ʻSkipʼping through electronic music

As electronic music becomes popular among college students today, the Music Department chair at Pierce College is bringing more contemporary music classes to the repertoire for students.

The department chair, Wayne Skip Perkins, Ph.D., is from Central Calif., and obtained his doctorate degree in music from University of California, Los Angeles. He has been teaching at Pierce for six years. Perkins was first interested in music at a very young age: first when his mother introduced him to the clarinet in the third grade, and then as a teen when he joined a rock band.

“When I was in high school, I got into rock ‘n’ roll bands and that is how I first made a living through music,” Perkins said.

He was inspired by different genres, including: rock ‘n’ roll, country western, and old blues.

Perkins then decided to teach at Pierce, and he has incorporated time and effort to help other students achieve their goals in music.

He has set up different workshops and programs where the student can work hands on in the recording studios.

“[Perkins] has built a first rate recording studio on campus so that students are afforded hands on experience in the art of recording,” said Adjunct Instructor of Music Cathryn Tortell.

According to the department’s website, Pierce has two recording studios. One of these studios, called “The Cube,” is used by students in the electronic music workshops.

“It is a state-of-the-art recording studio,” Perkins said. “We have Pro Tools in it, a digital mixer, microphones, synthesizers, computers and mixing boards.”

Many students and colleagues have mentioned that Perkins puts many hours into making sure the students have a studio that can produce quality beats for the future of music and the future of the students creating a contemporary sound.

“He puts in a lot of time setting up recording sessions with the students in music production,” said music professor assistant Ann Aubuchon.

With the help of the Music Department, Perkins says that many students have graduated and successfully made it into the music industry.

“There is a number of students that have made their own recording studios and have recorded music,” Perkins said.

Perkins also mentioned that the budget cuts have taken a toll on our schools but he is very hopeful that Pierce and the Music Department will have the opportunity to add more contemporary music classes.

“A lot of the classes are being severely cut but we are looking to ramp up our commercial music endeavors as opposed to the classical music type of school,” Perkins said.

Perkins’ goal as music chair is to bring in new technology for the students to create new sounds and beats, allowing them to exploit their creativity and open new horizons in the art of music.

“Dr. Perkins is both highly dedicated and respected by his students,” said Tortell. “The faculty and staff are very excited about his new leadership role and the future of the Music Department.” progression,” Biryukov said. “Art is essentially a reflection of reality.”

Besides music and helping students in the recording studio, Perkins enjoys riding horses and taking road trips in his truck.

With the different variety of recording studios, Perkins and the Music Department staff seek to encourage new students to enroll in the variety of classes Pierce has to offer in the artistic field of music.

Biryukov encouraged students to challenge their preconceptions of music and to give classical music a try.

“Classical music is scientifically proven to improve studying abilities,” Biryukov said, referencing a 1993 study on “The Mozart Effect,” which said that listening to Mozart consistently can improve spatial reasoning.

Oskar Gustowski/Roundup ogustowski.roundupnews@gmail.com

With over four weeks into the fall semester, the Art Gallery is empty due to annual maintenance, including repainting and reorganizing.

The several changes being made have to do with the way art will be displayed.

Scattered across the floor of the gallery are miniature models of the room. In each model, the partitionsmovable walls where artwork is displayed- are being rearranged.

With the light remodeling and new paint job, this maintenance might attract students to make a detour toward the Art Gallery.

As for some listening to get students into classical music, Biryukov suggested Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana.

“Make sure you listen to it with the text,” Biryukov said. “It’s basically pornographic.”

Pierce students and faculty can enjoy these free concerts, featuring student performers and profesional musicians, every Thursday, except Thanksgiving Day, at 12:45 p.m. in Music 3400.

It also doesn’t hurt that each show is free to the public.

Monika Del Bosque, an assistant professor of art, is the curator of the gallery. Together with Greg Gilbertson, the Art and Architecture Department chair, they coordinate the gallery. In terms of construction, not much is going to happen this year, Gilbertson said. Any plans for renovation are far from being drawn up. It may take several years before anything gets done, he anticipates. In the months to come, the stripped-down gallery will be filled with aesthetic works ranging from sculptures, miniature constructions, and various styles of paintings and photographs.

[See GALLERY RU online]