The Adam Hall Group and its brand, Cameo®, played an integral part in the Queen’s Jubilee celebration earlier this summer. The NAMM Member and its products were critical in producing a dynamic and visually stunning event for the world to see.
In 1975, Mr. Adam Hall founded Adam Hall Ltd. in the English city of Southend-on-Sea, just outside London. While the company initially produced high-quality, robust flight case fittings, today, the Adam Hall Group has grown into a global manufacturer and distributor, providing comprehensive solutions for the event technology industry. With its headquarters in Neu-Anspach, Hesse, Germany, the group includes over 30 well-known brands, including Adam Hall Hardware, Adam Hall Stage Equipment, Cameo®, Defender®, Gravity®, LDsystems®, and Palmer®, among others. Today the Adam Hall Group offers more than 7,000 products, including audio and sound technology, professional LED lighting solutions, cables, moving lights, power amps, speakers, and stands and stage systems.
Cameo, as part of the Adam Hall family of brands, “offers powerful, easy-to-use, state-of-the-art products that allow concert stages, theatres, discotheques, and architecture to be seen in the very best light.” The products, developed in Germany, include everything from modern moving heads, PAR spotlights, LED Fresnels and lasers, and effects machines.
In June, the people of Great Britain flocked to the over 16,000 events to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s time on the throne. Despite the numerous celebrations, the biggest show took place in front of London’s Buckingham Palace. An estimated 22,000 people gathered in front of three stages and an additional 13.4 million tuned into BBC's live coverage to watch performances by some of the world’s biggest acts, including Alicia Keys, Queen & Adam Lambert, Ed Sheeran, and Rod Stewart, among others. Version 2 Lights, a UK-based lighting rental specialist, provided more than 600 Cameo spotlights to illuminate the main stages, Buckingham Palace, and the Tree of Trees sculpture.
Adam Hall Group CEO Alexander Pietschmann shared his thoughts and said, “Adam Hall Group was delighted and honored to be entrusted with delivering lighting fixtures for the Queen’s 70th Anniversary Celebration. Our lighting brand, Cameo®, is dedicated to providing dramatic, beautiful light to any event it touches and arousing great passion and deep emotion. These elements certainly were present at the Queen’s Jubilee, an occasion that served as so much more than a royal anniversary, but as a worldwide beacon of hope and a reminder that good can prevail through challenging times. As a longtime player in the live events industry, this is something we firmly believe at Adam Hall Group—that as long as we continue to gather in observance and celebration of our humanity, we will continue to thrive as a global people.”
For more information on Cameo and the Adam Hall Group, please visit https://www.cameolight.com/ and https://www.adamhall.com/.
All Photos Courtesy of Getty Images
In April, Focusrite Audio Engineering Ltd was one of over 200 organizations to be nationally recognized with the prestigious Queen’s Awards for Enterprise for excellence in international trade.
Focusrite “believes in enriching peoples’ lives through music,” and they achieve their goal by manufacturing audio interfaces. For those unfamiliar, audio interfaces serve to pass audio from the musician to the computer and back out again, bringing recorded sound to the world. The manufacturer says, “The best interface should help you record your sound exactly as it is. It should be ready to go when you are, never skipping a beat. It should be easy to use, removing pointless technical barriers that get in the way of you enriching yours and others’ lives through music.”
The English music and audio products group began in 1985 and was founded by legendary audio pioneer Rupert Neve. Before the easy and affordable access to computers, Focusrite built consoles. One of the manufacturer's first contracts was a commission from Sir George Martin to build an extension to AIR Studios’ custom Neve console. In April 1989, audio industry entrepreneur and co-founder of Soundcraft Electronics Ltd, Phil Dudderidge, purchased the company and established Focusrite Audio Engineering Ltd. With its continued expansion over the past four decades, Focusrite now houses eight brands, including ADAM Audio, Amplify Music, Focusrite, Focusrite Pro, Martin Audio, Novation, Optimal Audio, and Sequential and manufacturers analog EQs and channel strips, audio interfaces, consoles, digital audio processing hardware, and software, and microphone preamps.
