The Event

Sound Division was asked to provide a combined public address and movie projection system for an Evening of Tribute to Sir Nicholas Winton MBE, who prior to the outbreak of the Second World War, organised the rescue of 669 Czech Jewish children from the Nazi Czech Kindertransport.

The evening commenced with a showing of the 2002 International Emmy Award-winning documentary film, The Power Of Good, followed by an interview with Sir Nicholas Winton by Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis of the Kinloss Synagogue.

At the conclusion of the interview, Rabbi Mirvis unexpectedly announced that he would invite two ‘surprise guests’ onto the stage — Kathe Fischel and Vera Gissing, who were two of the original Czech children saved on the Kindertransport.

After waiting nearly 70 years, Kathe Fischel was finally able to embrace Sir Nicholas and publicly thank her rescuer; it proved to be an emotional few moments. Vera Gissing — who has written the official biography of Sir Nicholas — also recalled her own personal experience of the transportations.

Production Services

Anticipating a full capacity audience and in order to achieve optimum sound coverage to ground floor and balcony levels, Sound Division supplied six stand-mounted EV SX 300 loudspeakers driven by two Crown CE 1000 amplifiers and controlled by the Allen & Heath 16-channel Mix Wizard. Shure UXL and AKG radio mic systems ensured that all guest speakers could be heard clearly throughout the venue.

For an optimal visual experience, a Panasonic SXGA 7000 was used to project the film onto a large 16ft x 12ft suspended viewing screen. A pair of stand-mounted satellite 42″ NEC plasma screens were provided for those with viewing restrictions immediately in front of the central praying platform. In addition to the film, the screen also broadcast a ‘live feed’ of the interviews as they took place.

The Result

“I have always received the highest standard of service and professional equipment from Sound Division. Despite receiving last minute notification of this event, as usual the Sound Division team were on the case immediately with a complete specification and delivery to site within 24 hours — and the equipment performed superbly well too!” — David Clemence, AV Engineer, Kinloss Synagogue

“The evening went perfectly; the Rabbi was especially pleased, bearing in mind the eminence of the guest of honour and the high number attending from the community.” — Stephen Renshaw, Chief Organiser, Kinloss Synagogue Learning Centre