Music not only conveys the spirit of Christmas at The Heights Baptist Church, it also creates memories that worshippers cherish. A decade ago, leaders of this church outside Dallas made a decision to move away from theatrical holiday productions and instead have their Christmas season services feature concerts by their choir, orchestra and special guest artists. This year’s guest was very special indeed, as the church welcomed multi-Dove Award winner Aaron Shust, who performed on a stage that was illuminated in warm seasonal colors by COLORado™ 3P IP LED wash banks from CHAUVET Professional.

“The Christmas concerts with their special guests have become a tradition here,” said Bobby Dennis, Technical Director at the church. “In the past, we’ve had artists like Point of Grace, Andrew Peterson, Larnelle Harris join us. Of course part of the feeling we create on stage comes from the very lush holiday colors that light these performances. The COLORado fixtures were key in colorizing the stage for Aaron’s Christmas concert; they are our workhorse color wall and stage wash, performing flawlessly and never flickering, which is important because we HD/IMAG the concert.”

A high output RGB wash bank consisting of three independently controlled circular pods of 18 LEDs, the COLORado 3P IP fixtures were used to frame the choir loft and provide color accents for the choir riser, as well as the area on either side of the choir. “We positioned three COLORados on each side of the choir and flew two units on the upstage catwalk,” said Dennis. “The color accents help in visually separating the choir area from the rhythm section located on the floor in front of choir riser wall.”

Although Heights Baptist rented additional lights – “mainly movers” – for the Aaron Shust concert rig, which as controlled by an ETC ION2000 console, Dennis points out that it was the COLORado 3P IP washes that set the visual tone for the Christmas concert. “The richly saturated colors we get from these fixtures are extraordinary,” he said. “They really create the ambience we want on stage for a Christmas concert.”

The COLORado 3P IP fixtures are also steady performers at Heights Baptist during the rest of the year. “During our normal services, we used the COLORados pretty much the same way as we used them for the Aaron’s performance,” said Dennis. “We will wash the walls and stage in different colors depending on the services and the time of year.”

Dennis also relies on the fixture to add an extra touch to special events. In these cases, he appreciates their versatility. For example, each of the COLORado 3P IP’s pods can be controlled separately, a feature that Dennis uses to create playful effects for children’s choir concerts.

“This year we even sent out four COLORados with our student ministry for a summer beach camp, where they were used as blinders,” said Dennis. “They worked out great there, but of course where the lights really stand out is at our Christmas concert. This is a very important event for us, and we want to make sure the stage looks just right.”

For more information about Chauvet Professional, please visit www.chauvetprofessional.com

For more information about Chauvet Lighting, please visit www.chauvetlighting.com