Now in its 56th year, the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are the country’s “most prestigious business awards.” The 2022 program marked the fifth award received by Focusrite and the third acknowledgment the company received for “outstanding and sustained growth of their international sales.” The NAMM Member successfully “increased order volumes while dealing with disruption to deliveries and for growing their overseas orders by 145% in the six years, with top markets to include Austria, Australia, Benelux, France, Germany, North America, and South Korea. Of the recognition, Dudderidge said, “Thanks go to our amazing team in the UK and overseas for developing and selling the world’s leading audio interface brand, Focusrite, and sister brand Novation.”
With the award, Focusrite can use the Queen’s Emblem for the next five years. For more information on Focusrite, please visit https://focusrite.com/.
Since 1901, NAMM has been serving companies operating throughout the musical instrument industry. Today NAMM serves over 7,000 active member companies and is continuously seeking to expand its reach to better serve the music products industry and promote music-making.
Originally comprised of 52 members, the National Association of Piano Dealers of America was renamed in 1919 to the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) to represent the growing markets within the music products industry. Today NAMM is a nonprofit association that promotes the benefits and pleasure of making music and strengthens the $17 billion global music products industry.
Like the first decade of its existence, NAMM continuously strives to serve a growing and diverse marketplace. With the additions of the pro audio and live entertainment professionals within NAMM’s membership base, and innovations that have allowed for music-making to become more widespread, the organization is again broadening the scope of music makers it serves.
In 2021, NAMM opened its membership communities to include pro audio and live sound professionals, music educators, and other professional groups. This includes new and exciting membership opportunities and benefits and direct access for industry professionals to attend The NAMM Show, June 3-5 in Anaheim, California.
General Benefits of Membership: Besides attending The NAMM Show, individuals who become NAMM Members have year-round access to NAMM events, career-building professional development, networking, and resources. In addition, NAMM also represents the industry's most pressing issues in Washington D.C. and beyond, “advocating for free trade, informed regulations, funding for the arts and music education, and more.”
Educators: While The NAMM Show typically occurs in late January, The 2022 NAMM Show offers a unique opportunity for music educators to attend. NAMM is excited to offer educators their own path to membership via individual memberships. Not only will teachers kick off summer by heading to Anaheim June 3-5 and become inspired for the school year ahead alongside leading professionals but they will also have yearlong access to the invaluable resources that NAMM provides. Sessions of particular interest include the Music Education Days and its “Improv Comedy & Music Education,” “Rethinking Music Education in the Post COVID-19 World,” “The Grand Rally for Music Education,” and more. Please visit /thenammshow/2022/education/music-education-days for the complete Music Education Days schedule.
Pro Audio and Live Sound Professionals: Those who work in pro audio, from the emerging professional to the seasoned veteran, are invited to join NAMM as individual members. Whether you are a hobbyist, work within a house of worship, or are a full-time engineer, all are welcome to join NAMM and attend The NAMM Show. The 2022 NAMM Show is offering a wealth of events for the pro audio community, including training certification from Dante (additional registration required at /thenammshow/2022/education/dante), the Loud Speaker System Showcase (/exhibit/wn22/loudspeaker-system-showcase), NAMM TEC Awards (https://www.tecawards.org/), Pensado’s Place Residency at NAMM, the Pro Audio Pool Party, and dynamic sessions like “Get a Room: Recoding in a Commercial Facility Versus at Home,” “How AI is Changing EDM Production, Mixing, and Mastering,” and more.
Live Event Professionals: Those working within the realm of live events at any level or affiliation are welcome to join NAMM and attend The NAMM Show. The 2022 NAMM Show will offer a host of events geared toward your community, including educational sessions like “Loud: A Conversation with Tana Douglas, the First Woman Roadie,” “Show Stop: The One Agreement Everyone Must Agree On,” and “Working at Height Safely,” among others. Also included are education sessions with NAMM’s partners, the Entertainment Services and Technology Association (ESTA) (/thenammshow/2022/education/esta), and Event Safety Alliance (ESA) (/thenammshow/2022/education/esa), the LSA/ESTA Welcome Reception, and the Parnelli Awards (https://parnelliawards.com/).
The best part of all of this is that your membership is included alongside your NAMM Show badge, ensuring that you have access to everything NAMM provides beyond The NAMM Show. NAMM Show badge fees help fund the work of The NAMM Foundation, which, through research, advocacy, and grants, helps to create a world with more music makers. For more information on individual memberships, please visit /attendee/articles/introducing-individual-membership, and to register for The 2022 NAMM Show, please visit /thenammshow/2022/badges.
