Company History

We started our business as a touring lighting production company, sharing our offices with a partner company on State Street in Rochester, NY.

We quickly outgrew the facility, and the two companies found a new home on nearby Mt. Read Boulevard. During our infancy, we found that we were very popular with Southern Rock and Jazz musicians, regularly working with artists such as Billy Cobham, Jean-Luc Ponty, Stanley Clark, Chick Corea, Sea Level, The Outlaws, and Molly Hatchet. We even did some extended tours with The Grateful Dead, Janice Ian, Natalie Cole, and Patti Labelle.

The touring industry took a dramatic turn in the early eighties, and it forced us to look into different markets. We found our knowledge of lighting to be very useful in the retail market, and established ourselves as the "go-to guys" for theatrical and photographic lighting and stage supplies. As we grew in this market, more and more organizations began requesting sound equipment from us, and we found it necessary once again to move to a larger location, bidding a friendly farewell to our founding partner in the sound industry, and stepping into the audio market on our own.

This move proved to be the springboard for growth for us. We were constantly called on for sound production, as well as lighting for stage events, but a burgeoning install market beckoned and we responded by designing and engineering entertainment packages for several prominent nightclubs and educational facilities in the region, notably the Ocean Club in Henrietta, and several hotel chains throughout the United States. About the same time, Geva Theatre was moving into their new home, and we cemented our long-time relationship with them by fully outfitting their new theatre on Woodbury Boulevard.

Continued growth in the design and engineering fields, as well as demand for production services from the corporate market led us to providing the production facilities design for the new School of the Arts for the Rochester City School District, and the Rochester Institute of Technology Ingle Auditorium and Panara Theatre lighting systems.

The opportunity arose for a change of ownership in the late 1990's, and an employee buyout was negotiated, putting Dan McKenzie and Lou Calarese at the helm of the company they had put their entire working careers into.

Recently, we have continued our emphasis in the installation and production markets, and are bursting at the seams with growth. Recent projects of note include a fully renovated sound and lighting system in the Wesley Chapel at Houghton College, and several Houses of Worship, including the new, world-class 1200 seat sanctuary at First Bible Baptist Church in Hilton, New York.