BC Performing Arts Department Announces New Piano Lab

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• BC Performing Arts Announces New Piano Lab

Monday, September 16, 2024

The BC Performing Arts Department is thrilled to announce the opening of our brand new, innovative, state-of-the-art Piano Lab! For a couple years now, the BC Music program's piano classes have been bursting at the seams with enrollment and interest. To meet the demand of students interested in learning piano, we have converted the Fine Arts 60 classroom space into a fully equipped teaching space for our Piano classes and more, thanks to support from the Bakersfield College Foundation's Renegade Innovation Fund!

With funds awarded through the grant program, we purchased 24 brand new Yamaha keyboards and benches, as well as the innovative Yamaha LC4 Music Lab, an almost-futuristic teaching kit that uses a network of headphones and microphones to allow each student to feel as if they are isolated in their own private practice room; but with the touch of a button, our professors can remove the "practice room walls," communicate with individuals or multiple students all at once, and allow students to collaborate in isolated pairs or groups, all controlled from a simple iPad. Rather than having to plug individually into each keyboard one at a time, our professors can revolutionize the way instruction is provided in our Piano classes.

Over the next few years, we anticipate that the demand for our Piano classes will increase significantly; the ability to accommodate more students, and to provide them with higher quality experiences in the classroom, will be transformative for our department. We are immensely grateful for the ability to serve more students, whether they're fulfilling a degree requirement or seeking personal enrichment. As a department, we greatly value our role in serving the entire campus population as a resource for artistic enrichment and expression, and we are now ready and able to serve even more students with this newer, bigger, and more innovative Piano Lab.

We're also excited about the benefits our Commercial Music program will see, now that the Commercial Music lab in PAC 115 will no longer have to double function as a piano lab. We estimate that the Commercial Music certificate program could see as much as a 50% increase in capacity for some courses. As a department that has seen steady growth over the last few years, this funding has truly allowed us to transform our spaces in a way that will serve the most students we possibly can.

The Performing Arts Department would like to offer our most sincere thanks to everyone involved in the process. Thank you to the Bakersfield College Foundation team and the Bakersfield College Foundation Board, as well as Vice President of Instruction Billie Jo Rice and her office, for their support in securing funding for this project. Thank you to Marcos Rodriguez, Justin Berhow, & the entire M&O Department for ensuring the classroom was transitioned successfully. Thank you to Brett Redd, Kristin Rabe, and the whole Technology Support Services team for fitting the classroom with the necessary technology to make the system run smoothly. Thank you to Dean Emmanuel Mourtzanos, Performing Arts Department Chair Tim Heasley, Dr. Scott Dirkse, John Calanchini, Patrick Bender, and Kevin Boles-Lohmann for providing input and keeping the project moving forward on the department side. And thank you to Joe Haworth and Nick Rail Music as our supplier and installation crew for the keyboards.

They say it takes a village, and in this case, that was absolutely true. The teamwork and camaraderie displayed during the last year and a half was a true sign of the Renegade spirit on our campus. We sincerely appreciate the support from beginning to end and can't wait to enrich the lives of the thousands of students who will utilize our new Piano Lab.

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