According to London, Ontario's Western News, students from the Don Wright Faculty of Music will join others from Fanshawe College and the Ontario Institute of Audio Recording Technology to experience what it takes to set up for a major touring show.

About 100 students will be at London’s John Labatt Centre Saturday morning to watch the installation, from load-in to sound-check, of OZZY OSBOURNE’s show.

“It will give them a window on what it takes to pull off a large professional stage performance,” said Mike Godwin, technical officer at the Faculty of Music.

“Any big touring group has to adapt their sound system to the space – and do it quickly. It is educational for students, especially if they’ve never been exposed to this before.”

The load-in consists of taking performing equipment, from microphones to pyrotechnics, from eight transport trucks and setting up in the JLC. The students will watch as the crew adjusts to the size of the stage, the acoustics of the space and conducts a sound check with the band. They will also be given a tour of the facility.

The Western students, enrolled in Theory and Composition and Music Administrative Studies, plan a career in music with technology. They are part of the newly formed student division of the London chapter of the Audio Engineering Society (AES).

“It’s a great opportunity for them to network with the people in the industry,” said Godwin. “Their meetings will include tours, masterclasses and speakers. For example, they might hear a lecture by electrical engineers discussing microphone design, to delivering a performance online.”

The AES is a non-profit, world-wide organization that connects audio professionals and students, establishes industry standards and stages conventions and conferences. There are 13,500 members, 81 professional sections and 93 students in 48 geographic regions, including China.

The Don Wright Faculty of Music is one of Canada’s top music schools with faculty and alumni who are world-renowned performers, composers, theorists, musicologists and educators.