The Harpa Concert Hall and Congress Centre recently switched to the VENUE S6L live systems from Avid for its audio setup. In this interview, Andri Gudmundsson, Head of Events and Technical Management, talks about the project.

Please tell us who you are and what role you have in your company or had during the project.

My name is Andri Gudmundsson and I am the Director of Events and Technical Management at Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre.

Describe your organisation/company (sector) or production focus and any special requirements resulting from this.

Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre is a world-class multi-use venue located in Reykjavik, Iceland. Our focus is on providing comprehensive services to event organizers, hosting international touring acts, concerts, and conferences. We emphasize top-tier facilities, cutting-edge equipment, and skilled staff to accommodate the most demanding production requirements.

Is VENUE S6L an essential component for the realisation of your productions and what is VENUE S6L used for (FOH, Mon, multiple venues, etc.)?

We use the Venue S6L for multiple halls both for FOH, monitors and broadcast. The Icelandic national radio uses one console to broadcast every week the Icelandic symphony orchestra live on radio.

What were the key requirements in the decision-making process to overcome your workflow challenges?

We wanted the scalability in term of channel count as some of the productions are large orchestra playing with pop/rock band.

What was the deciding factor in your decision to invest in the VENUE S6L system?

The VENUE S6L's unmatched flexibility, extensive plugin support, and robust routing capabilities were decisive factors. Its ability to handle complex workflows efficiently was also critical.

What do you see as the biggest benefits of the VENUE S6L feature set within your workflow and how are they utilized?

• Workflow in general
• Snapshots
• events
• Plugin integration
• Routing possibilities
• Expandability (Waves, MADI, MILAN, etc.)

Perhaps some of my engineers would be better suited to answer this but the expandability is crucial for us and the interconnection of system. We have also seen a lot of sound guys using the plugins and snapshots with a happy face.

Are there special requirements regarding sound/sound design that the feature set supports you with?

• AUX mixing
• Matrices
• Immersive audio

In what ways has VENUE S6L helped to modernise or optimise your production workflow?

We now have a modern competitive system in our building that we can offer touring acts.

How have viewers and production colleagues reacted to the new setup?

The Venue has been used quite extensively by our in house sound guys and they are loving the desk and it´s features.

Are there any other important points we should mention?

The VENUE S6L has positioned Harpa as a leading venue in terms of technical excellence, enabling us to host world-class events seamlessly.

You can find the full report on the Harpa Reykjavik's VENUE S6L installation here.