Three Appalachian students to work this summer in the Edgar Stanton Audio Recording Center of the Aspen Music Festival and School

BOONE, N.C.—Two students and one alumnus of the music industry studies program in the Hayes School of Music at Appalachian State University will work as recording engineers this summer at the prestigious Aspen Music Festival and School in Colorado.

Graham Sloboda and Adam Campbell will be assistant engineers in the festival’s Edgar Stanton Audio Recording Center, and Jordan Bailey will serve as one of its engineers. Bailey, who is from Midway, worked as an assistant engineer at Aspen in 2015, the year he also earned a bachelor’s degree in music industry studies with a concentration in recording and production. Sloboda, a senior from Boone, and Campbell, a junior from Concord, are pursuing the same degree.

Sloboda, Campbell and Bailey will join a 13-member team charged with recording some 300 festival concerts over eight weeks. The team includes Scott Wynne, an associate professor of music industry studies and the chief recording engineer at Appalachian. Wynne has worked at Aspen for seven seasons; he is now the festival’s chief recording engineer.

The Aspen Music Festival and School is a leading summer presenter of classical music concerts. It also provides advanced training for some of the world’s most promising musicians. Public radio stations around the country broadcast several festival concerts each year.

So, not surprisingly, a job behind the scenes at Aspen is highly coveted. Since 2013, six students from Appalachian’s Hayes School of Music have worked at the festival either as assistant recording engineers or in production. They have parlayed that experience into full-time gigs at such places as the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston and The Fillmore, a music venue in Charlotte.

The 2017 season will mark the first time that three Appalachian students will be recording concerts at the festival. In the past, just one Appalachian student has worked on the recording staff during a single summer.

Wynne said that Aspen is looking for recording engineers with technical knowhow who can troubleshoot, work well with artists and understand the level of detail in recording classical music.

About the Hayes School of Music

The Hayes School of Music prepares young musicians for professional lives as performers, composers, music educators, music therapists, conductors and music industry professionals, ensuring the next generation of musical leadership for the state, region and nation. Noted for quality instruction by national and internationally recognized faculty musicians, the school offers four undergraduate degree programs and three graduate-level programs.

About Appalachian State University

As the premier public undergraduate institution in the state of North Carolina, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives as global citizens who understand and engage their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all. The Appalachian Experience promotes a spirit of inclusion that brings people together in inspiring ways to acquire and create knowledge, to grow holistically, to act with passion and determination, and to embrace diversity and difference. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Appalachian is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System. Appalachian enrolls more than 20,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and graduate majors.

What do you think?

Share your feedback on this story.