Jazz and World Music Festival
The Jazz and World Music Festival is an annual spring event held by Capital University's Conservatory of Music that hosts a variety of ensembles all-day. When my Live Sound class at the time decided to run tech for this event, I took it upon myself to handle production and stage logistics, as the day was completely student-ran from a technical standpoint.
Prior to the show date, my responsibilities involved lots of communication with musicians, band directors, and technicians to get a general timetable of the seven bands scheduled to perform, and scheduling technicians based on their availability. I created stage plots for all seven bands and a comprehensive input list, as well as a universal show file on the m32 for students to run sound.
During the show date, I delegated install and strike tasks, managed ensemble changeovers, ran sound for two bands, and filled in any position necessary to make the show happen. The Jazz and World Music Festival certainly shows the abilities of students when running an all-day event.
Client: Capital University Conservatory of Music
Role(s): Production Manager, Stage Manager
Jake Kundu: Half Recital
Many live audio engineers envison their place of work as behind a console for flashy rock-n-roll style shows, where chaos is cool and redlining=headlining. However, when Capital Percussion student Jake Kundu asked me to run monitors and playback for his entirely chamber-style half recital, it was anything but.
The two pieces I was responsible for required running a click track and tracks for the house, as well as balancing volume levels of said tracks to Jake's performance. Using Logic Pro and a stereo DI to patch into an X-Air system, this was certainly not my most sophisticated setup, but it got the job done. From there I was given notes from chamber percussion director Julie Licata regarding volume levels and where the track stands in the mix for each part of the pieces.
Working this recital truly expanded my mindset of the role an audio engineer plays in different types of performances. It doesn't always need to be flashy and loud. Knowing how to listen and set the tone for the show is of upmost importance before anything else.
Client: Jake Kundu
Role(s): Monitors and Playback Engineer
Behind the Curtain
Behind the Curtain is the senior recital project of my friend and peer Brandon Doeringer. After seeing my work with D . U . A . L . I . T . Y, he asked if I were interested in taking on a more management-forward position for a similar type of project.
With Brandon having musicians, technicians, and repetoire under control, my main responsibility for this event was managing changeovers and scheduling a cast/crew of about 20 people. In-show, this required changing a stage arranged for chamber-percussion into a rock-n-roll stage within a 15-minute intermission. Quite the task for sure, but I'm always up for a challenge.
Weeks of hard work with scheduling, gear logistics, and changeover practice made Behind the Curtain a seamless success, certainly setting the standard for future percussion recitals not only through musicianship and technicality, but through professionalism and workability as well.
Client: Brandon Doeringer
Role(s): Stage Manager
Full Moon Fest
Full Moon Fest is a concert series taking place in a classroom in Capital University's Convergent Media Center. Supported by Capital AES and professor Chad Loughrige, we were able to load in a live rig including a point-source PA, staging, standing truss and lights.
The first group was Stillcastle, an alt-rock band consisting entirely of Capital students. After that was stoner-metal group L.O.R.E., a stark contrast from the laid-back vibes Stillcastle had to offer. Closing Full Moon Fest was jazz-fusion group Crabswithoutlegs. With the wide variety of genres to mix throughout the night I certainly had my work cut out for me, but I'm always up for a challenge.
Full Moon Fest was bigger and better than we ever could've believed, and it is a result of the many dedicated students who worked diligently to put this show on. My favorite part of this show was definitely seeing students of all backgrounds and skill levels coming together to make the show happen, no matter what.
Client: Capital University AES
Role(s): FOH Engineer
Photo credits to Neal Schmitt.
D . U . A . L . I . T . Y .
Client: Anthony Dake
Role(s): FOH Engineer, Monitor Engineer, System Technician, Crew Chief
D . U . A . L . I . T . Y . is Anthony Dake's Senior recital project exploring the power in percussion. Anthony Dake is one of the most driven people I have ever met who sets high standards for himself and those around him. He hand-picked the best musicians and technicians he could find for this show; I was honored that he chose me to be A1 for his production.
The first half of D . U . A . L . I . T . Y . is a traditional recital production, with reinforcement only necessary for backing tracks on one tune. However, the second half of this show is a club-style RnB performance with 16 inputs and 6 outputs.
In terms of audio I did quite literally everything for this show. I created the stage plot and input list, designed the system using gear from Capital University's Conservatory of Music, directed audio load-in and load-out, and mixed FOH/monitors.
All photo credits for D . U . A . L . I . T . Y . go to Ian Bell.
