BHS students cut tracks in pro studio
ARTS: Musicians get recognition
| Wednesday, May 27 2009 04:31 PM
Last Updated Wednesday, May 27 2009 04:31 PM
"Driller Music 2008-09" CD
Featuring Bakersfield High School musicians
Cost: $10
Details: E-mail drillermusic@bak.rr.com or visit drillermusic.com
Band Boosters, a 150-member support group of parents and students, paid the $2,000 cost of the recording, which included editing, cover design and production of 300 CDs. Each sells for $10.
Any profit that's made will be turned over to the BHS music program.
Depending on the school's budget, it's possible that the music program won't be able to accommodate as many students in the coming year.
That, in turn, could determine whether a similar CD is produced in 2010.
Even so, director Randy Bennett has a positive outlook.
"I'd love to do this again," he said, "but the budget's going to be scary -- it's tenuous at best, and we won't know until July. But it's happened before, and I'm optimistic we can survive this."
For sophomore Shaniece Williams the opportunity to record a CD in a professional setting was an experience to treasure.
"At the start of the (2008-09) year we never dreamed that we'd be doing anything like this," she said. "And this was everybody -- not just a small ensemble."
Williams, who is the leader of the orchestra's bass section, began her musical instruction in fourth grade at Van Horn Elementary, built on that knowledge at Actis Junior High and is now at BHS. The bass viol is her principal instrument -- "I like its deep rich sound and strong beats"-- but she also plays violin, viola and cello.
Two of her favorite pieces on the new CD are Mozart's "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" and an Irish medley that includes "Kerry's Dance" and "Irish Washerwoman."
"I feel a deep connection with the music," she said. "It gives me good vibes. When I'm playing, right at that moment, everything's OK."
A dream come true
Bakersfield High School, the granddaddy of all Kern County secondary schools, has scored plenty of "firsts" in its 116-year existence.
Now it's got a new one in the form of a technically superior audio CD of this year's final concert program by the 140 students in the school's music department.
And this was no ordinary event, says Andrew Piper, a junior whose saxophone solo opens "Perthshire Majesty." The piece by contemporary composer Samuel R. Hazo is one of the 12 tracks on the CD.
"I thought it was pretty cool," Andrew said of the recording session. "Usually we record our concerts, but doing it in a studio is the perfect situation."
Perfect because the acoustics are great and the sound is pure -- no worries about capturing an audience member's coughing fit during the performance. And if one of the musicians hits a sour note, no problem. You just start over and do another take.
It should be noted, however, that most of the BHS groups needed only one or two takes to complete their portion of the CD, said Josh Graham, owner of American Sound Recording, site of the daylong session.
"It was a blast. The energy was high the whole time," Graham said. "Everyone was rehearsed and ready, and the teachers and parents did a great job of organizing it."
The carefully planned session took place May 15, the day after the music department's final public concert of the year. The project took more than eight hours to complete at Graham's 10,000-square-foot facility at 23rd and R streets. It involved five separate groups of BHS student musicians, who were bused in rotation between the school and the studio, starting at 8 a.m. First up was the orchestra, followed by the concert band, the marching band, wind ensemble and drum line, and jazz band.
"Everything went off without a hitch," said music director Randy Bennett, who just completed his first year as BHS music director. In addition to each student now having a technically superior memento of his or her musicianship, the recording session also helped broaden their horizons, said the director, a graduate of Cal State Long Beach.
"This was the epitome of the educational experience," Bennett said. "Students often think the only thing they can do with their music is teach or perform. This gives them a whole set of views about what they can do in the world of music."
In past years, music students have capped off the school year with a trip out of town. This year, because of budget cuts and the general state of the economy, a trip was out of the question, said Carter Piper, member of Band Boosters, a support group made up of parents and students.
Piper and his wife, Heidi, are the parents of Andrew and William Piper, a graduating senior who plays the tuba and hopes to be in the marching band at the University of Washington, where he will enroll in September as a biomedical engineering major.
The senior Piper, a financial adviser with Merrill Lynch, proposed the BHS studio recording after learning that American Sound Recording had launched a program aimed at producing CDs of large musical groups, such as church choirs and school bands.
"When we heard about their program, we said, 'Wow!' We've taped videos of the concerts before, but they were not good from an audio standpoint," Piper said. "Besides, athletes get recognition all the time for what they do; these guys (musicians) need to get recognition for what they do. Being in that recording studio made them feel like stars."
