Coemar at the Royal Albert Hall

The Royal Albert Hall, one of London's landmark venues, has recently purchased Coemar ParLite LED fixtures as part of a major re-vamp of its auditorium lighting.

Entertainment lighting specialist White Light, Coemar's exclusive distributor in the UK, supplied the hall with 54 ParLites, which have now been installed to uplight the columns that encircle the iconic auditorium at gallery level.

Coemar describe the ParLite as the "ideal digital substitute for the analog par can;" the compact, lightweight fixture offers bright RGB color mixing, has no cooling fan and so operates silently, and where outdoor use is required can be transformed to a waterproof IP65 rating at any time. Though the RGB version is in use at the Royal Albert Hall, the ParLite is also available in fixed 3,200K white and vari-white versions where color mixing is not required.

The Royal Albert Hall's team, led by senior technical manager Ollie Jeffery, chose the ParLites after carrying out an extensive set of auditions encompassing a wide range of lighting fixtures. They ultimately opted for the ParLites because of their color consistency, silent fan-free operation, and energy saving compared to traditional tungsten lighting fixtures, according to the company. The ParLites now allow dramatic transformations to the mood and feel of the hall to be made quickly and easily from the lighting console.

The ParLite project continues the long working relationship between White Light and the Royal Albert Hall, White Light having completed a number of recent upgrades to the "behind the scenes" infrastructure and cable management at the Hall, as well as supplying additional lighting equipment to the venue as productions require it.

"The team at White Light were as helpful as always as we worked through the various options for transforming the auditorium lighting in the Hall," commented Jeffery, "suggesting and letting us try a wide range of equipment before we ultimately settled on the Coemar ParLite -- a choice with which we are very happy. Many of the lighting designers we have worked with have commented on the flexibility and quality of the new system. We look forward to working with White Light again."