Let the music play
Zach Soares ’00 behind the soundboard in COA’s new recording studio, which he helped design and build in collaboration with COA music professor Jonathan Henderson (playing the red guitar, with students) and assistant director of buildings, grounds, and campus safety Regan Greer ’21.
By Jeremy Powers ’24
The hallways are alive with the sound of… music… and podcasts… and so much more. Thanks to the decades-long effort of audio visual technology specialist Zach Soares ’00 and more recent collaboration from music professor Jonathan Henderson and assistant director of buildings, grounds, and campus safety Regan Greer ’21, a new recording studio is expanding campus opportunities for performance, sound engineering, and a host of academic pursuits.
The intention for the newly completed space is to connect students and faculty across campus to the growing world of audio technology, spur the development of surprising connections between disciplines, and expand students’ skill sets and creative powers of expression.
“The recording studio is a really great laboratory for interdisciplinary learning, because these skills and resources in audio production can be taken up in all kinds of different settings,” Henderson says.
Soares, who teaches classes and independent studies in sound engineering, has envisioned a recording space since he started working for the school in 2005. He holds a certificate in audio engineering that he earned while taking a break from COA in the late 90s, and has amassed a large amount of equipment over the years, some of which is now part of the new sound studio.
“Music for me has always been this world where you close your eyes and you’re transported to whatever the person is trying to create,” he said. “I just love bringing people on that journey; and that’s what I always tell my students, that it’s not about the end product, it’s about the journey.”
Soares’ course is popular with students working within the arts and elsewhere, and he sees it as a stepping stone for more focused courses in storytelling, music, and film.
“Audio is everywhere now, and students want to use it in so many classes,” he said. “I envision students using this space to do projects for just about every class taught on campus. I can’t wait to see it filled all of the time.”
The remodeling that made the project possible was led by Greer, who began working on the space over the winter break 2022. With the help of a small, dedicated crew of students, Greer knocked down a wall separating two practice rooms, installed a large window, painted, and redid the carpeting.
“It’s really satisfying to be able to work on a project for a few weeks and see it through, especially with students who don’t have much experience with carpentry,” she said. “It was a challenge to balance teaching and working efficiently, but we had a great result in the end.”
Currently only those students who have had training in audio tech and have worked through Soares’ and Henderson’s courses are able to access the equipment, but for those creators looking for help getting things recorded there are student teaching assistants who are ready to help out.
The new facility is providing intriguing, necessary options for students as they move through their self-directed learning pathways at COA, Henderson said.
“Communication through audio and video is a necessary skill for students to have because it’s often how people encounter ideas today,” Henderson said. “Audio design is a crucial mode for students to be learning alongside skills in written and verbal communication. It can be a key tool for communicating ideas.”
“It’s essential that we teach this to students,” Soares said. “Audio is a great way to spread the message of human ecology and express your ideas.”
