The Sphere Ensemble recorded its debut album, "Divergence," at Grusin Music Hall in the Imig Music Building.
The 2010 renovations at Grusin Music Hall have transformed it into a world-class concert hall, a unique asset for students and faculty and now, a noteworthy recording studio.
Earlier this year,听included two recordings at the College of Music鈥檚 recital space on its list of best classical music recordings in the state in 2015.听David Korevaar and Geraldine Walther鈥檚 recordings听of Paul Hindemith鈥檚 sonatas and the听made their way to the diverse list, which also includes the T谩kacs Quartet鈥檚听Grammy-nominated听Shostakovich album, recorded in England. 听
鈥淪ince Grusin was remodeled, it鈥檚 become a very good space for recording,鈥� says College of Music Recording Engineer Kevin Harbison. 鈥淭hat coupled with the fact that we have really finely maintained pianos here makes it attractive for recording.鈥�
The听dramatically improved the sound quality in the hall; the stage was lowered and hollowed out to create reverberation.
鈥淚t really made it possible for us to do commercially viable recordings, and now it鈥檚 becoming kind of a magnet for them,鈥� says Harbison.
The producer for the Hindemith recording was Andrew Keener, who鈥檚 been behind many of the T谩kacs Quartet鈥檚 records.
鈥淒avid [Korevaar] got a听听to get him here a couple of days early, so right before spring break, students came in and recorded while Andrew produced,鈥� Harbison explains. 鈥淚t was a really phenomenal experience for everyone because students don鈥檛 get a chance to work at this level very often.鈥�
Harbison says most of the recordings in the hall so far have been done by faculty and students, including a collection of never-before-recorded Leonard Bernstein works by Professor of Piano Andrew Cooperstock and a disc by violin faculty Charles Wetherbee and his听Carpe Diem听quartet.
In all, Harbison says about 10 commercial-quality recordings have come from Grusin Hall.
Another benefit of the recording capabilities is the experience they allow for students interested in music technology.
鈥淪o often, students go into recording thinking it鈥檚 a recital. But there鈥檚 no audience, so you can go back and redo something as many times as you want,鈥� says Harbison.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a completely different mindset that you have to get comfortable with, so this allows them to practice that before they enter the professional world.鈥�
For the 13 members of the Sphere Ensemble鈥攎any of whom are College of Music alumni鈥攖he fact that their alma mater offers such advanced recording options is unique and invaluable.
鈥淚t was the answer to our prayers,鈥� says cellist and alumna Beth Rosbach. 鈥淲e鈥檙e too big for most recording studios, and when you're recording in a smaller room, the sound can't resonate and spread in a way that sounds natural to us.鈥�
The string ensemble鈥攂ased in the Denver area鈥攍ooked at other options for recording its disc 鈥淒ivergence,鈥� only to find that its old stomping grounds were the perfect fit.
鈥淕rusin is so ideal because of its size and its isolation. You have a large space contained within a larger building, and it's designed to block outside noise and distraction,鈥� says Rosbach.
鈥淎nd being able to work with Kevin was fantastic, because he understands how to mic a classical group, but also had the creativity to work with our specific needs.鈥�
鈥淒ivergence鈥� features a little bit of everything, Rosbach says, and reflects the ensemble鈥檚 varied musical interests.
鈥淥ne of the most satisfying aspects of this group is the wide variety of music that we are willing to explore,鈥� she explains. 鈥淥n the CD we included original arrangements of pieces by Ravel, Francisco Canaro and even the Styx song 鈥楥ome Sail Away,鈥� just for fun!鈥�
Rosbach says recording their debut album was an experience she and her colleagues won鈥檛 soon forget. 鈥淵ou would think that, after a week of intense 10-12 hour days, all the musicians would be pretty worn out, and we were! But a day or two later, a picture of one of our recording sessions was posted on Facebook, and one violinist immediately chimed in, saying, 鈥業 miss that place already!鈥�"
To see the full list of CPR Classical鈥檚 top recordings of 2015, visit the听CPR website.
