The workshop is set for 1-4 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 16, at Audiostate 55 Recording Studios. Audiostate 55, owned by UAB University Professor of Music Henry Panion III, Ph.D., is a member of the Berklee City Music Network, an association of 47 organizations across the United States, Canada and Latin America that leverages the power of contemporary music to empower young people from underserved communities.
The workshop will feature breakout sessions for students, parents and guardians that will provide materials, interactive guidance, a Q&A, and an opportunity to record musical pieces, including spoken word and hip-hop, for their audition packages. Also, each participant will have a mock college audition and interview.
“One of the greatest challenges to students is the lack of understanding as to what colleges and businesses expect to see from applicants, beyond their musical talent,” said Panion, who also serves on the Berklee City Music Advisory Board. “Having a workshop such as this is so needed.”
The workshop will be facilitated by faculty from Berklee and the UAB College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Music, including Berklee Associate Dean for Education Outreach Arin Canbolat; Berklee Assistant Dean of Admissions, Diversity and Inclusion Recruitment Natara Gray; Berklee Associate Professor Nichelle Mungo; UAB Department of Music Professor and department Chair Patrick Evans, DMA; and Panion, director of Music Technology at UAB.
Berklee City Music, founded more than 30 years ago by the Berklee College of Music, is a nonprofit organization that leverages the power of contemporary music to empower youth from underserved communities to develop musically, academically, socially and emotionally. By using culturally relevant music as a vehicle for holistic youth development, Berklee City Music helps young people flourish as students, musicians, and confident and well-rounded individuals ready to shape the world.
“Success for Berklee City Music is for students to realize their potential and take the steps necessary to accomplish their goals, wherever that leads them,” Canbolat said. “What we have noticed with these workshops is how appreciative students and parents are of information delivered in a meaningful way so that they feel confident as they take the next step of their educational journey.”
Audiostate 55 Recording Studios is an award-winning facility with three professional recording studios located in Birmingham’s Woodlawn community and home to the Woodlawn Music Tech Academy and Summer Camp Program, a community program in partnership with the Birmingham City Schools and the Berklee College of Music.