Visual and Performing Arts News

Category: Audio and Sound

Congratulations Nate Lyons on Bronze Award in AES Student Recording Competition

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Nate Lyons (VPA Sound Design, ’25) brings home the Bronze Award in the Audio Engineering Society (AES) international Student Recording Competition, Sound for Visual Media category for his sound design audio replacement of the video game Celeste. This is the second year in a row Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) sound design and audio production and technology students have received awards in the prestigious international competition. As an award winner, Nate will receive a prize that includes audio software from Bettermaker, Empirical Labs, and Eventide.

As part of VPA career development and professional presentation travel courses, students have an opportunity to attend and present at the international Audio Engineering Society convention in New York City led by Assistant Professor Jeff Sherwood, Department of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA).

This opportunity is well suited for students interested in studio recording and music production, video game design, live sound, theatre, and AV or acoustics consulting. The week-long study away experience includes networking with Grammy-winning and Academy-winning professionals at the convention and a curated experience including private meetups with AV consulting and acoustics firms, facility tours, backstage tours and shadow opportunities, Broadway and other live productions, sightseeing, and Michigan Tech VPA alumni meetups for our students to form industry connections as they launch their careers.

This year VPA students presented in the AES Student Recording Competition, Student Mix Critiques sessions, and participated in career fairs hosted by the Audio Engineering Society (AES) and the co-located National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) conference.

As part of the curated study away experience, Assistant Professor Jeff Sherwood (VPA) also arranged visits of international concert touring production company Clair Global, Broadway audio rental shops PRG and Masque Sound, backstage tours of Jazz at Lincoln Center and Little Island, and talkbacks with sound designers from Stereophonic (Broadway) and Bad Kreyol (Off-Broadway) after seeing both productions as a group.

Congratulations to Nate Lyons and Department of Visual and Performing Arts sound design and audio production and technology students in their presentations at the 2024 AES New York convention.

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Jeff Sherwood’s Professional Theatrical Sound Design of Million Dollar Quartet

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Congratulations to Jeff Sherwood, Assistant Professor of Sound, on his professional theatrical sound design for the ACT of Connecticut production of Million Dollar Quartet in Ridgefield, Connecticut. The musical was directed by Broadway actor and director Hunter Foster, who was an original cast member of the Broadway production.

The production opened on Saturday, February 24, 2024 and from the overwhelming response of the preview audiences, the show run was extended an extra week, now through March 23. The musical revolves around the historical twist of fate on December 4, 1956 that brought together Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Elvis Presley.

This creative activity and research in theatrical sound design continues to elevate the reputation of Michigan Tech to audiences around the country as well as potential future employers of Michigan Tech students and alumni.

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Audio Engineering Society Student Recording Competition Finalists!

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Three Michigan Tech Students were selected as finalists in the Audio Engineering Society (AES) Student Recording Competition. They will present their recordings at the AES Conference in NYC on October 26th.

Spencer Beasley (Audio Production and Technology) was selected as a finalist in the Modern Studio Recording & Electronic Music category for his recording “Glass Air”.

Matthew Fisher (Sound Design) was selected as a finalist in the Sound for Visual Media category for his recording “Alarm”.

Rowdy Vyverberg (Sound Design) also was selected as a finalist in the Sound for Visual Media category for his recording “RPG Audio Implementation”.

Finalists in the music mixing competition were students from major international universities, including the Peabody Institute (Johns Hopkins), University of Toronto, Hochschule Düsseldorf, McGill University, Indiana University, and Arizona State University. Michigan Tech was the only school with three student finalists in the competition. Congratulations!

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Christopher Plummer and Andrew Burton Presenting at Oct. 9 Research Forum

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by Office of the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

Distinguished Professor Christopher Plummer (Visual & Performing Arts) and Distinguished Professor Andrew Burton (College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science) will be featured at the Michigan Tech Research Forum (MTRF) on October 9. The event will be held in the Memorial Union Ballroom A. The lectures will begin at 4 p.m. Networking and light refreshments will begin at 3:45 p.m. and will continue after the lectures.

