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Vinyl cutting station at saint rose

The College of Saint Rose has once again been named a recipient of a grant by The Les Paul Foundation, which will provide funding to support students in the music industry program.

The Les Paul Foundation grant will allow Saint Rose students and faculty to explore Les Paul’s achievements in music technology through existing classes, demonstrations, and workshops. The Les Paul Foundation inspires innovative and creative thinking by sharing the legacy of Les Paul through the support of music education, recording, innovation, and medical research related to hearing. Recipients are asked not to disclose grant amounts.

The funds for Saint Rose will build upon a 2017 Les Paul Foundation grant, which enabled the College to create an analog recording station where students could press and cut vinyl records. Drawing upon new research into Les Paul’s inventions in recording and music technology, this year’s grant will allow for prototyping of musical instruments and products. The funds will also assist with the modification and restoration of analog recording machines in the historic Les Paul collection of equipment.

“Les Paul’s homemade record lathe and other studio equipment were customized by Les and his friends, and each was used in recorded experiments and in the production of some of his most daring music,” said Dr. Sean McClowry, associate professor of music industry. “The funds for Saint Rose will build upon a 2017 Les Paul Foundation grant, which enabled the College to create an analog recording environment, where students could cut records and record with magnetic tape machines.”

Beginning this summer with the purchasing and gathering of the materials and special tools, these new aspects of Les Paul’s work in student learning will be implemented in the 2020-2021 academic year and will serve as an integral part of the music industry curriculum for years to come.

“The College of Saint Rose has created one of the most innovative programs at the university level to teach students about the music industry. By creating a studio where each student is challenged to create music through analog and vinyl cutting machines, the school has given today’s youth an opportunity to enhance Les’s inventions and learn valuable techniques that are still important today,” said Michael Braunstein, executive director of The Les Paul Foundation. “The College of Saint Rose has done an outstanding job in recognizing and celebrating Les Paul’s legacy and we are very proud to be part of the program.”

In 2016, Saint Rose hosted Les Paul’s Big Sound Experience, a mobile interactive exhibit that took visitors behind the scenes and into the world of the music legend. Officials from the Les Paul Foundation stated that they selected Saint Rose as the tour’s Albany stop because of the renown of the College’s music industry program. Billboard magazine has named Saint Rose one of the top music business programs in North America three times.

Saint Rose is home to the Rose Record Label Group, a student-run record label, publishing, and production company with more than 75 students served each semester. Since Fall 2011, enrollment in Music Industry has nearly doubled to its present level of 115 to 125 students annually. In February 2019, the College dedicated an enhanced performance space, Studio G3, thanks to the generous philanthropy of Saint Rose Trustee George R. Hearst III and The Little Red School House Fund of The Community Foundation of the Greater Capital Region.

Julia Gargano, a music industry senior from Staten Island, recently finished in the top seven of “American Idol” and later performed her original song “Growing Pains” on the national morning show “LIVE with Kelly and Ryan.”

The College of Saint Rose is a private, independent, coeducational institution of higher education in Albany, New York, offering more than 100 bachelor’s and master’s degree programs, and certificate programs. Through a strong liberal arts education curriculum and professional academic programs, the College serves undergraduate and graduate students, working professionals, international students, and more. Saint Rose marks its 100th anniversary in September 2020.