Wrapping up the Fall 2019 Semester

Instructor Chris Kuborn does a recording demo with students in the Recording Studio Procedures class

The semester went lightning quick, and was fun and busy as usual. Some highlights included bringing instructor Chris Kuborn onboard to teach in the program, a lot of project work in our updated recording studio, successful studio improvements in our Care & Repair class, dozens of performances, the Battle of the Bands, and a guest visit from music organization director, Olivia Hill.

Alina and Tho work on some cables in our Care & Repair class

A goal of the program is to always keep a creative and positive environment, and students kept extremely busy both on the production and performance side of music. We also welcomed over 80 prospective students for our annual Music Preview Day, and so we are hopeful that many more will be joining us in the coming years. The overall atmosphere this semester was one of focus and determination, resulting in many student successes and positive improvements to our classroom and studio environment.

The tech crew at the mixer for the Battle of the Bands

In the spring, please keep an eye on our main website for the many performance dates, including our next upcoming recording concert scheduled for April, 2020. We at UWO wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season.

Live Sound Class is Offered for the First Time

We are excited to have created a Live Sound Production course that has been offered for the first time this semester, Fall 2019. The course builds on fundamental audio concepts and incorporates skills and techniques that are more specific to various live production scenarios from smaller venues to large stadiums.

Kelsey Blakey, Lead A/V Tech at Reeve Union, shows the live PA setup in Titan Underground

Some of the observations that we did throughout the semester have included seeing a P setup and both digital and analog mix consoles in the Reeve Union and Titan Underground music venue on campus, doing a live setup demo in our music hall, and also checking out an event setup for a talent show in the main union ballroom.

Student and Reeve Union A/V Tech Zach Miller gives a demonstration of the Behringer X32 digital mixer

Given how diverse the music industry has become, it is important to cover a broad range of topics both within the studio production world and beyond. We are excited to continually build on the learning experiences that students have as a part of our department and program.

Students Produce Amazing Spring Concerts

It was an amazing and busy spring 2019 semester! In addition to the recording concert and the many great student recitals and projects, the organization, Students for Music, welcomed several phenomenal guest performers. Pictured above, their final guests of the semester were Mariachi Herencia de Mexico. The students and faculty leaders worked extremely hard to help the concert to be a success. The students were responsible for many aspects of the preparations, including marketing and sound setup. It was a true pleasure to welcome them to the university.

In addition to the mariachi band, they also welcomed several other acts including Mads Tolling and the Mads Men (pictured above), and a jazz quartet called Mr. Chair. These were also fantastic concerts and really surprised audiences with the quality of music that we bring to the university. The students should be proud of their efforts throughout the year.

Each year, we do many projects, recitals, and concerts. Students are always challenged to be involved and learn. Whether it be our Students for Music organization, Songwriting Club, or our recording and business classes, the Music Industry program covers all facets of this exciting world. Our #1 goal is to have students prepared for a successful career following their time at UWO. We are looking forward to more amazing experiences in the 2019-2020 school year!

Students Present at the Third Annual Recording Concert

The Music Industry program hosted another successful recording concert in the spring of 2019. Students presented over a dozen fantastic songs in many genres from electronic to pop, country, and experimental. Some of the projects included videos of live performances, and others had visuals or music videos to go along with the music. The event was hosted in the Reeve Union Theatre in order to take advantage of the great visuals.

Students did an excellent job presenting about their works, and the concert also served as an opportunity to share updates with the studio upgrade, as well as the upcoming curriculum changes. Following the concert, we had pizza and socialized. Each year, the event gets better and we also get ideas for how to even further improve for the next year. Congrats to all of the students involved and thanks to everyone who came out to the event!

The audience getting geared up for the concert!

The Recording Studios get Major Upgrades

One of the major tasks for the Spring 2019 semester was to upgrade the recording studios. Thanks to the support of the Music Department, we were able to completely reconfigure and put our C24 digital console into a beautiful Argosy mix desk in the main studio. This allowed us to both streamline the recording process and also free up valuable space in the control room. We are putting the final touches on the new setup and are excited for students to get to work on projects using the updated workflow.

The main control room wasn't the only space that we upgraded. We also made changes to our "B" studio by adding a new interface and PreSonus digital controller. The studio was made complete by adding an Arturia keyboard controller. This will be an excellent space for students to use as an excellent project mixing workstation or vocal booth. It only takes a flip of a couple of switches and you're up and running!

Hunter getting setup at the updated hall recording station.

Lastly, we rearranged the hall recording station to make for a simplified and comfortable recording area. This station is used by the recording crew to capture all of the ensemble concerts and recitals throughout the semester. The new arrangements are designed to represent the kinds of experiences that they will have in internships and careers at media production companies and recording studios. We are so glad to have had the opportunity to improve our recording spaces, and it will be a fantastic benefit to students for many years to come.

Students hard at work setting up the Argosy mix desk.

Recording "Happy to Be Here" for class in Spring 2019

In our Group Recording Sessions class, we had the exciting opportunity to record the excellent band comprised of some of our students, Happy to Be Here. They presented us with beautiful vocal harmonies and insightful songwriting.

During the session, students decided on microphones and proper placement in order to capture the best possible live performance and audio mix. The musicians also needed a monitor mix in order to hear themselves perform. The unique instrumentation of piano, amplified guitar, and synthesizer, along with three vocal mics, also provided a unique challenge.

The performance was also captured on video and will be edited into a live performance for presentation on YouTube. This has been a fun series for practicing production techniques in a real-world environment. Things don't always go perfectly as planned, but that's what the experience is all about: Learning and developing a better understanding of the process. A huge thanks goes out to the band for performing for us!

An overhead view from the studio during the setup process