ATUS Website :: Home ATUS Website :: Home Issue 39, Winter 2008
by Bruce Hamilton
Thanks to grants from the Student Technology Fee Committee, Western's Music Department continues to offer advanced technical support for music composition students in three different facilities at the Performing Arts Center.
The Western Washington Electro-Acoustic Music Studio (WWEAMS) supports courses that cover a variety of topics related to electro-acoustic (EA) music, including EA history, synthesis, signal processing, surround mixing, editing and arranging MIDI and audio, and object-oriented programming. Students in the advanced courses also benefit from collaborative video projects with students in the Art Department.
Annual events include E-COW, a concert of multimedia works by WWU composers; and the Bellingham Electronic Arts Festival, a multi-venue showcase of electronic music, video, and installation art from around the globe. WWEAMS composers also program their works on student composition recitals and on collaborative events with WWU choreographers. A recent development at Western is an all-electronic improvisation group.
"Our student composers are encouraged to explore sound and to be aesthetically diverse," said Bruce Hamilton, Associate Professor and Director of WWEAMS. "Audiences at our events experience a multiplicity of sounds and styles. Having excellent technological resources on campus allows this growing and important area of study to thrive."
WWEAMS is housed in the Performing Arts Center, room 178. This studio is used for advanced electro-acoustic classes, and students are allotted weekly lab times for individual work. WWEAMS provides creative tools that allow composers to explore boundless sonic possibilities.
The lab features Macintosh, Windows, and Linux computer music workstations running Pro Tools, Digital Performer, Reason, Max/MSP, Csound, Metasynth, radiaL, Sonar, dozens of software synthesizers and samplers, and hundreds of software effects plug-ins. Hardware instruments include a Kurzweil K2500 sampler/synth, M-Audio keyboard controllers, Yamaha FM synthesizers, and two vintage synthesizers from the original WWU 1970's era studio: an E-MU Modular and an ARP 2500.
The Music Instructional Technology (MIT) Lab in PA 168 is a general lab with a variety of music and multimedia software that was recently upgraded with an STF grant. This lab allows students to notate and print scores, create music with professional midi sequencers and audio editors, work on ear-training, explore signal processing, and learn to use graphical or text-based multimedia programming environments. Introductory electro-acoustic music courses, music technology courses for educators, and keyboarding classes are also taught in this room. Having this technology available greatly enhances our students' learning experience on a daily basis.
A third facility, The Music Department Recording Studio, offers students valuable experience in creating professional recordings of live performances. This system, housed in PA 166, includes a variety of professional recording gear, including a Pro Tools HD system, Yamaha 02R mixer, and several high-end microphones. Because it is wired to the PAC concert hall, student interns are able to record, mix, and edit all performances for archiving and distribution. Performers receive quality recordings of their work, which ultimately reflects positively on the College of Fine and Performing Arts.
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01.17.2008