15.12.2025 | Elation KL CORE the Flexible Color Solution for TMS at Omaha’s Holland Performing Arts Center

Theatrical Media Services (TMS) recently completed a major lighting retrofit at the Peter Kiewit Concert Hall in Omaha's Holland Performing Arts Center, selecting Elation's KL CORE IP LED light engine as the backbone of the venue's new front and side lighting systems.

The Holland Center, home of the Omaha Symphony Orchestra, is among the nation's premier performing arts venues. The 2,000-seat "shoebox" style hall, with its open design and maple interior, was purpose-built 20 years ago as a state-of-the-art acoustic space. Over time, however, its original lighting system, a mix of standard ellipsoidals and early model LEDs, had past its prime.

CORE Flexibility
TMS designed and supplied the new lighting system and supporting infrastructure. With help from Elation regional rep William Irwin, they organized a demo and shootout that led to selecting the KL CORE IP as the optimal choice. The KL CORE IP features a 400W RGBMA LED engine and can be adapted as an ellipsoidal, Fresnel, or monolight. Its compatibility with third-party shutter barrels allowed TMS to repurpose barrel mounts from the venue's existing Source Four fixtures and attach them to the KL COREs.

"That's one of the reasons we were able to sell the CORE specifically to this space," explained Michael Arch, Vice President of Production at TMS. "It allowed them the flexibility to use their existing inventory of barrels but added in the flexibility you get from a great color engine."

Next Gen LED
Arch spent nearly four years at the Holland Center as the house electrician and lighting designer before he and his partners purchased TMS last January, so is thoroughly familiar with the venue.

"One of the challenges we faced with the previous lighting rig was that it used undersized profile fixtures and relied on conventional lighting, which wasn't always conducive to focusing," he said. "I had been advocating for some time to bring in moving lights and upgrade to a new generation of LED fixtures in the front and side positions, where we ultimately installed all of the KL CORE units."

Beautiful Even Field
The KL CORE IP's high-quality light source offers a CRI of 94.9 and 16-bit CCT control from 2,400K to 8,500K, providing precise color consistency and tunable white light. The orchestra requires high lighting positions, and at the Holland Center, where the FOH position is 80' away, each fixture's 15,000-lumen output ensures bright, even coverage across the large stage.

"The thing that is fantastic about switching to the RGBMA LED engine is getting a good flat field of light," said Arch. "Before, we were at the mercy of how well the conventional ellipsoidals were bench focused. Now I have an even field every time, and I'm getting intensity out of those colors as well so we can really make things pop."

Front and Side Lighting
The new system includes 76 KL CORE IP fixtures (72 active), with 5° and 10° barrels for front light and 19° and 26° barrels for side positions. The KL COREs form the backbone of the front and side lighting systems, complementing the new LED moving heads overhead. "We were looking for something versatile enough to deliver vibrant color to the stage but that would also work with the LED movers overhead. It had to compete with their brightness and still match them in color."

Camera-Friendly
During the Covid pandemic, the Omaha Symphony expanded its video capabilities to engage audiences who could not attend a performance in person. That shift, says Arch, made high-CRI, camera-friendly lighting a top priority. He explains, "I had a fixture overhead running at 7200K and conventional fixtures out front at 3200K, so we had different color temperatures competing on camera. There was a real intention to get fixtures with very high CRI to ensure that everything looked correct when filming in the space."

Transformative
The hall hosts events five days a week during its busy season, ranging from symphony performances to touring acts, comedy, and rock shows, so changeovers are frequent. "Having many fixtures that need to be gelled coupled with a large open playing space that is seeing a lot of turnover creates situation where flexibility in your instrumentation is important," Arch said. "That flexibility was very limited with the old conventional systems. Now with the Core, we have that flexibility to put color wherever we want when we want it. They really make the space pop and have been completely transformative in that space."

Replacing 750W conventional lamps with 400W LEDs has also delivered significant energy and maintenance savings. "Not having to replace lamps or gels, combined with the energy efficiency of the COREs, has been noticeable," Arch stated, noting that it's had a 'reasonable' financial impact as well. The fixture's IP65 rating also means that dust and other particulates are kept out of the fixture, helping to protect internal components and requiring less frequent maintenance.

Collaboration and Milestone
The project reflects a long-standing collaboration between TMS and Elation. "Elation has been a great partner for us for a long time and the KL Series is an impressive line of fixtures," Arch noted of the installation-optimized LED lights. "We frequently find ourselves going to it for installs because it uses such a good color engine."

The new lighting system debuted in September, just in time for The Holland Performing Arts Center's 20th Anniversary celebration on October 3, which featured the Omaha Symphony and local artists. "The COREs look absolutely wonderful in the space," Arch concluded. "This has been a long time coming, and the amount of flexibility it now affords is absolutely amazing."

Photos: Courtesy of TMS