Jan 28, 2009
WINTER 2009 IS BUSTLING AT MI WITH AN EXCITING SLATE OF UPCOMING SEMINARS, CLINICS AND EXCLUSIVE AUDITIONS
Valentine’s Day is still a few weeks away, but students at Musicians Institute (www.mi.edu) are feeling the love as the Hollywood school announces an eclectic slate of upcoming seminars and clinics, in addition to several exclusive auditions.
First up, on Wednesday, January 28th and Thursday, January 29th, MI’s Keyboard Program welcomes special guest open counselor Derek Sherinian. Derek is best known for his work with Dream Theater, Alice Cooper, Kiss, Billy Idol and Planet X, as well as his recordings as a solo artist. During the informal group session, he will discuss a wide range of topics with students including practice techniques, professionalism, composition, touring and programming.
On Friday, January 30th, MI’s Audio Engineering Program presents a special seminar on Soundtrack Mixing with the Digidesign ICON D-Control in MI’s state of the art THX-Certified Dubbing Stage. The seminar will be conducted by MI Audio Engineering instructors Matthew Iadarola, who has mixed soundtracks for over 150 feature films, and Mark Cross, post engineer for hundreds of episodes of the hit TV show “ER.” This event is open to the public, but space is very limited and reservations are required. To reserve a spot, email ritadmin@mi.edu with the subject line “Icon Seminar.” Pizza and drinks will be served at 6:30pm to those who RSVP. Directly following the presentation, there will be a Q&A about MI’s Post Production Audio program.
A lot is happening at MI in February, too, starting with a Sound Effects Clinic with mixer/sound designer Bill Devine on Friday, February 6 at 1 p.m. Digital workflow has led to complex sound design challenges – how does one begin to create and manage a 100+ track session? The clinic will discuss this and a variety of related topics including spotting sessions, building the sound FX track, using SFX libraries, recording sound FX, Foley, sound design vs. FX edit, and mixing. Devine, who works as a re-recording mixer and sound designer for Warner Bros., Nickelodeon, Salami Post, Oracle Post, and MaxPost, will present several real-world FX sessions and peel away the layers of the final mix.
Also on February 6, MI’s Keyboard Program presents another “Try It Before You Buy It” product demo featuring IK Multimedia's T-RackS 3 software. Mixing/mastering engineer Maor Applebaum (Yngwie Malmsteen, F5, Econoline Crush) will demonstrate how top engineers apply T-RackS 3’s mixing and mastering capabilities to produce highest-quality results. Students can bring in their own demos and mixes, run them through T-RackS 3 to compare sounds and even get a free copy of T-RackS 3 EQ.
Let’s not leave out the drummers! On February 17, MI’s Drum Program presents a clinic with Todd Sucherman, who has performed with artists as diverse as Styx, Brian Wilson, Eric Marienthal and Peter Cetera and recently released a two-disc instructional DVD that has become an instant bestseller.
Students looking for high-profile musical employment, check this out: MI’s ongoing series of exclusive Hiring Hall Audition events continues on Tuesday, February 3, seeking guitarists, drummers and bassists to work with recording artist Lindsey Ray. Ray is signed to major music publisher Bug Music and is being produced by Bill Lefler (Sony, Epic and Warner Bros Records). Ray recently co-wrote “Brand New Day” with former OneRepublic bassist Tim Meyers; the song is featured in Target’s current national ad campaign.
MI’s Artist and Career Services Department has also announced that the Cirque du Soleil Casting Team will be on campus from February 9-13 to conduct MI-exclusive auditions. The internationally-renowned performing arts troupe is specifically seeking singers and instrumentalists in all styles with strong technique, stage experience, improvisational skills, and versatility to join their fourteen current and upcoming creations. These auditions are limited to MI students and grads only. For information on how to audition, contact ACS Director Todd Berhorst (toddb@mi.edu; 323-860-1114).
Hiring Hall auditions are exclusive to MI students and grads. Artists, labels and management companies holding Hiring Hall auditions in the past have included Ashlee Simpson, Macy Gray, The Veronicas, Gwen Stefani, Lauryn Hill, Hoobastank, NIN, Finch, Margorie Fair, Zappa Plays Zappa, Maroon 5, The Missy Elliot Show, Burning Brides, BRMC, Lifehouse, Rob Thomas, Hillary Duff, Rachael Yamagata, Jesse McCartney, and Liz Phair.
Since opening its doors in 1977, Musicians Institute has primed over 20,000 musicians, producers, engineers, vocalists and industry professionals for successful careers in every genre of contemporary music. Located just blocks from the Capitol Records tower, MI has an incredible history of innovation dating back to its origins in 1977 as the Guitar Institute of Technology (GIT), which broke new ground as a performance-based contemporary music school taught by working professionals. Within a few years, GIT was joined by bass and drum programs to form Musicians Institute and the evolution has continued to this day with degree and certificate programs for career-minded guitarists, bassists, drummers, vocalists, keyboardists, recording engineers, independent producers, guitar makers, music business professionals and filmmakers.
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