Photo via Wisconsin Conservatory of Music
MusicCreation Station
Have you ever wanted to live out a rock star fantasy, or have a jam session with the rest of the city of Milwaukee? A new feature from the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music allows you to do just that, with the MusiCreation Station, a mobile recording studio that gives Milwaukeeans of all ages and backgrounds access to musical instruments and a chance to record themselves.
In addition to being open to the public at Summerfest for the duration of the festival, the mobile studio will be, well, mobile through October. With electronic drum kits, microphones, guitars and more, the sound lab is designed to encourage experimentation. Whether you’re a virtuoso, or have always wanted to imitate your musical heroes, you’re welcome and encouraged to do so.
“We’re always looking for ways to make programs more accessible” said Shalisa Kline Ugaz, executive vice president of the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. “We’ve been doing so many things in the last few years. Going into schools, providing assistance, starting instrument drives, but we’re always looking to push the boundaries of what it means to be accessible.”
Inspired by the Beatles Bus in London, a project that lets fans play music alongside the Fab Four, the project aims to inspire Milwaukeeans to pick up instruments and enrich themselves through music. It also creates awareness for music education and the needs of fine arts programs. Plus, there’s plenty of fun to be had along the way.
“Our goal is to be in all of the zip codes in Milwaukee eventually” explained Kline Ugaz. “We just started a month ago. We were so lucky to have the opportunity to come to Summerfest, because it’s the perfect opportunity to reach people from all over Milwaukee. The objective is that you don’t have to know how to play an instrument, or you could be a professional. We have the ability to teach you and let you try things out.”
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In order to get the city’s residents even more engaged, the conservatory is creating a “Milwaukee 414” song, utilizing the mobile recording gear and hundreds of tracks being recorded in the MusiCreation Station. The song is being assembled for publishing on January 1, and is just the first of what could be many themed songs to be released by the Conservatory.
“We’ll see how many tracks we can get” said Kline Ugaz. “You can put the vocals together to sounds like a choir. Our hope is to use as many tracks as possible.”
You can add your voice or instrumentation to the Milwaukee 414 song at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music tent on the south end of the Summerfest grounds throughout the festival. For more MusiCreation Station stops through October, visit the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music website.
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