Shure Incorporated has revealed the ten colleges and universities that have been selected at random to participate in the final round of its annual Fantastic Scholastic Recording Competition.
In its tenth consecutive year, the Shure contest gives students from academic institutions in the U.S. and Canada unique access to the same high-quality Shure equipment used by professional musicians live and in the studio, including award-winning artists such as Florida Georgia Line, Imagine Dragons, Matt & Kim, The National, Wilco, and fun. Students from the selected schools will compete for a prize package valued at more than $11,000.
This year’s participants include:
Berklee College of Music, Boston, MA
Daytona State College, Daytona Beach, FL
Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY
Lamont School of Music at University of Denver, Denver, CO
MacEwan University, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN
The Hartt School at University of Hartford, West Hartford, CT
University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, MO
University of Colorado Denver, Denver, CO
University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
The student teams will have three months to track and mix an original piece of music, using a microphone locker provided by Shure. The contents of the locker include two KSM313, two KSM32, two KSM44A, one KSM42, two KSM141, four SM57, two SM27-SC, one BETA 52A, one Beta 91A, three BETA 98AMP, two BETA 181/S each with an additional Omni capsule, one SM7B, one VP88, and one A27M.
When the original composition recording projects are complete, the submissions will be reviewed by a panel of expert judges who are hand-picked by Shure. The judges, who in past competitions have included audio visionaries such as Ken Caillat, Elliot Scheiner, Leslie Ann Jones, and Al Schmitt, will evaluate the recordings based on overall fidelity, clarity, sonic balance, and creativity in selection and placement of microphones. The grand prize winner will be awarded with Shure products that include KSM, SM, and Beta microphones as well as SRH headphones. Runners-up and honorable mention school prizes include an assortment of Shure microphones and headphones. Members of the top three student teams will also receive prizes of Shure gear that range from a KSM42 microphone to a SM27 microphone to SRH840 headphones.
“Shure has always made it a high priority to educate customers and provide them with the information and products they need to do their jobs, make their music…create their art,” said Stephen Kohler, senior director of marketing, Shure Americas. “This competition epitomizes this notion by inviting teams of talented young, student engineers to push themselves…to push their creative limits, and create projects using the same gear that has been used for years by professional recording studios, engineers, and musicians."
