MEDIA CONTACTS: Polly Burks
561-297-2595, pburks@fau.edu or
Stacia Smith
561-297-2971, ssmith@fau.edu
FAU's Hoot/Wisdom Recordings Releases First CDs
BOCA RATON, FL (February 15, 2005) - Florida Atlantic University's Hoot/Wisdom Recordings has reached another milestone with the release of its first two CDs: "Synchrofunkinicity" by The People UpStairs and "Dream Chasers: North American Nightscapes" by Heather Coltman.
"This is quite an accomplishment for a record label that is entirely operated and run by students," said Michael Zager, music professor and Dorothy F. Schmidt Eminent Scholar in the Performing Arts. "FAU students have been completely responsible for finding the talent and handling everything from production and engineering to promotion and marketing. They are doing the work that any professional label does."
The People UpStairs play a diverse mix of funk, rock, reggae and Latin that appeals to all ages. The group won its place on the label after competing with 20 other FAU bands that auditioned for Hoot's Artists and Repertoire (A&R) committee two years ago. The band members wrote all 14 songs on the CD and from there, Hoot/Wisdom Recordings students did the work to bring the CD to market. Student producers coached the band and worked with student engineers in Hoot's on-campus recording studio; the marketing committee worked on a press kit to market the product; and the graphic design committee created the album cover.
The People UpStairs is made up of Delray Beach residents Ryan Lockett, percussion; Gabe Rangel, drums; Tony Rangel, bass; Casey Buckley, vocals; Chris Prestia, guitar; and Pablo Aires, percussion. Buckley, Lockett and Rangel met while playing in drumline together at Atlantic High School in Delray Beach. Prestia and Rangel, also Atlantic High School graduates, completed the band in 2001. Lockett is studying for his PhD in Psychology at FAU and Buckley is a Psychobiology major at FAU. The title of the CD was inspired by Buckley's research on how sound affects the mind.
Heather Coltman's "Dream Chasers: North American Nightscapes" is a collection of piano solos by 20th century American and Canadian composers, two of whom have been FAU faculty members. The 21 selections engage listeners in a musical investigation of the world of the mind at rest. Pieces range from lullabies that convey the tranquility of peaceful sleep to deeper compositions that evoke the more somber side of night when worries and self-reflection often take over.
Coltman started her career in her native country of Zambia at the age of five. She immigrated to the United States in 1966 and has been a top prize winner in numerous international competitions. She is currently the chair of the Department of Music at FAU, where she is a professor of music and director of keyboard studies. This album constitutes her second full-length solo accomplishment.
Though "Dream Chasers" was produced by Wisdom Recordings, which works with faculty artists, FAU students were responsible for all production, design and marketing of the CD.
"In a little over two years, the commercial music program has gone from an idea to a record label with two CDs," said William A. Covino, dean of FAU's Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters. "The program has grown to over 140 students under Professor Zager's outstanding leadership."
"Synchrofunkinicity" is available now and "Dream Chasers" will be available February 18. Both CDs can be purchased through FAU's commercial music office at 561-297-0600, at FAU School of the Arts events or anywhere the artists perform. "Synchrofunkinicity" will cost $12.99 and "Dream Chasers" will be $14.99.
The commercial music program is part of the School of the Arts' Department of Music in the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters at FAU. For further information on the commercial music program, call 561-297-0600 or visit www.fau.edu/hoot.
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