Plummer’s presentation is titled “Sound as a foundation of our built and digital environments.”

Burton’s presentation is titled “Long-term ecological research – the gift that keeps on giving.”

Additional details can be found on the MTRF website.

The Office of the Provost presents the MTRF with support from the Vice President for Research Office. The forum showcases and celebrates the work of Michigan Tech researchers and aims to strengthen discussions in our community. All are welcome, including the general public.

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VPA Welcomes New Sound Faculty

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Visual and Performing Arts announces two new sound faculty that have joined the department. Jeff Sherwood, Assistant Professor of Sound, and Michael Maxwell, Assistant Teaching Professor.

Jeff Sherwood (he/him) is a professional theatre artist and educator specializing in sound design, music composition, and audio engineering.  He strives to bring original and innovative ideas in collaboration with creative teams in the art of storytelling.  He has worked in New York City at Off-Broadway theatres including The Public Theater, The New Group, Signature Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, Roundabout Theatre Company, and others.  During the past few summers, he has worked as Audio Supervisor at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut, where his affinity for sound design for new puppetry, music theatre, and play development continues to grow, and where he will be returning this year as the Resident Sound Designer for the National Playwrights Conference. 

Assistant Professor Jeff Sherwood

He is thrilled to be joining the sound program at Michigan Technological University as an Assistant Professor of Sound in the Department of Visual and Performing Arts and is eager to collaborate with colleagues and students on future projects.  He enjoys mentoring and fueling the passion of the rising generation of sound artists and engineers, and is regularly invited to teach sound design masterclasses and workshops at the National Theater Institute.  He previously held the faculty position of Teacher-Scholar Postgraduate Fellow in Sound Design at Wake Forest University in North Carolina.  He received his Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Theatre Sound from Purdue University, and his Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Theatre Design and Production from Oklahoma City University.

Recent awards include the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) Robert E. Cohen Sound Achievement Award for Young Designers, Managers, and Technicians in the Performing Arts, as well as the Purdue University Excellence in Teaching Award for Graduate Teaching Assistants in 2020.  He was also a national finalist for the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival in 2012 and 2014.  He is an active member of the USITT Sound Commission, Theatrical Sound Designers and Composers Association (TSDCA), Audio Engineering Society (AES), and is an Associated Crafts and Technicians (ACT) member of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE).  His Korean American heritage inspires his interests in traveling, exploring new cultures, and keeping local restaurants in business.  View and hear his work at www.sherwoodsound.com. 

We are excited that Jeff Sherwood is bringing his expertise in composing with virtual instruments as well as in depth experience with New York City theatrical production to Michigan Tech. We are extremely lucky to have attracted new faculty with this level of creative and technical skill and experience.  

Christopher Plummer, VPA Professor of Sound

Assistant Teaching Professor Michael Maxwell

Michael Maxwell, MFA

Michael Maxwell is a sound/media artist, audio engineer, and educator with an interest in audio/visual synthesis, music and sound effects recording, mixing, and media art installation. Maxwell received his Master of Fine Arts in Mass Communication & Media Arts from Southern Illinois University and is an Academic Leadership Fellow through University of Central Oklahoma’s Educators’ Leadership Academy.

Maxwell has worked in post production audio for SyFy Channel, Historia Pictures, and various independent filmmakers with works shown in dozens of film festivals internationally. Recently, Maxwell has been a live sound mixer for the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, John DaVersa & His Small Band, Emily Rhyne & The Oklahoma Legacy Band, and AdaFest Music Festival. Current media art pieces include Aggregate Voices, an audio installation series shown in the Pogue Gallery in Ada, OK and After Hunts Spiral, which was installed in the Over the Structures Exhibition at Czong Institute for Contemporary Art, Gimpo-si, Gyeonggi-do, Korea. Portfolio Link https://www.mgmaxwell.net/

Mike Maxwell brings experience in synthesizers, art installations, and video broadcast to the VPA department.  This will provide our students with more creative opportunities and expand on numerous cross campus collaborations. 

Christopher Plummer, VPA Professor of Sound
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KSO Wins Second Place in American Prize!

