Riedel And Backstage Academy Partnership Preps Next Generation Of Live Event Professionals

Students graduate with cutting-edge skills thanks to Riedel partnership.
In a strong move to support the next generation of live event professionals, Riedel Communications teamed up with Backstage Academy to provide hands-on training using the latest equipment.
Students in the three-year Backstage Academy training program are fully immersed in the work of live event production. Working alongside highly respected industry professionals, they use best-in-class equipment — including Riedel’s Artist and Bolero intercom systems — in state-of-the-art studio spaces to hone their skills in creating exceptional live experiences.
“We’re training tomorrow’s professionals, so it’s important that we get the best and most current gear in front of these students,” said Backstage Industry Partnership Director Miles Marsden. “We’re proud that our students graduate with cutting-edge skills, immediately ready to fill any shortages in the industry as it bounces back to pre-pandemic levels. Our close partnership with Riedel helps make this possible.”
Founded in July 2009, Backstage Academy developed a reputation as a center of excellence for backstage training, specializing in undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, short courses, and bespoke training programs for the live event and creative industries. As a Backstage Academy partner, Riedel supplied an Artist digital matrix intercom system and Bolero wireless intercom antennas and beltpacks to the campus, which is part of the renowned Production Park facilities in Yorkshire.
“Our stage management courses heavily focus on comms, and Bolero really is a great system to teach on,” said Backstage Technical Director Gareth Welbourn. “We were all stunned by the robust quality of the system, and its ease of use makes teaching super-effective. The students really love Bolero, and the more features we introduce, the more their jaws drop. Within half an hour of showing students the system, they’re configuring it and thinking about new possibilities, changing stuff around. It’s brilliant.”
Backstage Academy students used Riedel’s intercom systems during training and in producing their end-of-year showcase, “Live Again.” The live-streamed, theatrical multistage show told the story of the live event industry’s struggle through the COVID-19 pandemic. Produced in Studio One, Production Park’s largest studio, the ambitious final project put into practice everything students have learned during the training program — and pushed their skill sets to the next level.
You might also like...
Monitoring & Compliance In Broadcast: Monitoring Cloud Infrastructure
If we take cloud infrastructures to their extreme, that is, their physical locality is unknown to us, then monitoring them becomes a whole new ball game, especially as dispersed teams use them for production.
Phil Rhodes Image Capture NAB 2025 Show Floor Report
Our resident image capture expert Phil Rhodes offers up his own personal impressions of the technology he encountered walking the halls at the 2025 NAB Show.
Microphones: Part 9 - The Science Of Stereo Capture & Reproduction
Here we look at the science of using a matched pair of microphones positioned as a coincident pair to capture stereo sound images.
Monitoring & Compliance In Broadcast: Monitoring Cloud Networks
Networks, by their very definition are dispersed. But some are more dispersed than others, especially when we look at the challenges multi-site and remote teams face.
Audio At NAB 2025
Key audio themes at NAB 2025 remain persistently familiar – remote workflows, distributed teams, and ultra-efficiency… and of course AI. These themes have been around for a long time now but the audio community always seems to find very new ways of del…