Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article gave the incorrect amount spent on upgrades to Spanos Concert Hall. The total was $400,000. This story has been updated to reflect that information.
For nearly a century, the Faye Spanos Concert Hall has given University of the Pacific students the feel of what it’s like to perform on the big stage.
Now the architectural gem is giving them something that could jumpstart careers in the music industry as well: professional-quality recordings of their work.
The concert hall, one of the oldest buildings on the Stockton campus, has undergone $400,000 in upgrades during the past two years to make it a technological showplace.
The cavernous space, built to seat 872, has been outfitted with a new suite of microphones, cameras and other equipment to allow Conservatory of Music students to both record and stream performances at a professional level, officials say. It also will allow those interested in careers in the recording industry to work with the latest technology.
“We take a very practical approach so that they’re able to get hands-on project work that they can build their portfolios with,” Benom Plumb, an associate professor and program director for Music Industry Studies and Music Management, said in an interview. Students will “have something to show whenever they’re applying for jobs and employment opportunities.”
The upgrades mark a fresh start for the concert hall, which has been a landmark since 1928, and included enlarging the stage. More elbow room will not only benefit all performers, from chamber groups to the University Symphony Orchestra, but make life easier for budding sound engineers.
“For decades, Faye’s stage was simply too small,” Conservatory Dean Peter Witte said in a statement. “The new stage allows freedom and flexibility. Audiences will be much closer to the action, the sound will be more resonant, and most importantly, students and faculty will have more room to truly breathe, sing and play together.”
Instead of only two microphones dangling above the stage, there now are enough to mix the sounds form individual voices and instruments. Plumb said one jazz ensemble concert scheduled for later this month will employ 20 to 25 microphones.
Output from the multitude of mics will run from the concert hall to the campus recording studio. There, the recordings will be polished to perfection so they can be uploaded onto streaming services, such as Spotify, Apple Music or Amazon. The university even has its own label, Pac Ave Records, which also will get a boost from the upgraded system.
“We will have the ability to get much higher-quality recordings,” Plumb said. “It’s about the students being able to get hands-on project experience that’s not just like sticking their nose in a book.”