Strategic Allocation of Resources [StAR] Proposal Title: The Oneonta Center for Electronic Music Production and Performance and ONCCE [The Oneonta Circuitry and Computer Ensemble] Point Persons: Dr. Ryan Ross Smith and Dr. Joseph Pignato Contact:! Email: Ryan.Smith@oneonta.edu! Campus Phone: x3463! Cell Phone: 608-692-8202! Office: Fine Arts 123 Department/Unit: Fine Arts/Music Amount Requested: $54,341.00 Proposal Summary: StAR funding will enable the acquisition of contemporary electronic music, audio production, and sound design tools to support the creation of two new initiatives in the Department of Music: The Oneonta Center for Electronic Music Production and Performance [The Center], and the Oneonta Circuitry and Computer Ensemble [ONCCE]. The implementation of these technologies will lead to transformative change within the Department of Music by providing technologies that engage with the contemporary musical landscape and enable a crystallization at the department level of new, student and faculty-led musical directions including computer music, music coding, electronic music production, and sound design.
Section I: Narrative A: Proposal, Objectives and Significance The Audio Arts sector of the Music Department has long been at the forefront of contemporary music production under the umbrella of a robust music industry program that prepares students for creative, technical and entrepreneurial careers in the music industry. The department is the largest in the school of Arts & Humanities with over 300 majors. Of those students, nearly one third graduate with a minor in Audio Arts, and a survey of incoming music majors in 2017 indicate that 50% of incoming students intend on enrolling in the Audio Arts minor or in some related course, such as Digital Music and Beat Production, the Experimental Music Group, and Principles of Audio Production. Additionally, students from other majors including mass communications, theater, and physics, regular enroll in the Audio Arts minor. While these statistics are encouraging, we believe that the Audio Arts sector has the potential for incredible growth over the next several years, based in large part on faculty expertise, current and planned curricular development, and an increasing percentage of the student population interested in electronic music production and performance. This StAR proposal would provide the technological foundation for the development of The Center and ONCCE which would in turn enable students to engage with contemporary audio equipment often found in professional studios, multimedia production facilities, broadcast facilities, and other technologically mediated spaces. The development of the Center and ONCCE would also significantly increase the visibility of the fast-growing Audio Arts sector of the music program to potential students in the music department, across the campus, and beyond. 1. The Oneonta Center for Electronic Music Production and Performance [The Center] The creation of The Center was inspired by increasing student desire for more electronic-based production and performance opportunities, which can be quantified by the consistently high enrollment numbers of Dr. Pignato s electronic-music-focused courses Beat Production and Experimental Music Group, Dr. Smith s forthcoming Live Electronic Music Performance, Gavin Vitale s special topics courses, and the success of the Audio Arts minor in general. The creation of this Center was further inspired by how the contemporary landscape of music production, composition and performance has changed in recent years, and the impact that has had on university-level curriculum development. Recent and current generations of music students represent a marked change in interest in expertise and it is essential that the music department at Oneonta continue to demonstrate the forward-thinking curriculum that put the department on the map in the 1980s. 2. ONCCE: The Oneonta Circuitry and Computer Ensemble ONCCE [The Oneonta Circuitry and Computer Ensemble] will serve as the public performance face of the Center for Electronic Music Production and Performance initiative at SUNY Oneonta. This course will initially emerge from Dr. Smith s Live Electronic Music Performance course, but is designed to eventually support students interests in electronic-based creative work without being tied to a single course. ONCCE represents the final piece in a triumvirate of electronic and electronic-focused courses including Professor Pignato s Beat Production and Experimental Music Group respectively.
