The studios are available for use by Conservatory students and faculty and the UMKC community. Recordings can be made in White Recital Hall, Grant Recital Hall, the Conservatory's multi-track recording studio and other locations on or off campus. Recital and audition recordings made in the recital halls are scheduled through the Office of Concert Activities. All other recording sessions must be scheduled directly with the studio.
Contact Bob Beck in PAC 515. Please plan ahead as the studio calendar fills up quickly, especially near the end of each semester. Please book all recording projects at least two weeks in advance to allow us to secure staffing, materials and equipment for your project.
The Conservatory requires that all degree recitals (those necessary for the completion of a degree) be professionally recorded by staff engineers at the performer's expense. These recordings are scheduled through the Office of Concert Activities and the $75 recording fee must be paid in advance. A digital stereo master recording is produced for permanent storage in the Conservatory Recording archives, and the performer receives a link to the files for personal use.
The studio can also create video recordings of recitals for an additional charge of $50. Concert/recital videos are single-camera, documentation-grade recordings. The camera is located in the recording booth and is not panned or zoomed during the performance. Video recordings include the high-quality audio from our microphones rather than the camera's built-in audio. The final video files are shared electronically with the performer — no DVDs or other physical media options are available.
Demo sessions are produced in the recital halls or recording studios with a staff engineer. These recordings are used for many purposes, including scholarship applications, contest entries and admission to schools, workshops and master classes. The sessions are billed by the hour (see rates below) in 15-minute increments. Studio time includes setup, recording, listening, editing and tear-down/strike; any work done with an engineer. Take your master CD home and listen there. If you need editing or duplication you may set up another session.
Some demo sessions occur in the fifth floor studios, but for most music styles we recommend recording in the recital halls. Our schedule is fairly flexible, and if you can schedule a recital hall, we should be able to find an engineer to record you. Contact the Office of Concert Activities to schedule the recital hall and the Piano Technicians to have a piano tuned (if necessary), then contact the studio staff to schedule a recording engineer.
| Current Conservatory students, faculty and staff: | $60 per hour, plus materials |
| All others*: | $85 per hour, plus materials |
*The recording studio does not normally accept non-University projects. Please contact one of the many commercial studios in the Kansas City area for assistance.
Conservatory Recording can perform audio transfers to and from most popular formats, including compact disc (CD), cassette, LP record, digital audio tape (DAT), MiniDisc (MD), ADAT, 2" 24-track and 1/4" analog tape (1/2-track or 1/4-track, 3.75 ips, 7.5 ips, 15 ips or 30 ips) If you need audio copied from MiniDisc, we recommend you bring the recorder that was used to make the original recording. Our professional MD player cannot play back discs that are recorded using the LP feature available on many portable recorders.
We can duplicate recordings of concerts and recitals that are stored in the archives. Depending on the format of the master recording and its age, these transfers can cost $10–100 and up.
Prices for duplication vary depending on the amount of time and number of copies required. Contact us for more information about your specific project.
