Music Tech Day invites high schoolers into the Con's digital universe

On the 21st July, the Conservatorium was lucky enough to welcome around 50 high school students to the Music Tech Day - an inaugural event that aims to de-mystify the music tech experience at the Con and show prospective students the diversity and sheer awesomeness they can achieve in one of our digital music-focused degrees.

Watch a short video about the Music Tech Day here.

It was an absolute whirlwind from start to finish - as soon as students arrived they were greeted with a chill DJ set from one of our first year students, Daniel.

Our new 'flight cases' are designed to take music tech experiences to schools. Here, put to good use as a portable DJ station to welcome students.

After grabbing coffees from Mario and the team at Piccolo Me (which has to be the best café on any USYD campus), we all funnelled into the Music Workshop to hear a rousing Hardstyle set from Jasper, another of our trailblazing first year Digital students.

Student Jasper is gearing up for one of the most energetic 10 am performances I've ever had the honour of witnessing.

The rest of the day was spent hopping from one workshop to the next: interactive installations, field recording, gaming soundtracks, songwriting, microtonal composition...Our staff and students pulled out all the stops to create immersive and engaging experiences for our guests.

The 'Recording in the Wild' workshop allowed students time to roam the Botanic Gardens in search of field recordings.

Lunchtime brought a panel discussion followed by a performance and masterclass from student Jessie, whose ability to sing, manipulate live sound using wearable controllers and then generously explain how it all worked...was legendary.

Digital Music and Media Student Jessie Newling explains her performing apparatus...so cool!

By the time 4pm rolled around, everyone was pooped. But happy.

It makes me incredibly proud to be part of events that raise the profile of our digital offerings at the Conservatorium. But even more importantly, these outreach initiatives will make studying digital music possible for a wider range of budding musicians. The phrase 'if you can see it, you can be it' hasn't come about without cause; the Music Tech Day showcased a diverse range of staff and students working across different aspects of music tech to remind students that no matter who they are or how they show up in their music, they are welcome with us.