Budding recording artists and musicians can now access a professional recording studio and work with student and professional recording engineers, thanks to a new grant funding Washington College’s Open Studio. After applying, each accepted artist or musical group has one to three days of recording and mixing access to the studio at the College’s Daniel Z. Gibson Center for the Arts, staffed by College audio engineers—all free of charge.

Together with additional funding from the Holstein Program in Ethics and the Washington College Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, the $16,000 grant from the Mid-Shore Community Foundation underwrites collaboration between the musical communities of Maryland’s Eastern Shore and Washington faculty, staff, and students.

“Open Studio connects the resources of the Gibson Arts Center with our regional community while also providing experiential learning opportunities and promoting professional success for our music students,” said Kenneth Schweitzer, the music professor overseeing the program. 

The project welcomes all performing artists, including those who preserve
and celebrate underrepresented regional and folk traditions. Open Studio also enables Washington students to practice their music production skills with
diverse populations.

Participating artists receive their raw recordings and an initial mix of all the songs, followed by a limited number of final mixes. Select audio tracks from the sessions will be posted to the Washington College Music Department’s Open
Studio website.  

After recording, chosen artists will be invited to perform their songs on campus and receive compensation for their work. The performances will be video recorded and streamed live.

Interested musicians and music groups can apply to the Open Studio project at washcolldean.formstack.com/forms/open_studio