— Leading audio processing product developer and innovative pro audio and music industry education center have a shared vision of how technology and academia can work together to the enhanced benefit of the school, the students and the quality of sound —
Aphex®, a leader in audio enhancement technology for more than 35 years, has deepened its unique relationship with the Music Industry Recording Arts (MIRA) program at St. Petersburg College in St. Petersburg, Florida. The MIRA program, which was launched four years ago with a dozen students and offers an accredited Associate of Science degree in a well-integrated curriculum of audio sciences and business acumen, now has between 250 and 300 students per semester in the program, and plans to launch a four-year Bachelor of Applied Science degree program in 2014. For the last two years, the MIRA program has collaborated closely with Aphex, using products including the Aural Exciter®, 500 Series EQ, Aphex Channel, Aphex Dominator II and Compellor® processors, as well as the HeadPod 4™ headphone amplifier, all integrated into MIRA’s pro audio curriculum. As new products become available, Aphex shares them with MIRA, providing the program’s students with state-of-the-art technology that offers them access to equipment identical to that being used in commercial facilities. At the same time, the faculty and students of MIRA regularly provide insightful feedback into how those products perform under the singular pressures of an academic environment. It’s a relationship from which everyone benefits, most of all the students.
This mutually beneficial association has come about because of the shared vision of Mark Matthews, Lead Instructor of the MIRA program, and Aphex wanting to bring the “real world” of recording and music to students. “At MIRA, we approach learning about audio arts and the music industry in an experiential, hands-on way, and Aphex has been a significant partner in how we go about that,” says Matthews. “That we work so well together stems from the fact that both Robin and I came to where we are now from being musicians and from working in various aspects of the music industry. Our visions of how best to teach about sound and improve sound are very much in synch.”
Aphex COO, Robin Sibucao agrees, adding, “Mark Matthews has the perfect combination of experience, talent and vision to lead their unique MIRA Program. Matthews is pioneering a new educational path to prepare students not only to enter the industry’s workplace but also to grow and sustain within the many segments of the audio industry. We are thrilled that Aphex and MIRA have developed such a great working relationship and that we can be a part of helping the audio professionals of the future in such a powerful program. And as the students learn using our product, Aphex also learns while watching them use those products – we get to see how an entirely new generation of pro audio professionals looks at its tools.”
As the relationship enters its next stage, Sibucao points to MIRA’s new MYRA Radio Network, an internet-based radio station broadcasting from the St. Petersburg/Gibbs campus. The station is a multi-format platform completely managed and programmed by students, who produce their own programs and have complete creative control over the content. The HeadPod 4 is now an integral part of the station’s infrastructure, thanks to its four stereo power amplifiers and switchable multi-source inputs (including SPDIF) that make it a perfect fit for the needs of MIRA’s new broadcast center. The MYRA Radio Network will create another platform in which MIRA’s students and faculty can work together, but it’s also another level in a deepening relationship that’s totally student-focused, says Matthews. “It’s about how best to integrate not only Aphex products, but also all relevant production equipment, into the student workflow at MIRA. From this dialog, a new way of thinking has been developed regarding how educational institutions and manufacturers can work together in a mutually beneficial relationship.”
For more information please visit http://www.aphex.com.
