+ - 3 dB

I got an email from Andrew Hey (BS ‘06) who’s working as an engineer at Underdog Entertainment in LA. Andrew says ” I’ve been working like crazy on all sorts of stuff”. He sent me a list that reads like a who’s who of contemporary R & B: Jordin Sparks, Chris Brown, Toni Braxton, David Archuletta, Elliot Yamin, Jojo , Brandy, and Jennifer Hudson.

I also caught up with Jesse McQuarters (AS ‘03) this last weekend in Chicago. He’s producing shows for WFMT Radio including Exploring Music and the Milwaukee Symphony. Jesse says that he never expected to end up in radio, but points out that stations like WFMT need regular programming so there’s no shortage of opportunities in the field.

On Wednesday June 18 Fred Child from Performance Today visited the Jacobs School and hosted a live radio broadcast of Menahem Pressler and Friends from Auer Hall. The broadcast, carried by WFIU, included a live interview of the musicians backstage during the intermission. As always, audio production was done by students of the Department of Recording Arts. Mark Galup did the live radio mix, Tim Smiley was the computer operator, Brooks Guthrie did the front of house mix and Alex Sejdinaj was the backstage cable wrangler. Once again this demonstrates the unparalleled  opportunities afforded students of the Jacobs School. Though other audio programs may call themselves a real-world education, the Department of Recording Arts actually delivers on this promise, offering students numerous oportunities to work with world-class musicians on the national stage. And there’s much more to come this summer.

Here is a stream of the broadcast:

• First Half
• Second Half

Enjoy!

University Information Technology Services is putting together IU’s next IT Strategic Plan (ITSP2). With IU’s new president, President Michael A. McRobbie, as a driving force, ITSP2 is off to a fast start. ITSP2 is “human-centered” and includes IU’s community roles and IU’s engagement throughout the state and the world.

UITS has asked the Department of Recording Arts to present the work we have done in pushing technology throughout our program. We will be demonstrating our podcasts and our streaming HD video. We will also be discussing our media-less recording system where we have colaborated with UITS, the William & Gayle Cook Music Library, and IU’s Mass Data Storage System (MDSS).

We continue to enjoy great support from UITS, and look forward to the great ventures to come from ITSP2.

Update: Check out a streaming version of the video we were presenting here.

During the 124th Audio Engineering Society conference in Amsterdam, Konrad Strauss will present a paper titled:

A New System For File-Based
Audio Recording, Preservation, and Access
at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music

This paper outlines the system developed here at IU to handle high resolution audio and other digital assets captured during IUJSoM concerts. With its presentation at AES, the audio community at large will know some of the amazing ventures our students are involved in. Our students know the system intimately and will really have a leg up as the industry moves away from physical media.

More info here…

We’ve just purchased a Sound Devices 722 for the remote gigs. If you have one coming up Travis will check the recorder out to you at the Monday crew meeting. It’s a very slick self-contained unit with an 80 GB hard disc and integrated mic preamps. We’re working on a cheat sheet to help you get going, but in the meantime, here’s a link to the manual.

If you didn’t get a chance to stop by the 354 studio on Valentine’s Day, you missed a great spectacle. The Audio Cupid splattered on the door like a butterfly on the windshield of a speeding 18-wheeler:

So to whomever vandalized the door was kind enough and thoughtful enough to make a Valentine’s Day card for everyone: Thank You! People like you make our program a great place to be!

I am happy to announce open-access to the hall calendars! Now, with great help from MITS, you can subscribe to standard “.ics” files in your favorite calendar program and see all events in the halls here at IU.

• Auer Hall
• Ford Hall
• Recital Hall

There are more calendars for other rooms in the Jacobs School of Music available here. (Note: some calendars are available but not regularly updated.) Also, MITS has put together a very pretty web calendar interface.

We just caught up with Aaron Beck A.S. ‘97, who’s now mixing front-of-house sound for the touring production of Mama Mia! Previously he was mixing the Cirque de Soleil’s “Love” in Las Vegas. Aaron updated us on Mitch Tracey A.S. ‘97 who’s mixing the touring production of Lion King, and Julie Randolph A.S. ‘98 who’s mixing the Broadway production of Jersey Boys.

Tony Elfers B.S. ‘06 contacted us recently. He is now working as a staff composer at Spank Music and Sound Design in Chicago. 

Rob McGaughey from Digidesign is coming back to show off the new version 7.4 and a few other new things. He will be here Tuesday November 13. The main demo will be at 7pm in MAC room MC036. There will also be an earlier demo for those of you who are new to Pro Tools, that will be at 5:45. I think these are worth your time. Most likely we will be upgrading all of our JSOM systems to 7.4 over the semester break.

Mike Flynn, producer of the multi-platinum “How to Save a Life” from the Fray will be here to chat and answer questions Wednesday November 14 at 2:30pm in room M242. He is a former graduate of the Recording Arts program. While in town working on the “soon to be released” Howie Day album, he worked with IU Grad Troy Brazell and took him back to LA with him. Bring questions.