3. Collaboration with the Audio Arts and other Relevant Courses The Oneonta Center for Electronic Music Production and Performance and ONCCE will function in collaboration with the Audio Production faculty to use these technologies in foundational as well as contemporary and experimental approaches to production, in the classroom and the studio. As the industry pendulum swings away from a primarily digital environment, an understanding of analog/modular synthesis techniques is an essential learning outcome for emerging audio professionals, while the acquisition of high-end microphones, portable recording devices, and industry-standard software will round out their expertise in studio and field-based production practices. Updates to relevant course curriculum and technological access will reflect these acquisitions. B. 5-Tier Contribution to Strategic Plan 2015: Scholarship, Service, Strength 1: The Oneonta Center for Electronic Music Production and Performance will encapsulate and crystallize those courses offered under the Audio Arts umbrella, including Beat Production, Experimental Music Group, and Live Electronic Music Performance. This encapsulation will strengthen the Audio Arts sector through the support and promotion of a streamlined organization. Furthermore, by offering instruction on the modular synthesizer, circuit design and prototyping, field recording, binaural sound capture, and other contemporary and historically relevant instruments and audio production tools and techniques, the Audio Arts faculty will be positioned to engage with students with significantly more depth than currently offered. 2: Providing students with the opportunity to hone their skills on the technology from which their musical practices were built upon represents our dedication to offer a world-class, yet affordable, education in a field of practice that is often reduced to vocational programs or dismissed in favor of the conservatory model. The Center and ONCCE will also provide an unparalleled technological calling card to promote the program and attract future students as they will demonstrate the department s dedication to maintaining a contemporary, diverse, creative and student-first environment. 3: ONCCE will provide students engaged in electronic music production practices an essential ensemble credit toward their graduation. In tandem with Beat Production and the Experimental Music Group, this triumvirate of electronics-based ensembles will provide the support system necessary to see our students through to graduation. 4: The Center and ONCCE will both be overseen by music department faculty, but will also provide unparalleled opportunities for student engagement beyond their creative work, including studio and equipment maintenance and oversight, concert preparation and promotion, website and social media maintenance, and audio-visual documentation. These are unique opportunities for professional development that will provide significant weight to their resumes, and encourage an elasticity of practice as underclassmen influence future directions in line with the changing musical and industry landscape. 5. The Center and its associated technologies will be used to attract national and international guest artists to visit Oneonta to create new works, speak with students in classroom settings, and present concerts. Content developed and promoted by guest artists within The Center will in turn enhance the visibility of the department to potential students. C. Supporting Data:
The Audio Arts Minor is part of the Music Industry Major at SUNY Oneonta. The department is the largest in the school of Arts & Humanities with nearly 300 majors. Nearly one third of students enrolled in the Music Industry Major graduate with a minor in Audio Arts, and a survey of incoming Music Majors in 2017 show that nearly 50% of incoming students intend on enrolling in the Audio Arts minor. Beat Production and the Experimental Music Group are always fully enrolled. Dr. Smith s forthcoming Live Electronic Music Performance course is fully enrolled and Audio Arts classes are generally at or above capacity. D. Assessment: ONCCE and The Center-specific inquiries will be included on incoming and current student interest forms. The value impact of ONCCE and The Center on these students can be derived from the trajectory of this data. Overall numbers regarding Music Department enrollment, Audio Arts minors and students taking one or more