The beginning of the month saw an education workshop held in the Sennheiser lecture theatre (which the company also sponsors) at the Liverpool Institute of the Performing Arts (LIPA), where Sennheiser UK special projects manager Phil Cummings and chief RF engineer Andrew Lillywhite delivered a two-part session to 50 students.
The first was an overview of Sennheiser, including the company's history, products, services and position in the industry. The second part of the workshop was a radio microphone 'best practice' session, which covered a range of topics including what exactly a radio microphone is, planning and frequency allocation, antennae placement, cable selection, channel 69-38 spectrum awareness and intermodulation.
"We had an audience of really strong students who asked lots of questions and all stayed completely attentive, despite the session lasting for over three hours. They were all taking notes and showed true dedication to the sound industry," says Cummings..
Chris Layton, live sound lecturer at LIPA, acknowledges the success of the seminar, saying, "The workshop covered a huge amount of ground and ran well over time. We'd planned to take a break part way through, but forgot to and didn't notice - the students are normally quick to let you know if they've had enough - and they didn't."
On 11 March, David Dwight - music and music technology teacher at High Wycombe's Misbourne School - took a party of Year 10 BTEC Music and Year 12 A-level Music Technology students to the British Music Experience (BME) in east London, where 'Old Misbournian' Cummings ran another two-part workshop. This time, a session on the history of Sennheiser was followed by A Day In The Life Of A Production Manager.
"These workshops had a special meaning for me, as I was once a student at the school," says Cummings.
Four days later, the indefatigable Cummings headed off to Bucks New University with Andrew Lillywhite, Sennheiser UK live sound specialist Dave Wooster and FOH / monitor engineer Jimmy Nicholson. Between them Wooster and Nicholson have worked with artists including Peter Gabriel, the Ting Tings, Gary Moore, Van Morrison and Leona Lewis, so were ideally placed to give advice about the realities of the industry.
"Dave and Jimmy passed on a lot of valuable advice about mixing shows and how they got to where they have in the industry," says Cummings. "We had an open Q&A between us and the students about how tough the industry can be, but also how rewarding it can be too. Despite a touch of jet lag, Jimmy said he found it very satisfying passing on his experience and the students really enjoyed it."
(Jim Evans)
