Hodgson School unveils renovated recording control room

Great story celebrating a longtime faculty member, a revamped facility that will directly benefit students, and the enduring power of philanthropy:

A recent renovation of the recording control room at the Hugh Hodgson School of Music features improved recording quality and more opportunities for performers and engineers. The renovation was made possible by a donation from the late Cora Nunnally Miller, the stepdaughter of the school’s namesake, Hugh Hodgson.

Performances in the HHSOM take place in three venues—Hodgson Concert Hall, Ramsey Concert Hall and Edge Recital Hall—and are recorded in the control room. Prior to this renovation, audio engineers were able to make high-quality recordings, but the expansive analog-based recording system had remained largely unchanged since first being installed in 1995. Newly equipped with a modular digital recording system, the control room is used by faculty recording engineers Paul Griffith and William Marlow, along with students who are enrolled in Music Recording Practicum. The facility features three recording and mixing stations, each with its own live video feed of the performance in progress.

“We were operating at a high level of quality and had been for many years,” said Marlow, “but we were limited by the age and capabilities of our audio infrastructure and technology. The analog equipment required constant troubleshooting and, together with the physical limitations of the room, it seemed natural to address all of these points going into the future.”

With more open space in the room, students now comfortably sit alongside mentors while learning about the process of digital audio recording. The state-of-the-art equipment that was installed is used by most major symphony orchestras and top classical music recording engineers in the U.S. and abroad.

So much goes into the training of our music students, and the capability of recording their recitals is an important part of the equation. Expanding this capability with an instructional component is a wonderful tribute to Moore, a treasured colleague who has given so much to the school of music. Well done. And don't forget: student recitals are free, open to the public, and excellent.

Image: R. Douglas Moore in the newly revamped recording control room at the Hugh Hodgson School of Music named in his honor.