SUNY Broome students record national anthem for new Binghamton High video boards

Students in a SUNY Broome Fast Forward music recording and production class recorded the Star-Spangled Banner for the new video boards at Alumni Stadium and for display in the Binghamton High School gym during a recent recording session at the school. A SUNY Broome instructor said the district communications office approached the class to produce the performances and recordings.

The instructor said, “I teach a SUNY Broome Fast Forward course of music recording and production, and my class was approached by the district communications to record our students who sing and to do the national anthem for our brand new video boards on the all purpose field over at Alumni Stadium as well as the gym here at Binghamton High School.” That arrangement, the instructor said, created an opportunity for both students who performed and those who worked on the recording and editing.

A student who took part in the recording said the experience was “very nerve wracking, but more in a good way. It’ll definitely get my face out there. And for the type of career I wanna do, which is radio host or voice actor, I think it’s perfect to let the world know who I am.” Another student described technical aspects learned during the session: “In music production, we also learned how to do recording. So today we were recording Corey sing the Star Spangled Banner, and kind of stuff that goes into it. Like with the recording, the mic that he was singing into, we had to hook up to the camera. So that the, audio that goes into the microphone, it goes straight to the camera. So like clear audio.”

A different student, who said they had not taken music production before, described gaining new perspective on the production process: “Being able to see how they set up the camera, the mics, and how they do all that, and make us sound so good and look so good on camera, it’s just a cool experience altogether.” The instructor added that the project provided hands-on learning for students who produced and edited the recording as well as performance experience for student singers.

The recording project will be used for the school’s new video displays at Alumni Stadium and inside the gym, giving student performers and production students an audience beyond the classroom. One participating student urged peers to enroll, saying, “All students should take this class. It’s really, really beneficial. Like, it this can really take you places in the real world.”