An Audient ASP4816 console is at the heart of a new studio at Kofa High School in Yuma, AZ, the only school in the district to offer a Music & Audio Production program.
“We are currently in our second year of the program and it’s going extremely well,” says career and technical education (CTE) instructor Adrian Matthews. “Reactions have ranged from complete amazement, to utter disbelief that there is a professional recording studio in a high school.”
When it came to specifying the facility’s gear, Matthews was looking for professional quality and an uncomplicated interface. “We only have 180 days in the school year, so I didn’t have the luxury of spending eight weeks teaching students how the console works,” he explains. “The inline configuration of the ASP4816 makes it extremely easy to use, so students get to spend more time using the console rather than just learning it.”
The studio also has a ProTools HDX system with AD-DA conversion handled by the Apogee Symphony I/O MkII. “The flexibility of the ASP4816 and the Symphony I/O allow us to track up to 24 inputs simultaneously. More than enough to handle any student session,” says Matthews who teaches levels I & II of Music and Audio Production. In time, his level II students might well get additional experience running recording sessions. “There are plans to offer studio time to other students within the Yuma Union High School District, which will serve as a continuous fundraiser for the Music and Audio Production Club,” he says.
“In CTE there is an emphasis placed on providing industry-standard facilities for the students to learn in,” he concludes. “Like the staff, the students were blown away by the professional look the console added to the space and are loving having a place where they can come and explore their musical creativity.”
