February 6, 2008

by Darla Martin Tucker

Ruben Leon, a La Sierra University music technology major, carefully checked a tiny diode on an amplifier circuit board on Jan. 11. He tested the piece to make sure it was functioning properly and placed it back on the board.

It was the first day of Leon’s internship at Valley Sound in North Hollywood and the beginning of La Sierra University’s first formal internship for the fledgling Bachelor of Science program in music technology.

Leon works six hours every other Friday at Valley Sound helping repair guitar amplifiers and other equipment under the tutelage of music industry veteran, Robert “Stretch” Schoonraad.

Leon will graduate with the program’s premiere class in 2009 and hopes to parlay his degree into a job handling sound technology for a touring band. The former high school bass player ultimately wants to establish a record company.

La Sierra’s bachelor of science in music technology, launched in 2005, is the region’s only music technology degree listed with the program’s accrediting agency, the National Association of Schools of Music in Reston,Va.

The agency has a membership of about 615 accredited schools, conservatories, colleges and universities around the nation. A search on Feb. 4 of its database found 20 accredited music technology programs nationwide including La Sierra’s, the only program listed in California.

Students in the program take courses in recording and electronic music. Freshmen and sophomore students learn industry software programs, ProTools, for arranging, producing and recording and Logic Pro for MIDI technology and recording. MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface, a type of programming that facilitates communication between electronic instruments and computers.

Students apply their knowledge helping record concerts and other events that take place annually in La Sierra’s Hole Memorial Auditorium. They also take the physics of acoustics, an introductory class on analyzing and looking at how space shapes sound.

Students are required to take core music classes. “Otherwise we’re not much different from a vocational school,” said Elvin Rodriguez, La Sierra’s director of keyboard studies and music technology and creator of the music technology program. “It would benefit them to be good musicians to begin with.”

La Sierra students go on field trips to Disney studios and attend the annual NAMM show, the International Music Products Association exhibit in Anaheim featuring the latest music equipment, instruments and technology.

Connection systems company, NeutrikUSA, provided plugs, connectors and other equipment for the program’s first Neutrik Interconnectivity and Cable Building Workshop held last October. La Sierra students learned cable tinning, connection soldering and other skills.

The La Sierra music technology program values internships as a means of keeping up with changing industry technologies and as a potential employment pathway for graduates, Rodriguez said.

“Internships legitimize the education we give our students by allowing them to gain valuable professional experience before finishing the degree,” he said.

Schoonraad at Valley Sound became familiar with La Sierra University when music technology adjunct professor Frankie Farrell hired him to repair a guitar amplifier. “It’s gone from there,” Schoonraad said.

“What we’re trying to do is give him [Leon] some practical applications of electronic principles,” he said. “We’re trying to work from the basics upward.”

Schoonraad, a guitarist and vocalist, and his wife Zita, a pianist and vocalist, own Valley Sound. Schoonraad’s background ranges from performing with South African band, The News, to working nearly eight years as technical director at Westlake Audio in Los Angeles. Westlake’s roster of high-profile projects includes Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”

At Valley Sound, Schoonraad repairs guitars, amplifiers and other equipment and performs custom wiring and structural work. He spent nearly a year with electric guitar pickup manufacturer, Seymour Duncan, in research and development. Schoonraad designed the circuit for the “Lava Box,” an electric guitar effects pedal.

Valley Sound’s client list includes some of the music industry’s biggest stars whom Schoonraad declined to publicly identify.

La Sierra’s music technology program attracted a number of industry professionals to teach in the program including Farrell, a certified ProTools instructor/engineer, engineer and recording artist; Scott Weber, Disney Studios engineer; Greg Cabrera, engineer, recording artist, and producer, whose projects include songs on sister Patty Cabrera’s Grammy-nominated album; Don Cicchetti, engineer, sound design and installations consultant; Dr. Ed Karlow, La Sierra physics professor, sound engineer and sound reinforcement specialist; and Ty Rust, certified Logic Pro instructor/engineer and recording artist.

With a $20,000 donation, the music department purchased computers and keyboards for a lab with 13 workstations. To further grow the music technology program, Rodriguez is seeking between $50,000 and $100,000 for new computers and keyboards, additional microphones, speakers, a mixer and sound processing hardware.

“Down the line we will need a major investment to bring everything up to the latest technology,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez is also considering ways to involve students in his creation of a music theory software program and workbook series for teachers. The project is inspired by previous versions of a software program Rodriguez launched in 1995 called Music Analytica. He sold the package to schools and through companies, including Sound Tree, the educational arm of keyboard and synthesizer manufacturer, Korg USA Inc. in Melville, N.Y.

Leon, a native of Mexicali, Mexico, learned about La Sierra University while attending Calexico Mission Academy in California. Acting on an interest in music, he attended a recording class at Imperial Valley College before arriving at the Riverside institution.

Leon won scholarships to La Sierra and his parents helped with his expenses until disaster struck. An electrical malfunction caused a fire that burned down the family’s home and his father’s work transporting drywall slumped along with the housing industry.

Facing the loss of financial assistance, Leon considered transferring to the music program at California State University, San Bernardino. But the school’s degree offered only an emphasis in music technology and Leon had taken the prescribed classes.

He decided to stay in La Sierra's program and took on four jobs to pay for tuition and rent; he works as a recording engineer and lab maintenance technician at Hole Memorial Auditorium, as head technician in MICOL/Media Services and works in the university cafeteria.

Leon fits in his homework at night.

“The love of music” drew Leon to the program. “Ever since I took that recording class I like the feel of control over how it’s going to sound,” he said.

Schoonraad advises music industry neophytes to build good listening skills and always look for opportunities to learn. “If you have a good reputation you can definitely make a decent living,” he said.
“You gotta love what you do.”

PR Contact: Larry Becker
Executive Director of University Relations
La Sierra University
Riverside, California
951.785.2460 (voice)