HANAPEPE — When musician Graham Nash of the group Crosby, Stills and Nash donated a plethora of recording equipment to Storybook Theatre, director Mark Jeffers was at a loss of what to do with it. But academic director Russell Faraldi
HANAPEPE — When musician Graham Nash of the group Crosby, Stills and Nash donated a plethora of recording equipment to Storybook Theatre, director Mark Jeffers was at a loss of what to do with it.
But academic director Russell Faraldi saw a great opportunity for Kauai’s musicians.
“This most definitely is a program where you control your own destiny and promote your own work,” Faraldi said. “Once you learn this art and science, the sky’s the limit.”
When Jeffers asked Faraldi if he could use the equipment, Faraldi’s response was to create a digital recording arts program to give the public an opportunity to learn the new paradigm of recording arts. “The Kauai Island Recording Workshop” came to life.
“What I saw was a golden opportunity to make my dream come true because I always wanted to have a school. I always wanted to teach this and have a school,” Faraldi said. “The program I devised gives the candidate a solid foundation in their approach to digital audio recording.”
Since the workshop opened on April 20, students have learned a multitude of subjects including the three pillars of microphone theory, midi theory and audio post production, and have worked with audio interface.
The classes, which ended on May 15, were divided into labs and lectures that stressed the importance of understanding the art and science of digital audio recording.
“I want to be able to inspire the student candidate to go farther than just the information there because, like a foreign language, if you don’t practice it, you’ll lose it,” Faraldi said.
Faraldi has worked with students interested in all forms of music.
“When an artist or musician is able to do this, they are actually controlling their own destiny,” Faraldi said. “They are producing their own work and they are doing it on a budget.”
The workshop will open for classes again on Monday and will last for four consecutive weeks at the Storybook Theatre in Hanapepe. The sessions begin at 6 a.m. and end at 9 p.m. but can last longer depending on the students recording needs.
The class costs $400. Scholarships are available.
“This workshop is extremely important because this is the new paradigm of recording,” Faraldi said. “If you’re a musician and if you’re not learning this, you’re relying on others to do your demo work, to do your tracking, to do your mixing. This gives them the tools to be able to take the bull by the horns.”
Info: (808) 639-6846