Huber Breese Music will celebrate its golden anniversary at The 2022 NAMM Show. Founder Paul Huber will attend The NAMM Milestone Awards, which takes place only at The NAMM Show in Anaheim, California, June 3-5.
The annual NAMM Milestone Awards recognize Members who have made lasting contributions to the music products industry as they celebrate landmark anniversaries. The celebration culminates with NAMM CEO and President Joe Lamond and Music Historian Dan Del Fiorentino presenting the award at The NAMM Show. Each year, honorees are recognized at the NAMM U Breakfast session and commended for their generations of impact on the industry. “Showcasing more than just staying power, the companies that receive the NAMM Milestone Award often attribute their longevity to their active interest in their local communities and supporting music education. We are proud to honor them as we recognize their contributions to bringing music to the world,” says Del Fiorentino.
2022 marks the 50th anniversary for Huber Breese Music, and the retailer is ready to celebrate at The NAMM Show. In 1972, the brick-and-mortar store opened its doors to the community of Fraser, Michigan. The retail store specializes in electric and acoustic guitars, amplifiers and cabinets, drums and percussion, keyboards, folk instruments, and pro audio gear.
Huber and Breese first met in 1968 when Huber took a position at Mt. Clemens Music teaching guitar alongside Breese, who was teaching percussion. To test the resolve of their students, the store would provide aspiring guitarists with an instrument, and at the end of eight weeks, if they stuck with it, the store would then encourage students to purchase their own guitar.
After graduating from a year-long course on the art of guitar instruction from his mentor, Joyce Lucido, Huber took a position, and he and Breese became fast friends and bandmates. The duo would teach all day and gig at night, and in 1972, the store faced a daunting rent increase and was forced to close. Finding himself out of a job, Huber mentioned to Breese that he was thinking of finding his own space to continue teaching. Enthused by the prospect of continuing teaching, Breese joined Huber as the pair secured a small, 800-square-foot building. After some savvy negotiation with the current owner, the former laundromat became home to the pair’s new studio.
In just 24 hours, Breese and Huber enlisted the help of their band’s bass player and his brother and quickly erected four teaching rooms. On May 15, 1972, approximately 95% of the students from Mt. Clemens Music followed the teachers, and Huber Breese Music was officially open. After a year of operations, there was an opportunity to expand, and the pair decided to knock out an adjoining wall to make a band room and retail space.
Huber spearheaded the retail efforts starting with a small stock of strings, picks, and a few guitars, purchased from another local store. Within three months of beginning their retail efforts, Huber was grossing well over $3,000, an impressive feat for 90 days of receiving their first stock. By 1977, the team’s landlord offered to sell the building to the musical operation and expanded to add a second story, nearly doubling its square footage to approximately 3,200 square feet. Lesson participation continued to grow, and eventually, Huber Breese counted about 600 students enrolled in their programs.
The owners pulled themselves up by their bootstraps to achieve their dream, opening a music studio and retail space that now hosts over 1,000 guitars, over 50 drum sets, amplifiers, a full line of audio products, and keyboards, an instrument rental department, and 600 students. While Breese passed away just shy of the store’s 38th anniversary, Huber reflected on his keen business skills, saying, “We weathered many recessions and downturns because Terry kept a conservative approach to finances. I believe I drove him off the cliff a few times with the cost of my guitar orders.”
While Huber is still involved in the business, he has taken a step back, employing his son Hans, who has worked at the store for the past 23 years, to take the reins. Hans said, “I did feel the pressure to uphold the store's reputation as I started to work full-time. Today, I am more aware of my strong suits, and I invest in people that possess the passions and talents that I lack and therefore make the store more balanced than ever before. We are just getting started after 50 years, and I am looking forward to continuing to uplift our community and society through our services.”
The father and son team is excited to travel to Anaheim to receive their Milestone Award. “I remember going to Chicago for our first show and Gibson bringing Les Paul and Howard Roberts. We have met so many wonderful artists through the years, and we are ready to get back to the show and experience that once again,” says Huber.
For more information from Huber and Breese, please visit https://huberbreese.com/. Register for The NAMM Show at https://registration.namm.org/wn22/register?ms=nammorg_attend and attend the Breakfast of Champions, where the Milestone Awards will be presented on Saturday, June 4 at 8:00 a.m. inside the Hilton, Level 2, Pacific Ballroom.
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