Novatech helps the Stars in the Arena shine brightly

For over one hundred years, the Primary Schools’ Music Festival has showcased the talent of primary school students from across South Australia. It enables a variety of platforms for the musical interest of students to be nurtured and, on one occasion annually, provides the opportunity to perform in front of a large audience at a renowned Adelaide performing arts venue. In 2021, the venue was Adelaide Entertainment Centre with the show uniquely named Stars in the Arena.

Stars in the Arena was held over four nights in the arena of the Adelaide Entertainment Centre and set the stage for over 1500 students to perform every evening. Each concert featured a dedicated student orchestra and an ensemble of 1500 students that changed each evening. This enabled more students to have the opportunity but also required incredible planning and rehearsals to take place.

Novatech provided all lighting, audio and video projection production; with Nexstage providing all staging and temporary seating solutions. Floor projection was used as a canvas for the performers in front of the main stage and utilised disguise media servers as well as Barco UDM projectors. Barco UDM’s were also used for the main screens and rolldown screens for great mid-show effects. L-Acoustic speakers were used for all arena audio applications including front of house and foldback. The large lighting rig consisted of Clay Paky, Martin, Ayrton and GrandMA Lighting.

Novatech’s approach to a full-service offering enabled the client one point of contact from their own production team and a seamless result. The students clearly relished the opportunity to perform, and the families likewise enjoyed seeing their children perform in the same arena as many of their idols.