Voyagers Greatest Hits!
Rabun County’s High Performance Middle School Musicians
TAKE ONE: Music Student and Vocalist, Ashlynn waits for her cue in the recording studio while taking part in the Rabun County/SHMF Music Performance program. 
FROM THE TOP: Anna Raye, keyboardist, records her contribution to the student CD at the Blue Ridge Music Academy. The recording experience is part of the Rabun County School’s Music Performance program for middle school students. 
ON THE KEYBOARD: Rabun County Student, Cooper, runs through his music selection in the Blue Ridge Music Academy recording studio. Studio recording is part of the Rabun County School and Southern Highland Music Foundation Music Performance program for middle school students. 
FEED BACK: Student Vocalist, Hayden, listens to one of his vocal takes in the recording studio. He is part of the Rabun County School’s Music Performance program for middle school students. 
PURE ROCK: Guitarist, Clayton, is part of the Rabun County/SHMF music performance program for middle school students. His participation in the recording experience segment is part of the Rabun County School’s Music Performance program for middle school students. 
HIGH PERFORMANCE: Rabun County Student and Vocalist, Molly, records her selection for the Rabun County School CD in the Blue Ridge Music Academy’s recording studio. Student recordings are part of the Rabun County School’s Music Performance program for middle school students. 
JUST LIKE JAMMING: Rabun County student, JT, prepares to record his electric guitar track on the new student CD. His recording experience is part of the Rabun County School’s Music Performance program for middle school students. 
TUNING UP: Bimi checks the tuning on his banjo in preparation for a recording session at the Blue Ridge Music Academy. The recording experience is part of the Rabun County School and Southern Highland Music Foundation Music Performance program for middle school students. 
LAYING DOWN THE BASS LINE: In the recording studio, Student Bassist, Jack, works on his recording for the class CD. The studio recording experience is part of the Rabun County Music Performance program for middle school students. 
SETTING THE BEAT: Rabun County Student Percussionist, Tessa, sets the rhythm for the Rabun County/SHMF CD recording at the Blue Ridge Music Academy studio. Student recording practice is part of the Rabun County School’s Music Performance program for middle school students.
A new music CD, entitled “Voyagers Greatest Hits Vol. 1” has been produced by the Southern Highland Music Foundation (SHMF) and features instrumental and vocal tracks performed by a group of Rabun County 8th grade students enrolled in a unique Music Performance class. Production of the CD capped the 2019-2020 school year’s general music program.
Tom Nixon, CEO of SHMF, said, “It is very rare to have a Music Performance instruction program offered in public schools. Our SHMF Board of Directors voted to pay for the CD production to give these students real-world recording experience and to ensure each student would have a memento of their creative work and collaboration.”
Recording under the direction of Blue Ridge Music Academy’s Studio Engineer, Chris Miller, the students produced their vocal and instrumental pieces during the spring term of the school year. Production was halted briefly during the Coronavirus lockdown, but final editing and master CD production were completed in time for the new school year. Copies of the CD were made available at no cost to each of the students courtesy of SHMF.
Ten students contributed performances to the CD with music tracks ranging from classic rock and bluegrass to solo vocal performances with guitar accompaniment.
Miller said, “I’ve worked with many professional musicians in the recording studio over the years and I was impressed with the amount of preparation, practice and professionalism these students brought to the studio. Everyone is nervous when that red light goes on and recording begins, and we did a number of ‘takes’ to get each track right, but every one of these high performers showed me that they were serious about their work.”
Southern Highland Music Foundation
The SHMF is pleased to announce that it recently received its 501(c)(3) status as a nonprofit organization.