is simple to teach audio principles on an analogue surface. The M-400 represents an easy transition to a digital platform, and we’ve been very impressed with it. Everything we do here is new – from the writing and design to the production – so sound has to move and develop with the flow of the acting. That’s what the M-400 does so well; it has the flexibility to be live because it is so tactile.”
Along with the Richard Burton Theatre, the new arts complex will feature a 450-seat Concert Hall, acting and movement studios, a permanent exhibition space and a new ‘front door’ for the college.
