With the Formation of a New BYU Studio Orchestra, Students Will Record Music For Film and Other Media
On a spring Saturday in March, 2024, the BYU Philharmonic Orchestra gathered in the new Music Building Concert Hall to record movie scores with music professionals from Los Angeles. Director of Orchestras Nathan Haines said that this project is really just a prelude to the types of projects that the School of Music wants to do more frequently. How will they do so? By creating a studio orchestra “specifically dedicated to recording music from film, video games, television and other popular genres and even historical genres,” said Haines.
With the state of the art recording facility onsite, last spring’s recording project is a “test run” of how the School of Music can make the recording process a bigger part of the students’ experience. Haines said, “We plan to have a consistent place where music can be created by student composers who want to record something for a film or a student filmmaker.”
Haines feels strongly that music needs to be connected to other art forms—like film—and to grow with them. “The scriptures tell us it is not good for man to be alone, right?” Haines said. “Together we’re stronger, so having a dedicated ensemble specifically designed to promote collaborative experiences is perfect for the mission of the university and the mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”
Haines often advises his students that when preparing for a performance, it is wise to mimic the performance environment. He wants to mimic the recording and performance environment for the students as much as possible at BYU. “It all comes back to the motto, which I love so much, ‘Enter to learn, go forth to serve.’ We’ve been able to mimic [the performance environment] as much as we can so that the students can find success when they leave.”
The orchestra will primarily record music for student projects from the composition and arranging courses but Ron Saltmarsh, the new BYU Studio Orchestra director, hopes to eventually reach the caliber that guest artists would be interested in having the orchestra record for them. He explained that being a recording artist or musician is one of the most difficult fields in the music industry. “There is a whole different aspect of pressure when you walk into a professional recording session because you’re expected to sound as professional as if you’d rehearsed the music all semester, but you’re only given one hour of practice time,” he said. “To be a studio musician is one of the highest levels of musicianship. You have to be able to play multiple styles and improvise. Most students don’t have experience working with headphones or a click track so they will be learning these new, specific skills.”
Haines’ goal with the new studio orchestra is that graduates will be able to say something along the lines of, “Here's a video game that I wrote the soundtrack for and I recorded it here working with my other colleagues,” he said. “We want it to be a place of creation and collaboration that is specifically designed to bring these types of projects to life.”
Saltmarsh will be spearheading the project. “I’m very grateful for the ensemble and music directors,” he said. “I’ve been trying to make this happen for the 13 years I’ve worked at BYU and it is a thrill to see it come to life.”
Saltmarsh believes that the addition of a studio orchestra will set the BYU music program apart from other university programs, including from those who specialize in commercial music. He and other faculty received a grant to conduct research on existing recording orchestras nationally and internationally. They studied what makes those programs successful and are planning to incorporate what they learned into their own program.
The first iteration of the studio orchestra class and ensemble will take place Fall 2024 and is open to all music students. In addition to the orchestra’s recording projects, Saltmarsh hopes to host live performances to showcase the students’ talents and efforts in a different way.
