DBU Rolls Out New $5 Million Building, State-of-the-Art Studio For Music Business Program

The Music Business program at Dallas Baptist University is growing -- and fast. Last year, the program boasted just over a hundred students, This year, enrollment has ballooned to 175.

There's good reason for the uptick, too: Next week, DBU will formally introduce its latest entity, Joan and Andy Horner Hall, a $5 million, 12,000-square-foot, two-story facility built specifically for the Music Business track, the center-piece of which is a Russ Berger-designed recording studio.

School officials describe the facility as "state of the art" and "one of the best in the country" for academic recording purposes.

Says DBU Music Business director of studies and associate professor Dr. Terry Fansler of the new facility and, specifically, of the 2,400-square-foot studio:

"The proliferation of MP3 and other technologies during the last decade demands profession-specific coursework and hands-on production learning, if students are to succeed in the new music industry. Given the ongoing dissolution of major record labels whose album-length CD sales are only now beginning to rebound after years of decline, and the emergence of artists' ownership of publishing rights, technical facilities such as ours are essential for students who want to determine their own financial future."

Berger, meanwhile confidently desrcibes the room he's designed by saying that "there is no more modern, up-to-date professional recording/production facility anywhere."

Impressive, if, granted, the kind of thing you tend to hear from universities when rolling out announcements of new facilities like this one. After the jump, Berger further delves into why the new facility is so necessary. Also: We've got all the information the university could provide on what kind of gear and set ups are going to be used in Horner Hall.

Adds Berger:

"Dallas Baptist's commitment to a well-rounded student experience and a practical take- away education is fully realized in the recording technology program at the Institute of Music Business. The new recording studios in Horner Hall give the program professional-quality facilities to complement its academic and creative foundations.

These new audio studios give Dallas Baptist students exposure to all the modern production tools of a fully professional suite of studios, control rooms, and edit suites. Working side-by-side in a collaborative work environment, motivated students will gain hands-on experience in performing, listening, recording, mixing, and editing audio.

As such, Dallas Baptist University's Music-Business students will be literate media creators prepared to engage, participate, and contribute in professions related to schools, churches, ministry, broadcast, corporate, civic, and entertainment media."

The specs:

SOUND STAGES
Function Artist performance. The back stage can be closed off to form a separate space to isolate instrumentation from vocalists or to create an intimate sound environment.
Features Stages are constructed on completely isolated concrete slabs; natural light, stone wall

MAIN CONTROL ROOM
Function Engineer records and mixes audio from sound stages.
Features AVID D-Command ES 24 Control Surface, seven-foot-wide screen and granite producer's desk for live, hands-on instruction; fully wired to production rooms, the multi-purpose classroom and Mac Lab upstairs; unique acoustical adsorption and diffusion features throughout.

SYSTEMS ROOM
Function/Features Houses Mac Pro computers, AVID HD I/O Pro Tools HD series audio interfaces, Glyph 500GB external hard drives, and Firewire 800 adaptor technology for high- load bandwidth.

PRODUCTION ROOM 2
Function/Features Keyboard overdubs and sound effects spotting: AVID C|24 Control Surface; fully integrated with main control room and sound stages for simultaneous mixing and live editing.

PRODUCTION ROOM 1
Function/Features Loop-based production and programming: AVID C|24 Control Surface; fully integrated with main control room and sound stages for simultaneous mixing and live editing

MAC LAB
Function Fully-equipped and state-of-the-art lab featuring Mac Pro computers loaded with Adobe Creative Suite 5 for graphic design, Apple Final Cut Pro Server for video production, and AVID Pro Tools 9 and M-AUDIO AXIOM MIDI Controllers for music production.
Features Full connectivity allows professors and students to access files from the recording studio or a professor's computer.

MULTI-PURPOSE CLASSROOM
Function Can be converted from a standard classroom into a fully-equipped video production or photography studio.
Features Surround black curtain, screen, lighting grid, and sound insulation.

The building will be formally introduced on Monday.