Synthesizers are nothing new to Chico State University. In 1973 Professor Raymond Barker put together the electronic music studio on the second floor of the performing arts center which is now a state-of-the-art-recording studio complete with 24-track recording and a control room. In 1986 he founded the recording arts major, that allowed students to major in music with an option in recording arts. In the fall of 1998 the music department at Chico State University built a new MIDI lab for recording arts students interested in composing with electronic media. The lab, located on the first floor of the Performing Arts Center, contains 16 MIDI stations that use Digital Performer software. The lab opened up a lot of space for students who wanted to expand their musical talents since there is only one MIDI station in the electronic music studio. "Before the new lab was built there was very little access, now there's 17 stations available," Barker said. The addition of the MIDI lab became so popular that today 40 percent of the students in the music department are recording arts majors, Barker said. Since the composition with electronic media class (MUS 101) has opened up to students outside the major, it has become in high demand as an elective class. "The MIDI programs open opportunity to those who are interested in music but do not have who have not have experience," Barker said. Graduate student Brian Francis, an assistant at the MIDI lab and graduate of the recording arts program in 1998, said that since there are only 16 people allowed per class, the waiting list to get into the recording arts major or minor is about four semesters long. "It used to be that knowing how to use this stuff could get you a job in music, retailing, recording and movies, but now itÕs sort of necessary. If you [recording arts student] donÕt know this then you wonÕt get a job," Francis said. Francis said that the lab is dedicated to music, there is no Internet access from the computers and it is only open to students who are enrolled in electronic composition classes. In addition, the equipment and software within the lab is so expensive, over $70,000, there is tight security and fiberoptic cables keep everything in check. "If one of those cables was broken, the police would be down here in a second," Francis said. Since the recording arts program at Chico State is so high-tech, Barker said that it has attracted many students both nationally and internationally. "We've grown from nothing to a large program. Ironically, you'd think southern California has a lot more, but there are only two schools with this type of program, University of Southern California and California State Dominguez Hills. Chico is serving the whole northstate," Barker said. |
From
computer geek to music freak
|
