City Recital Hall is a purpose-built live performance venue in the heart of Sydney’s CBD. It presents a curated program of contemporary music performances to complement its presenting partners: Australian Chamber Orchestra, Musica Viva Australia, Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Pinchgut Opera and Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
When the venue was awarded a Venue Upgrade Grant by Sound NSW, a dedicated office within the NSW Government committed to the growth, development and promotion of contemporary music in NSW, it used the funding to purchase some moving lights.
Not just any moving light was chosen, but the latest to redefine performance lighting for the contemporary stage: the Martin MAC Encore Two.
More than a lighting fixture, it helps shape every scene, gesture, and moment. From revealing the fine contours of a performer’s face to washing a set in natural, lifelike colour, MAC Encore Two renders skin tones and scenic detail with striking realism—making it indispensable when precision matters.
Ed Nixon, Head of Technical at the City Recital Hall, commented that his Lighting Supervisor and a couple of crew members were impressed by a demo of the fixture and highly recommended it.
“My background is audio, so advice from my team who have lighting backgrounds is invaluable,” he said. “Initially, I was going to specify MAC Viper XIPs as, at the time, I didn’t know about the MAC Encore Twos. Then late last year, they were announced, so I sent a couple of my crew to Show Technology to check them out. They reported back that it was a fantastic light, especially for its price range. To be honest, the difference between them and the MAC Viper XIP made the decision easy.”
Ed also consulted with his colleagues at the Sydney Opera House, who had MAC Encore Twos, and they spoke highly of the fixture’s performance.
“In my position, I’m looking not just at what the light does, but at its impacts,” continued Ed. “Not only will the MAC Encore Twos be energy-saving due to their LEDs, but they will also make the venue a safer place to work. Having moving lights means we won’t have to bring the truss down or go into the grid or lighting bridges
“The client’s bump in time won’t be taken up with having to have lots of LX crew in to move fixtures and other manual labour. This makes us more affordable to hire. Also, the MAC Encore Twos will give our visiting lighting designers a broader palette to play with, like giving an artist more paint, and that will facilitate more creativity. We will be able to achieve those results faster and more safely.”
Dany Akbar, Lighting Supervisor for the venue, describes the MAC Encore Two fixtures as the backbone of the rig.
“We’ve had the original MAC Encores in the venue for quite a while, and they’ve been our standard for moving head profiles, especially with orchestras who require high colour fidelity and CRI. However, we are transitioning to doing a lot more contemporary gigs, such as club nights, and the MAC Encores offer limited effects. The MAC Encore Twos offer much more visual impact, with stronger gobos and colours that appear sharper and more defined. With so much more versatility, they can do the best of both worlds.”
The MAC Encore Two’s extraordinary brightness is achieved by using a proprietary 760 W LED white-light engine that delivers 21,000 lumens—75% more than the previous model. The result is improved optical performance and a rich, neutral white output at 5,600 K.
“Their brightness has been a great help for orchestra gigs, especially with getting light into key areas for musicians,” added Dany. “This is particularly important as the venue interior features a lot of white and gold, which the light can bounce off. They are also very appealing to orchestras because of the whisper-quiet operation of the MAC Encore Two.”
Other features impressing Dany are the optics and zoom range with the 1:10 zoom system (5°–54°) and 150 mm front lens delivering up to six times the intensity of MAC Encore at its narrowest beam. High lumen maintenance, razor-sharp optics, and precise gobo framing ensure consistent, high-definition projection.
“The MAC Encore Two is a huge step up,” he added. “The beam remains consistent and effective across the full zoom range, whether it’s used as a key light, a tightly focused special, or for mid-air beam effects. The colour rendering is also fantastic.”
