FEATURE

After two years of fundraising, the commercial music program finally has equipment to brag about.

Of the three studio spaces that FAU has, the room referred to as “Studio A,” on the first floor of the Arts and Letters building, got the most impressive overhaul. It has a new mixing room, practice space and recording area.

The conversion from old to new in Studio A started in the summer of 2009, with major construction to the space that included knocking down old walls and creating new ones. The second stage of the project, which took place this past summer, dealt with setting up the new equipment.

Assistant director of commercial music Alejandro Sanchez-Samper has headed the revamps by going through the process of getting money from state funding sources and private donors to accomplish his vision.

“Now the students are going to be able to work with top-notch equipment,” said Sanchez.

Senior commercial music majors Dante de Paoli, Jason Hester and Andres Beuses helped professor Sanchez throughout the process. Now they get to enjoy the results when Sanchez holds classes in the mixing room and when they participate in recording student music with artists signed to the student-run record label Hoot/Wisdom Recordings.

“Getting to unpack the boxes and unwrapping everything was the best part,” said de Paoli. “It was like Christmas on steroids.”