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It was recently announced that the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra won 2nd Place in the American Prize in Orchestral Performance for its recordings of Jupiter and Sinfonia Antartica! The American Prize is a national music competition for American music performers, composers, directors, administrators, and ensembles.

Joel Neves, Music Director of the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra mentions “This is our second placement in the American Prize: in 2014, I received 3rd Place in the Orchestra Conductor category for the KSO’s performances of Brahms, Symphony No. 4 and Debussy, Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun.”

Kudos go to Maya Ablao and Michael Chopp, our sound designers for Jupiter and Sinfonia Antartica; conScience for their choral contribution; Kate Van Susante as soloist; Kent Cyr for building our wind machine; and, of course, the amazing musicians of the KSO for their artistic excellence.

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Public Performances and Receptions at the Rozsa and McArdle Cancelled

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As you are likely aware, Michigan Tech is carefully following guidance from the recent Stay Home, Stay Safe executive order issued by Governor Whitmer.  Campus is closed to the public, except for critical services, and faculty and staff are working from home.  We were sad that the current COVID-19 situation necessitated cancelling or postponing the rest of our arts season at Michigan Tech, but we are hopeful that measures that we are taking now will make a big difference in keeping our community safe and healthy.
With the cancellation of the remainder of the season we will provide three options for all single tickets and pro-rated package tickets purchased to the following Rozsa/VPA events that were cancelled or postponed.  These include:

Option #1 Contact the SDC Ticket Office at tickets@mtu.edu for a refund of your concert tickets.  Season Subscriptions, Pick-6, and Pick-3 packages will be pro-rated.

Option #2 Tickets may be traded for an equivalent performance in the 2020-21 Season.  Some Presenting Series Events have already been rescheduled for next season, including:  Manual Cinema (Sept. 4, 2020), Audiopharmacy (March 19, 2021), and Vieux Farka Touré (March 20, 2021).  Tickets Visual and Performing Arts Department student concerts (Tech Theatre, KSO, Choirs, Bands, Jazz) can be redeemed for a performance in the 2020-21 season by contacting tickets@mtu.edu.

Option #3 Unrefunded or untraded tickets refunds may be donated to the Friends of the Rozsa Fund.  This gift will be tax-deductible and will be acknowledged by the Michigan Tech Fund.  This can also be done by contacting tickets@mtu.edu.

We appreciate your patronage over this past season and look forward to announcing our 2020-21 season.  Details about next season will come soon.  Please visit the Rozsa website for more information, www.mtu.edu/rozsa

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Tech Theatre and Sound Students Present “A Haunted Mine: The Lost Labs of Dr. Z”

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Quincy Mine at nightThe Department of Visual and Performing Arts and the Quincy Mine Hoist Association present their spooky Halloween collaboration “A Haunted Mine: The Lost Labs of Dr. Z”

Tours will run from 6 to 10 p.m. today and tomorrow (Oct. 24/25) and from 4:30 to 11 p.m. Saturday (Oct. 26) in the Quincy Mine on U.S. 41 north of Hancock. Ages 13 and up are $12 per person, 12 and under are $6.

Tours after 6 p.m. are not recommended for small children. All children under the age of 10 must be accompanied by an adult. Footwear for muddy, snow and bloody conditions is advised.

Students are the performers in the mine and have designed sound, lighting, props, scenery and costumes for this one-of-a-kind Halloween scare. All proceeds will benefit the Quincy Mine Hoist Association.

For more on how we haunt a mine read our article in Michigan Tech News.

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Participate in Haunted Mine Tour

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Quincy Mine with Northern LightsAre you interested in working on the annual Quincy Haunted Mine Tour? We need actors, crew, builders and overall ghouls, ghosts and goblins who want to help us scare people silly. The Haunted Mine will begin building very soon, installs will start Oct. 20, and runs October 24, 25, 26 in the evenings.

If you want to get involved, email Professor of Practice Josh Loar (VPA).

Note: VPA students already involved do not need to email again, unless you haven’t signed up yet.

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