Audio Engineering Society Singapore Section

On Friday, 27 August 99 at 7.30 pm, an eager group of 10 AES members and 23 guests gathered at the Music Technology Centre at the Department of Software Technology, Singapore Polytechnic, Dover Rd to attend the AES Singapore Section meeting. We were there to explore this brand new interactive complex that is a certified Steinberg Training Centre for the region. Robert Ellis-Geiger a lecturer at the faculty was the speaker and tour guide for the evening. 
 

Geiger an AES member himself introduced the design concept of the centre in which he was actively involved since the conception of the facility. The centre offers besides the Singapore Polytechnic diploma in software engineering, full and part-time courses recognised by the Queensland Conservatories of Music, the Australian Institute of Music and Steinberg company. These courses are also open to mature and professional musicians who want to upgrade themselves. 

The facility itself is totally wired, pardon the expression. What impressed me were the forty-networked multimedia workstations in the main lecture Hall. Here, under the watchful eyes of the lecturer, students are led into the world of audio, music, video and multimedia composition and editing. Looming in front of the neat rows of workstations is a projection screen and space for live performances to reinforce the day's lesson. So they've had musicians providing that odd performance or recital for a captive audience of students. 
 

Each workstation runs Steinberg's Cubase Audio VST sequencer software with an Alesis keyboard attached for students to use in realtime audio recordings or to create MIDI events. This dynamic environment runs on both Windows NT and Macintosh. You may be sceptical, but it does work. Course material, music scores, biographies, audio files and work sessions are accessible from the Internet and on an internal network. This system represents the working concept of the "virtual college" that is promoted by the Singapore Polytechnic. Next year, apparently, this system will be further enhanced with the introduction of Avid video editing system in the curriculum. 
 

Adjacent to the lecture room is a spanking brand new 5:1 surround sound digital post-production recording studio complex. The digital console is a Panasonic Ramsa connected to a Macintosh G3 running Cubase with a separate terminal for digital video playback. Examples to reinforce lessons on microphone techniques and studio etiquette are provided in realtime through a main distribution channel that can be controlled from the lecturer's terminal in the lecture room. 

Geiger explained that the recording room is totally integrated with the computer network of the lecture Hall for the students to hear instructions on post-production audio mastering, audio to video, audio to film, music composition, MIDI sequencing techniques, audio for multimedia. He then went on to demonstrate film scoring & mixing in surround sound of a movie for attendees who were keen to learn the intricacies of audio for video. At the close of the meeting at 9 pm the feedback from attendees were good..For students to effectively learn audio engineering, mastering and mixing in a group setting, this seems to be it. I mean, I'm a lecturer, and I wish I had one of these… 
 

AES Singapore Section would like to thank the Singapore Polytechnic and especially the Music Technology Centre and it's staff for a memorable evening.

Copyright 1999 AES Singapore Section