MPRT Students Record Symphony Orchestra Performances During Argentina Tour

A group of music production and recording students (MPRT) accompanied the Shenandoah Conservatory Symphony Orchestra on its latest international tour to Argentina to record all five major performances in five different cities throughout the country. They accessed each venue and set up equipment to capture the performances as a team. Christian Hevener ’23, Logan Huber ’23 and Tom Preston ’23 served as audio engineers, and Nicholas Peretti ’23, who also performed with the orchestra in the horn section, worked along with the team.
“Argentina was a wonderful experience that introduced me to working with a touring orchestra as well as reinforced my teamwork experience with other audio engineers,” said Huber. “We were often faced with situations that were too much (or needed to be completed in too little time) for one person to deal with alone. We had to rely on each other to take and understand instructions and to trust each other when instructions were given to follow. By the final performance, we found ourselves in a groove together which allowed us to overcome several setbacks and walk away with an excellent recording of a memorable performance.”

One of the performances took place in Bariloche at the Cathedral De Bariloche Argentina, a beautiful cathedral with stunning acoustics.

“Working in a new environment, it took a lot of teamwork to make the recordings happen,” said Preston. “Learning to work as a team was rewarding and helped me put what I’ve learned at SU into practice.”

“I had a wonderful experience in Argentina as a member of the MPRT crew,” said Hevener. “Not only was this my first tour, but my first global trip as well. I am quite happy to have worked alongside some very skilled audio engineers who are my classmates and I am proud to have helped record these concerts.”

All four MPRT students have now moved into their internships for the summer where they will complete their final requirement for the MPRT program.

“Teamwork is essential when working as a group, especially when things are time-sensitive like a live performance,” said Director and Associate Professor of Music Production & Recording Technology Golder O’Neill ’92, M.M.E. “The MPRT program focuses on being creative with technology and also the ability to collaborate and work with others as a team.”

“Being on the Argentina tour with the orchestra, I was able to witness the teamwork and collaboration that was shared by all: the musicians in the orchestra, the support crew and the audio engineers,” continued O’Neill. “Each performance was special in its own way, and the MPRT team was able to record and capture it.”