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ETC Workshop 2024 gave extra value with the creation of dealer excellence awards in a variety of categories. Corey Cascio, Field Project Coordinator for ETC Germany put forward Sonus Exsertus for their work on the Lithuania Symphony Orchestra congress Hall and National Drama Theatre (Main hall) in Vilnius, Lithuania, under the award title “Best Use of Navis in a Historic Remodel.”
In time between seminars, Cascio gave us an interesting backstory to Sonus and their remarkable use of ETC’s ArcSystem Navis fixtures in these fixed installations.
Sonus, working mainly in Lithuania with some projects in neighboring countries, is a full-service installer capable of handling rigging, lighting and audio. “The three owners are very smart, and we dealt with Edmundas Zizys on this project,” says Cascio. “He looked at Navis and found an exciting new application for them.”
The Navis is commonly used as a low-ceiling light or a general area fixture at a height of 6 to 9 feet (2-3 meteres), rarely (if ever) as a stage light. Zizys, who was tasked with lighting the national symphony orchestra, a notoriously complex design project, reasoned that with 19 degree lenses the Navis could provide a soft even field over the musicians and additionally serve as traditional house lights. Even with throws of over 32 feet (10 meters), the fixtures produced around 500-700 lux at stage level—plenty for even notoriously picky musicians.
Edmundas Zizys, company manager at Sonus Exsertus, spoke to Spectrum Magazine about the lighting renovation of Lithuania Symphony orchestra Congress Hall, explaining the importance of lighting to not only the audience, but to the musicians and conductors on stage: “The control for the stage had to be handled separately from the house lights. It was important that shadows not fall on musical scores, and that the lights not distract the performers. The orchestra conductor stands opposite the performers, requiring another carefully executed plan to ensure that they can be always seen.”
Cascio jokes that he is familiar with the exceptional demands of orchestral musicians; “It’s no fun lighting musicians – they can be worse than rock stars,” he laughs. “It can take hours to light each orchestra section.” ETC’s ArcSystem Pro Multi-Cell fixtures, with their higher light output would have been the more natural choice for orchestral lighting. “Luckily, Edmundas just ignored ETC’s recommendations, and it worked really well,” he jokes.
As a bonus, the system uses F-Drive LED driver system for power and control, greatly cutting down on the amount of cable required.
If the story has a moral, it is that Navis fixtures, with the correct lensing, can punch well above their weight and satisfy the needs of orchestras anywhere in the world.