Audio Arts courses [including Beat Production, Experimental Music Group, Live Electronic Music Performance, and other related special topics courses] can be analyzed on a semester by semester basis from Fall 2018 through Spring 2020 and cross-referenced against enrollment prior to The Center and ONCCE initiatives. An assessment of The Center and ONCCE-related courses will be provided to students involved in one or both of these initiatives. Unlike the above, these assessments will not be analyzed from a strictly quantitative standpoint, but will provide a general sense of student interest, involvement, and satisfaction from a creative and critical thought standpoint. With permission, these student assessments will be used to further promote The Center, ONCCE, and the Music Department as a whole. E. Implementation Strategy and Timeline Spring 2018:! Initial Planning, student recruitment for ONCCE The Center Summer 2018:! Purchase and install items included in proposal.! Prepare storage and checkout procedures for portable devices and microphones.! Prepare for official launch of ONCCE and The Center. Fall 2018:! Official launch of ONCCE and The Center in early Fall 2018.! Develop web sites for ONCCE and The Center.! Implement new technologies into the classroom and studio environment. Spring 2019:! Official website launches for ONCCE and The Center. ONCCE performance at New Music Focus Week in collaboration with invited guest. Summer 2019:! Develop strategy for recurring invited performer(s)/composer(s)/producer(s) under the guise of The Center. Fall 2019:! Develop grant application for recurring invited performer(s)/composer(s)/producer(s). Spring 2020:! Final Project Evaluation and Report
Section II: Funding Request/Proposed Budget Proposal(Title: Point(Person(and(contact(information Name: Campus(Phone: Campus(e7mail: Department/Unit: 2017%18.StAR.Proposal.%%.Budget.Template The(Oneonta(Center(for(Electronic(Music(Production(and(Performance(and(ONCCE([The(One Dr.(Ryan(Ross(Smith(and(Dr.(Joseph(Pignato x3463 Ryan.Smith@oneonta.edu Fine(Arts/Music Budget.Detail please&enter&whole&dollars 1%time.Costs.by.year Personnel.Costs: Use.of.Funds.Description Number.of. Positions 2018%19 2019%20 2020%21 Total.1%time. Costs Temporary(Salaries((Temp(Service,(Stipends,(Extra(Service,(GA/TA) Student(Employment((Student(Temp(Service) Other.Than.Personnel.Costs.(OTPS).and.Campus.Recharges: Materials(&(Supplies Studio7110(Synthesizer(System 1.00 $15,249 $15,249 Key617A(Controller(Bundle 1.00 $1,492 $1,492 Arduino(Mega(2560(Kit 10.00 $600 $600 Zoom(H6(Portable(Recorder 3.00 $1,047 $1,047 Tascam(DR100MKIII(Portable(Recorder 3.00 $1,125 $1,125 Olympus(LS7100(Multi7Track(PCM(Recorder 4.00 $3,990 $3,990 Neumann(KU(100(Dummy(Head(Microphone 1.00 $8,000 $8,000 Sound(Devices(MixPre710T 1.00 $1,799 $1,799 Sennheiser(MKH(4167P48(Short(Shotgun(Microphone 2.00 $2,150 $2,150 Bantam(Tools(PCB(Milling(Machine 1.00 $3,999 $3,999 Ableton(Live 16.00 $4,304 $4,304 Max/MSP 16.00 $4,000 $4,000 AC(Powered(Computer/Electronics(Speakers 10.00 $200 $200 MPC(X 2.00 $4,398 $4,398 Maschine(Mikro 2.00 $698 $698 Makey(Makey(STEM(Pack(7(Classroom(Invention(Literacy(Kit 1.00 $700 $700 General(Equipment Lockable(Metal(Storage(Cabinet 2.00 $590 $590 Campus(Print(Shop Capital(Costs(77(renovation Capital(Costs(77(new(construction Total.Positions.&.Costs: 76.00 $54,341 $0 $0 $54,341 Other.Funding.Sources.Intended.to.Reduce.Total.Costs.Shown.Above: New(Funds((i.e.(projected(revenue(generation) Projected. Amount. Available: Reallocation(of(funds(from(existing(resources.(include.account.number,.funding.source) Total.Projected.Other.Funding.Sources,.Offsetting.Total.Costs: $0
Appendix A The Chief Information Officer has reviewed this proposal and verified potential costs as it relates to technology: The Chief Facilities Planning and Safety Officer has reviewed this proposal and verified potential costs as it relates to facilities: The Budget Director has reviewed this proposal and verified potential costs: The Senior Executive Employee Services Officer has reviewed this proposal and verified potential costs as it relates to human resources: Other consultation (be specific): Other Funding Sources Intended to Reduce Total Costs Shown Above: New Funds (i.e. projected revenue generation) Reallocation of funds from existing resources (include account number, funding source) Total Projected Other Funding Sources, Offsetting Total Costs: Projected Amount Available: $0