by Matt Durant
Staff Writer
It takes one to know one. That could be a theme for the University of La Verne’s Music Department. The professors and students of the department have been releasing music on compact disc and cassette.
Steve Biondo, Music Department assistant, said “This isn’t an ego thing, we are artists and we need to express ourselves.”
Many of the faculty have released music or will be doing so in the near future.
Dr. Reed Gratz, department chair, has a jazz CD released that is titled, “Below Sea Level.” Jon Rothe, adjunct professor of music, is soon to be releasing a CD titled “Obscure Cover.”
Anthony Fesmire, a first year guitar teacher at La Verne, has a cassette titled, “Songs without Words,” and is working on a CD that will involve the help of prison inmates.
Senior adjunct professor Michael Ryan, another guitar teacher at ULV, has a few CDs released, including “Romance,” “What If” with Adam Kaplan, who is a part-time employee at ULV, and “Between Earth and Sky,” which is a classical guitar piece.
A few undergraduate students and a graduate student of ULV have music that is to be released in the future as well. Ryan Neal, a 1998 graduate of the University, has an album that will be released shortly. He is a pop music singer who also plays guitar. The name of the album is “Gonna Make It.” Junior Marcin Janiszewski, who is a solo pianist and a member of the ULV Jazz Band, has an album called “So This Is It.”
Dr. Gratz is trying to organize a new area of study along with the School of Business and Global Studies, for people interested in the music business. The idea is for students to learn the music business. They would learn to play the instruments and then write, produce, record and ultimately market their music.
So, if students come in as freshmen, they have the capability of doing all of this their senior year.
“This project is in the beginning stages. We are just meeting with the business department. Everyone is very eager and very interested,” said Dr. Gratz.
“People are very unrealistic about the music business and this would open up their eyes about reality,” Biondo said.
The cost of recording music is not cheap.
“The estimated cost to make one CD for an amateur is about $1,500,” Biondo said.
Bob Matheson, who works at ULV, is also involved in helping the department. He owns his own sound producing studio at home and allows the teachers to use it. Biondo said the cost of making a CD or cassette is not too expensive.
“It’s like an artist with a canvas-we want everyone to see what we can do,” said Fesmire.
Ryan is a Berkeley College graduate of music and is getting his masters of guitar performance at the University of Southern California.
The professors at La Verne have united and helped each other with performances.
Michael Ryan will perform Dec. 4 in Founders Auditorium at 7:30 p.m.
