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Vox and the Law-of Recording -by Lois Brymer m u s i c One final piece of advice: " A p p l y well in advance for mechanical licence to perform any material that is not original music. Otherwise, your recording can be held up." With assistance from the North Shore Arts C o m m i s s i o n , the City o f North Vancouver, the District of West Vancouver and private donations Vox produced its first C D , In Treble. G©" Lois brymer is a member of Pandora's Vox. War doubled, can take a little getting used to. "It changes what singers tune to quite drastically, especially if they are used to an acoustic environment," Hunt explains. Her suggestion: keep one ear free to ensure good tuning. Pandora's Vox members agreed the group recorded best on a day when everyone was well-rested. "Rushing from work to the studio can be difficult." The Vox had the advantage o f having a great engineer and producer. " Y o u definitely need someone in the booth who w i l l hear sounds that do not necessarily reach the director," says Hunt. "Recording 12 women can be a challenge, but C B C ' s Don Harder nipped all sorts of problems in the bud, due to his expertise." " D r y mouth can sound like little clicks, not to mention the odd zap coming from lights or equipment and squeaks from un-oiled piano stools. Essentially, your recording is only going to be as good as your engineer, who you depend on for microphone placement and ultimately balance. Be sure to work with an engineer familiar with your genre of music." A s for Vox's producer, W i l l i Zwozdesky, he worked with the group before recording to perfect details which might have cut into valuable studio time. He then determined what sound Hunt wanted and where to listen for trouble spots. " W i l l i made suggestions without freaking out the singers," said Hunt. "He was always positive, encouraging and helpful. He had incredible 'bionic' ears." Hunt is also quick to acknowledge the importance of the instrumental musicians. "Our extraordinarily versatile pianist, Jennie Westcott, amazed everyone with her precision under pressure. Our bass player. Jason Lopez, and drummer. Phil Belanger, were willing to rehearse everything beforehand to get it right." Once the recording session is over, there is still editing and mixing and then production and duplication. 'ant to record a C D ? Be orga- nized or have lots o f extra money. This lesson was learned by the North Shore vocal ensemble. Pandora's Vox, when it produced itsfirst C D . While the experience was fun, exciting and worthwhile, the group discovered it was more "treble" than anticipated and has a few suggestions to pass on. "The maxim for anyone making a C D should be, ' B e prepared!,'" says Pandora's Vox director and founder, G i l l i a n Hunt. "Studio time can cost up to $300 an hour for the actual recording. A t $5 a minute, mistakes can be very costly." Before going into the studio, the ensemble spent countless hours in rehearsal, perfecting words and lyrics of the songs chosen for the C D (Vox and audience favourites from the group's diverse repertoire o f Broadway, jazz, rhythm and blues, rock, pop and classical). In total, Pandora's Vox put in 14 hours of recording time at C B C Studio 1 in Vancouver. Hunt insists it is crucial for Pandora's Vox, as seen on its new CD cover, In Treble, which will be available at their Christmas concerts at Mount Seymour United Church on Dec. 8 - 9. Call 922-2147 for details. singers to be able to start anywhere in a piece, just in case ends or sections need to be redone. She also stresses the advantage of having music memorized. " Y o u don't risk picking up the sound of rustling paper, but i f words or notes are needed, music sheets can be inserted in plastic covers. Then you just hope that no drops them." Singing with headphones, necessary when parts are overdubbed or C3 the 1995-96 Season f]_^ Book your tickets now for this series of spectacular concerts at the Orpheum Christmas with the Bach Choir December 10th Handel's Messiah December Bth & 16th Sing-Along Messiah December 17th Mendelssohn's Elijah March 30th Last Night of the Proms May 11th Subscribe by choosing at least 2 concerts and sate up in 15"» on tickets! Ticketmaster 280-3311