Keyano College Blogs

Recording Studio Photo Album

David Sabine — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:00:00 GMT

Now that the finishing touches are being applied to the recording studio, we have some photos to share. I’ve decided to keep the photo album at Facebook.

Go here for more information about the Music Program and Recording Technology classes here at Keyano.

Percussion Ensemble to Perform at Upcoming Cabaret

David Sabine — Fri, 5 Mar 2010 16:50:50 GMT

On March 20th 2010, the rehearsal hall at Keyano College will transform into a cabaret and, as the word implies, will feature comedy, song, dance, and theatre – all performed by the students of our Visual & Performing Arts department.

The Percussion Ensemble will be one of the groups performing and there promises to be an excess of fun, friends, and entertainment – perhaps even some drunken revelry and/or raunchiness.

cabaret (plural cabarets)

Live entertainment held in a restaurant or nightclub.
The nightclub or restaurant where such entertainment is held.
Cabaret is a form of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue—a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables (often dining or drinking).

This annual event helps to raise funds for scholarships!

Contact the VPA office for details – buy tickets at the door!

Fall 2009 Recap

David Sabine — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:23:23 GMT

This semester, my first with Keyano College, has been an awesome experience and I want to share some highlights, information, and reminders with you all.

This will be as brief as possible. (The links should be fun though…check them out.)

September was mostly a blur.

Classes, and homework, began September 1st including Theory, Ear Training, Music History, Percussion Lessons, and Music Technology (part 1). Some additional materials are available online for these classes. Try the following links to hear some great music and see more:

http://my.keyano.ca/VPA/Music100/ (Students can login and listen to the playlists including my favourite playlist, Jazz History in an Hour.)
http://my.keyano.ca/VPA/Percussion (Check out my favourite shuffles! That’s great music to listen to while practicing drum.)
http://my.keyano.ca/VPA/Music290/ (Students can login and see each others’ projects – but have a look at the studio projects at YouTube.com.)

October: I turned 35 and there was a blizzard on Halloween.

In early November, our Music Technology class hosted DJ Junior G for a great session about electronic music production and his life in the biz. (Thanks, Gareth, I owe you one!)

In late November, I had a great time at the Keyano Jazz Festival (info here | video recap here) and I think this community owes a lot to Bill Prouten for organizing that annual festival and creating such great opportunities for the local high school students. Thank you, Bill!

The highlight of December, apart from final exams of course, was The Winter Affair. I want to thank all the musicians in the Concert Band for their fine performance at the concert -- I was proud to be on stage with you all. The Concert Band started rehearsing on September 8th and we enjoyed reading and playing music together every Tuesday. We selected *some* of that music to perform for a nearly-full house in the Keyano Theatre. We were with friends of course – the Winter Affair featured many of the talents from all areas of the Visual & Performing Arts department.

(The invitation, by the way, is still open to all musicians in Wood Buffalo who are interested to participate in the Concert Band. Read more about that here or just call me @ 780-791-8993 and say, “Hey, I want to play.”)

Well, I’ve just finished grading the final exams and I’m really looking forward to next semester. I’ll see you all again after our holiday.

Bye, for now.

Upcoming “Winter Affair” – Visual & Performing Arts Winter Expo

David Sabine — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:39:39 GMT

In case you haven't heard, our Visual & Performing Arts department at Keyano College is getting ready to perform a concert on December 4th -- dubbed the "Winter Affair" -- which will feature the Keyano College Community Concert Band, the Jazz Band, the Concert Choir, as well as our dance, drama, and visual art students.

I'm looking forward to seeing and hearing some of the great work that our students have been doing and, of course, for my first opportunity to get on the stage with our music students and fellow musicians as the conductor of the Community Concert Band.

When? Friday, December 4th

Where? Keyano Theatre

Cost? $10 for students; $15 for adults

Tickets are available online at the Keyano Theatre website (Click here to reserve your seats).

I hope to see you there!

DJ Junior G to visit Music Technology Class on November 6 at 1:00 PM. Everybody’s Invited!

David Sabine — Mon, 2 Nov 2009 19:57:57 GMT

Check out Junior G at www.myspace.com/jrguk
And his alter-ego, “Culture Soul Music”, at www.myspace.com/505269096

Junior G is a producer and DJ of electronic music and hails from the United Kingdom. Junior G is an acclaimed DJ who specializes in a musical form generally known as “Electronica” or “Drum n’ Bass” or “House”. His music is made available by various record labels such as “Radical Beats”, “Useless Plastix”, and “Dreadnaught Recs”. He has been featured in numerous clubs and over the airwaves on BBC Radio 1 – the “Grooverider” show.

