May 5th 2002 saw the stars of the musical theatre world come together at the Royal Albert Hall to celebrate the career of lyricist Tim Rice. "Night of 1000 Voices" is produced by Hugh Wooldridge, and was this year in aid of the Lords Taverners Charitable Trust. The evening was a concert staging of works from many of Tim Rice's collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber and with Disney.

A choir of 1000 singers from "Sing Live UK" provided backing for a company of 8 West End & international performers, and several musical mega-star guests including Colm Wilkinson, Maria Friedman and David Essex. The orchestral backing was provided by the City of London Philharmonic orchestra under the direction of David Firman.

The technical demands of such an event were massive. The main cast - 8 company, and 4 soloists (including Tim Rice doing "Song of the King" from Joseph) had 12 Shure SM87 Handheld Radio mics. The massed choirs and orchestra provided a large number of sources, and the whole show combined represented over 90 inputs and 20 outputs at the mixing desk(s).

Phil Wright mixed the show, using a Midas Heritage 2000 as the main sound console, handling rhythm section and vocals, and a DDA QII console sub-mixing strings, woodwind and brass. The stage monitoring system was controlled from the FOH consoles, providing the band with 6 mixes, a stage fill for soloists and company, and a monitor mix for the massed choirs.

Two audiences got to see the event in the end (a 4pm matinee was bolted in at the last minute when the evening show sold out). The cast performed incredibly, and there was not a moment in the whole evening where the audience weren't totally captivated.