St. Michael’s radio station composes CD of students’
musical talent at St. Michael’s
By Michael Connors, Staff Writer
The St. Michael’s College radio station, WWPV, is recording a CD that features student musicians’ music they have composed.
Kyle Chadburn, production manager and business director, said the idea of making the CD served two purposes in an e-mail response.
First, the project will help promote the musical talent around campus often hidden behind the students’ academics.
Second, the CD will raise funds for WWPV so the station can expand its resources and technology to better fulfill the needs of the DJs and students on campus, he said.
After hearing Production Director Mary Kohut’s idea to make a CD, he thought it was a great idea to involve the station, Chadburn said.
The cost of the CD has not yet been determined but all proceeds will be going to WWPV, Chadburn said.
In terms of submitting music, students are free to contribute as much as they want.
“Each artist or band will submit as many songs as they wish and the WWPV board will choose one of those tracks to appear on the CD,” Chadburn said.
The songs submitted can be pre-recorded or artists can use the resources WWPV to record their music, he said.
Since the project began, the station has accumulated about 45 minutes of music in 10 tracks, he said.
“We are hoping to get more before finalizing the project,” Chadburn said.
A diverse collection of styles has already been submitted, he said.
“The current tracks range from singer or songwriter and folk to funk and indie rock,” he said. “We have a unique variety of genres that should appeal to every listener.”
The end of the semester may be a problem for the project because students won’t have time to record and submit music because of school work, Chadburn said. Final projects and final exams can put a real damper on the process because there just isn’t enough time to finish it, he said.
“The plan is to make the CD available to buy on the WWPV Web site as soon as it is available,” he said. “Students, past and present, will have a chance to check it out.”
WWPV is using its budget to produce the CD. Money that isn’t spent directly on the project will be used for other components of it, he said.
“We will be using the remaining money in our budget to purchase blank CDs, jewel cases, and professionally printed CD inserts,” Chadburn said.
WWPV needs the support of the student body on this project so the station can make up for the financial losses and draw a profit to support the station and the students who work there.
The steps taken so far have been a positive experience for Chadburn.
“We’ve had a lot of fun throughout the process,” he said. “It has been a great learning experience.”
Maryse Smith is one of the students who will have a song on the CD so far, Chadburn said.
“I recorded about seven different songs, just with me singing and playing my guitar,” Smith said.
English Professor, Carey Kaplan is the current WWPV station adviser. This year was the first time she worked with the station, she said.
“I just think the station is great,” she said. “The kids working on it are so committed.”
The station provides a very welcoming atmosphere for students and faculty, she said.
The recent struggles regarding the possible sale of WWPV’s airspace was tough, but the station fought through it, Kaplan said.
The school administration was supportive of the opinions of the students and did all they could to help the students keep the station, Kaplan said.
The budget for the station, which is mostly going towards the CD, is funded by the school, she said. There isn’t enough advertising on the station to make a difference in the funds the radio station needs to maintain equipment and services, she said.
John Connors, technology adviser at WWPV, said that the CD is a great idea and a great project for the students.
“I look forward to the final result,” he said.
The CD will display students’ talent and provide an opportunity for them to show a side of their personality that others may not know about.
“We look forward to showcasing the amazing talent that our school has to offer the community,” Chadburn said.
Together, the staff has come together to make it happen, he said.
“Everybody has been really involved and it’s taking form more and more each week,” he said.
Contact Michael Connors at mconnors2@smcvt.edu
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