Junior G hails from the UK. He has spent some time in Toronto and now lives here in Fort McMurray where he works and continues to produce music. He contacted me last week and graciously offered to come to the new recording studio at Keyano College and speak with the students of our Music Technology class.

He tells me he’s excited to meet with the students of our Music Technology class and he has agreed to host a brief performance and then a QnA session with the students.

Most importantly, he has also agreed to open the doors to any other visitors who may be interested in the session.

So please join us this Friday at 1:00 PM in room AC137 to hear and speak with DJ Junior G.

Keyano Jazz Fest 2009

Bill Prouten — Mon, 2 Nov 2009 18:51:51 GMT

Attention: All Jazz Lovers!

I'd like to invite you to attend the concerts at this year’s annual Keyano Jazz Fest, being held in the Recital Theatre on Friday and Saturday, November 20th and 21st. The concert on the Friday starts at 8pm and features myself on saxophone along with our guest artists from Vancouver: Tilden Webb on piano; Darren Radtke on bass; and Jesse Cahill on drums. We should have some new and original compositions to play for you, and I guarantee that you will be impressed by the talent of my guests, all of whom are busy recording artists in the Vancouver scene.

Tickets to this show are $22 for Adults, and $12 for students, and that’s WAY cheaper than flying to Vancouver to hear these guys play! Click here to pick your seats and buy tickets online.

The Saturday concert begins at 2pm, and features the local high school jazz bands and our own Keyano Community Jazz Ensemble, demonstrating their finesse for the general public, (after having worked with our clinicians in adjudications on Friday and master classes on Saturday morning). Admission to this concert is free, so come on out and support your friends and our future musical leaders!

See you at the Jazz Fest,

Bill Prouten

In search of lamps, a camera tripod, and a suitcase

David Sabine — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:39:39 GMT

Hi! Please message me if you’d like me to rid you of an old lamp, tripod, or large suitcase.

I am the instructor of a new class at Keyano College called “Music Technology I” and my students are in need of a few odds-n-ends. I will happily collect these items from your home or office if you’d like to donate any of the following:

a lamp	Any lamp; a floor lamp, desk lamp, hanging lamp; a mood lamp, lava lamp; a tall lamp a short lamp; an old lamp or new…any lamp will do.
a camera tripod	One of these cool tripods would be fantastic but any old tripod will help our purpose.
a large suitcase	We are in need of a large suitcase or hardware case with wheels that students can use to carry portable audio equipment. Ideally the container should hold a package that is longer than 63 centimetres, wider than 43 centimetres, and taller than 20 centimetres. i.e. large

Coming Soon: Homework!

David Sabine — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 22:56:56 GMT

Keyano College has been very quiet and subdued for the past few months as students and instructors have enjoyed the summer holidays.

But classes start on September 1st (just two weeks!) and I can just feel the excitement growing. What I mean is that the the phones are ringing, the inboxes are overflowing, the calendar is filling up and I’m starting to see new students wandering through the halls – totally lost!

So, as the semester approaches, I’d like to remind everybody of a couple of things:

Student Orientation starts at 10 AM, Monday, August 31st at the Sport & Wellness centre. I’ll see you there.
The College is still accepting applications for academic programs…especially my own favourites such as:
- the Music program
- the Recording classes
- and the performing ensembles (Concert Band, Jazz Band, and Concert Choir)

And remember, if you’re a musician in town and you haven’t introduced yourself to me yet, then please do. I want to hear from you. You can find me at room C144 in the Norm Weiss Arts Centre or check out my profile here at Keyano’s website: www.keyano.ca/Profile/David.Sabine

Keyano's Recording studio in the News

David Sabine — Tue, 7 Jul 2009 15:46:46 GMT

Interesting is growing rapidly in the new recording studio at Keyano College. We're happy to see support from our community including Campbell's Music and the "Connect" newspaper by MacMedia.

Be sure to check out the studio and all the programs that VPA has to offer.

Keyano Clearwater Quartet

Peter Ellis — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:55:55 GMT

The Keyano Clearwater Quartet was formed in the spring of 2008. Violinists are Rachel Hersey and Lindsey Herle; cellist is Alexandra Cummins, and all are students of violist Peter Ellis. They have been studying with Peter in the Conservatory at Keyano College. This coming year Lindsey and Rachel will be studying within the credit program.

