Students Receive Mics to Support Studio Lessons During COVID-19 Displacement

Thanks to a generous and recent donor gift, 166 Shenandoah Conservatory students (scattered across 18 states and Washington, D.C.) have received a Samson Go Mic Portable USB Condenser Microphone. Those microphones were mailed from Indiana-based Sweetwater, one of the country’s most respected dealers in high-technology equipment for musicians, recording studios, and broadcasters, and were offered to conservatory students taking virtual applied lessons. Shenandoah Conservatory partnered with Sweetwater sales engineer Ashton Vaudt ’10 (Bachelor of Music in Music Production & Recording Technology) to process and expedite the order. Those microphones are a crucial aid for the work students are doing with faculty in online studio lessons.

The microphone was a game changer. We had the best lesson I’ve taught in the 3 weeks we’ve been online. I’m so appreciative of the fact that the students have access to these little pieces of technology. It had a profound impact on the productivity of the lesson and what I thought I could get done with the student.”

Dr. Byron Jones | Associate Professor of Voice (Tenor)

Donor funding also enabled the conservatory to purchase a few fine digital keyboards and stands. Those keyboards were shipped to the homes of advanced piano majors with no current access to a piano or keyboard, and will be available for their use during the rest of the academic year.

Pictured above: Evan Miller ’23 (Bachelor of Music in Performance) from Suitland High School in Maryland shows off his microphone during a lesson with Associate Professor of Voice (Tenor) Byron Jones ’04, D.M.A.