The group has played for a number of events during the past 12 months: opening night receptions for Keyano Theatre; the college staff Recognition Night; the Academics department Open House; the Board of Governors’ Christmas party; the Red Deer Symphony Orchestra’s reception; Convocation 2009; the Festival of Trees; the Investors’ reception; Student Awards Night; the Keyano Gala, and the Christmas Spectacular.

During the summer of 2008 Lindsey, Rachel and Alexandra were all attending summer music camps. This year Lindsey and Alexandra are back again at the Lutheran Summer Music camp in Iowa, where Lindsey has been placed as concertmaster, based on her audition. Rachel is working on some music history over the summer.

The quartet will resume rehearsals in August, preparing for another busy year. One of the earlier engagements will be playing for the Premier’s reception on October 1st.

Dust Off Your Horn and Join the Keyano College Community Concert Band

David Sabine — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 18:12:12 GMT

Dear musicians and patrons of the arts in Wood Buffalo,

On behalf of the Faculty of Visual & Performing Arts at Keyano College, I wish to personally invite you to bring your reeds, horns, mallets, and talents to Keyano College and become a member of the Keyano College Concert Band.

We welcome students, teachers, and community members who play any of the following instruments:

Flute or piccolo
Clarinets
Oboe, English horn, or Bassoon
Saxophones
Cornet or Trumpet
French horn
Baritone
Trombone
Tuba
String bass
Piano
Timpani, drums and percussion

The Concert Band at Keyano College is a vibrant ensemble and as we prepare for our 30^th season we welcome all musicians in Fort McMurray and surrounding area to participate and become part of this exciting musical community. The Concert Band studies and performs a variety of musical selections to gain both modern and historical perspectives of concert music. We meet for rehearsal once per week and perform a minimum of one concert each semester.

Who:	All musicians
What:	Join Us!
When:	Tuesday evenings from 7:00 pm until 10:00 pm
Where:	Keyano College Clearwater Campus in Fort McMurray
Why:	For peace and harmony
Cost:	$127 per semester

Dust off your horn and mark your calendar. The first band rehearsal of the 2009-2010 season is September 8^th at 7:00 pm.

Sincerely,
David Sabine, M.M., B.Mus.Ed.
Visual & Performing Arts, Keyano College
PH: 780-791-8993

p.s. As I’m new in the community, please contact me and introduce yourself as I’m very interested to meet you and get into contact with all musicians in the area.

Musical Instrument Repair at YouTube!

Mike Durocher — Mon, 1 Jun 2009 20:57:57 GMT

Hi, my name is Michael Durocher and I would like to invite your to view my videos about band instrument repair at www.youtube.com/BandInstrumentRepair. The video's there are live demonstrations and techniques on how to repair musical instruments and how to fix certain problems found on the band instruments we play.

I deal primarily with the brass and woodwind family of instruments and have a full array of DVD's to cover a wide variety of situations -- contact me if you're interested in buying some of the DVD's.

I am the head instructor at Keyano College's Musical Instrument Repair program located in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. I developed the program while owner of MC's Music Repair, located in Calgary, Alberta from 1995 to January 1997. I have been the full time program instructor since 1997 and have over 12 years experience instructing repair at Keyano with an overall career in the industry of 23 years.

I am a trumpet player who enjoys playing light jazz and blues music with the local group, "A Touch of Class". I am also a long time member of NAPBIRT and has also served as a Director for four years representing Canada. I have given clinics at 9 national conferences for NAPBIRT since 1998 and am well respected for my views on quality repairs.

Careers for Recording Technologists

David Sabine — Thu, 14 May 2009 17:27:27 GMT

Students considering a future in the recording industry are always curious about their potential career paths So, I decided I should assemble a list of careers that are common in the field.

Audio Recording
- Recording engineer
- Mixer
- Sound designer
- Composer
- Multi-media sound
- Broadcast engineer (radio, TV, podcast)
- Live sound mixer
- Sound effects editor
- Film sound recordist
- Master engineer
- Music editor
- Foley recordist/artist
- Dialogue editor
- Post-production audio engineer
Game Production
- Game tester
- Level designer
- 2D/3D artist
- Game scripting
- Game promotion & marketing
- Sound engineer
- Game producer
- Soundscape composer
Digital Media
- Art director
- Animation designer
- Digital artist
- Sound effects specialist
- Flash developer
- Game artist
- Graphic designer (print/web)
- Instructional designer
- Interactive designer
- Interface designer
- Multimedia producer
- Storyboard artist
- Texture artists
- Concept designer
Business Administration
- Studio manager
- Production manager
- Studio owner/proprietor
- Consultant
- Contract manager

Of course, this is just a sampling of possible career paths and the media industry is diverse and constantly evolving.

Happy recording!

VPA Information around keyano.ca

David Sabine — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 21:50:50 GMT

Navigating a website is hard sometimes...especially a site as big as a College.

So, I’ve collected a bunch of information about our Visual & Performing Arts department:

· Contact VPA instructors and staff

· VPA Programs and Courses

· Read the VPA Blog

· Upcoming VPA Events

· VPA Conservatory for Kids (Art, Dance, Drama and Music lessons)

· VPA News

New Classes in Recording Tech

David Sabine — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 21:06:06 GMT

Keyano College is preparing to launch its brand new recording studio in September 2010 and four new classes in recording technology and production. We’re excited about these new initiatives and expect that students are going to love the new facility and new opportunities.

First, if you’d like a tour of the new recording studio or you want to discuss your options for next school year then contact me and I’ll be happy to meet with you.

Second, I’ve been getting a lot of questions about the new courses and I want to answer a few of them here: (and more info will be online in the coming weeks)

Question:

What classes can I take in the new recording studio?

Answer:

There are four new classes that can be taken as part of a Certificate in Recording Technology (new), or as part of the Music Diploma, or even as electives as part of the Business Admin or Visual Art & Design programs.

- Music Studio Technology 1

o 3 credits, 16 weeks, 4 hours lecture per week

o This course concentrates on the history and application of both analogue and digital music studio technologies and examines fundamental concepts relating to acoustics, electronics, and digital synthesis. Students explore a variety of analogue and digital devices including microphones, instruments, signal processors, mixing consoles, computer software for digital recording and synthesis, amplifiers, monitors, loudspeakers, and storage media. Students explore and use these technologies in practical projects to better understand their potential uses in the music studio.

- Studio Recording Techniques

o 3 credits, 16 weeks, 4 hours lecture per week

o This course introduces the techniques and skills required in the recording studio environment including how to capture, produce, and manipulate sound with analogue and digital devices. Students will discover common practices for setting up the studio environment and how to effectively manage the signal chain. Through practice, students learn how to execute all the tasks required for engineering a complete recording session, including session management, recording, overdubbing, mixing and mastering.

- Music Studio Technology 2

o 3 credits, 16 weeks, 4 hours lecture per week

o This course is a continuation of Music Studio Technology 1 (above). The course concentrates on the history and application of both analogue and digital music studio techniques and discusses fundamental concepts relating to acoustics, electronics, and the digital synthesis. Students will continue to explore a variety of analogue and digital devices. Ongoing exploration and use of these technologies in practical projects will increase understanding of their potential uses in the music studio.

- Recording Studio Production

o 3 credits, 16 weeks, 4 hours lecture per week

o This course introduces the role of the producer in the studio and discusses the relationships between the composers, arrangers, performers, recording engineers, and the audience. Through practice, students advance their skills as recording engineers and apply new concepts to ensure that a studio’s product maintains the integrity of the original performance while enhancing the artistic experience.

Question:

How much does it cost?

Answer:

Any class in the Visual & Performing Arts department cost roughly $160-170 per credit hour (2008-2009 statistics). So, each class above is worth 3 credit hours and you can do the math to give you a rough estimate of the cost per class. However, keep in mind that a full-time student usually takes between 12 and 16 credit hours per semester and there might be other fees and of course a ton of scholarships available so the best way to understand the cost is to speak to an advisor! They’ll help you navigate through the info.

Question:

When will the classes start? How long is each course?

Answer:

Classes begin in the new recording studio in September 2009. Each course runs through a full semester (16 weeks at 3 hours in-class per week).

Question:

Which software will the studio support and use?

Answer:

Short answer: Pro Tools. (And I’ll have more on that later.)

There are a thousand things I want to say about new classes and studio so visit again soon or subscribe to my news feed.

Visual & Performing Arts in the Blogosphere!

David Sabine — Thu, 2 Apr 2009 20:48:48 GMT

Keyano College's VPA department will soon be posting information and events online. So bookmark, subscribe, and visit again soon!

In the meantime, be sure to check us out at Keyano.ca/VPA!

The Visual & Performing Arts department at Keyano College is one of Fort McMurray's cultural hubs and provides a creative environment for students and the community.

With active Drama, Music, and Visual Art & Design programs, students experience a broad range of performance opportunities and valuable instruction.

The Visual & Performing Arts department and the Keyano College Art Gallery are located in the Norm Weiss Arts Centre -- home to beautiful performance venues and rehearsal spaces.

Our program allow students to pursue the love of art and at the same time, gain the skills necessary for successful employment in this exciting field.