Churches and Schools
"...the production quality was excellent. The CD is a wonderful memory for our children as they grow older. Best of all, by the time we'd sold the CD's, we calculated that it hadn't cost our school a penny. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Splendid Productions to any school wishing to make a recording of their children..." -- Sister Rita Francis, Director of Music, St. Agnes School, Concord CA.
Have you ever wanted to make a high quality digital recording of your students or congregation -- for teaching purposes, or for posterity, or for fundraising (or all three)? Splendid Sound specializes in working with public and independent schools and churches in the San Francisco Bay Area. We record and produce custom compact discs or web-ready MP3 collections of live events and concerts; we're also available to do live sound reinforcement for these events.
How does it work? Let one of our customers describe what we do:
"The [Splendid] process seemed so simple. Stephen came to our school with all of his sound equipment (which greatly enhanced our own) and recorded each class performance during rehearsal. Then he came and recorded the entire evening performance. He sent me a copy of all the recordings so I could, at my convenience, listen and make notes as to which recording was the better, i.e. rehearsal versus performance. I then went to his studio in Oakland and spent a couple of hours with him working out some details. For example, we decided to create a medley of all the audience sing-a-long portions. He easily mixed these pieces into a nice beginning for the CD. The experience was entirely painless and actually quite fun. Stephen then spent some more time (without me) adding "sweeteners" to fix up some rough spots before sending the final copy to a company that laser printed the recording to the discs. How easy is that?
The CD’s came with cases. We made an art contest out of the cover, put together a little collage of pictures of the students for the inside cover; and I typed up the song titles, etc., for the back. It took the eight grade class ten minutes to assemble all the pieces.
We ordered 200 CD’s [...]. Not only are they a wonderful documentation of our music program and a keepsake for our students and their families, but they are a great fundraiser as well."
-- At the time of writing Barbara Martin was the Music teacher at St. Agnes School K-8 grade in Concord. She now teaches music at Quarry Lane School in Pleasanton.
We do the same thing for churches and public theater groups -- in all cases the process is collaborative and a very rewarding and creative experience for everyone concerned! For more detailed information, see our Frequently Asked Questions section below. We place a lot of emphasis on working with you before the event, so that things go smoothly when it matters. We have a great deal of experience in this field, and believe that attention to details is essential to success.
Custom Price List 2004/2005
The following prices all include: 24 bit digital recording, editing, mixing mastering and duplication. Laser printing on disc, full color 2 or 4 panel booklet*, tray card, shrink wrapping, shipping and tax.
The Multi Track Pack is our most popular package and here’s why.... In addition to the all the above you get “The Chance To Do It All Again”.** If time permits and for whatever reason you need to redo certain songs or even the whole performance we will happily re-record your event. You then have the luxury of choosing the best takes for your final CD. Standard includes layout, design, printing and packaging. Fund Raiser: Customer is responsible for layout, design, printing and packaging.
"... I loved working with [Splendid] and we were all thrilled to get the finished product. We'll be doing this every year from now on..." -- Mike Margulis, Music Director, St. Paul's Episcopal School, Oakland CA.
New this season, the 4-Track Concert Pack works best with choral/organ/piano/acoustic performances. It’s ideal for those lucky folks who have a nice “live” acoustic space to record using minimum PA amplification.*** Standard includes layout design and printing and packaging. Fund Raiser: Customer is responsible for layout design and printing and packaging.
On a super tight budget but want to have a CD of your kids / choir / band? Many smaller schools and churches use this pack with great success. Customer is responsible for layout and design. Includes 24 bit 2 track recording, duplication, laser printing onto disc, jewel cases and 2 color, 1 panel insert and tray card tax and shipping.
A Basic Recording Pack is also available.
Ask about the new mp3 pack. 2-Track Pack starts at $800.
* 4 panel booklet on orders of 300 discs or more. Color exterior B&W interior.
** “ The Chance To Do It All Again” is only available with the Multi Track Pack
*** To help you determine this we will provide a consultation & free 30 minute test recording prior to the event. 4-Track Concert pack only
Samples
"Parents, teachers, and students alike were amazed by the high quality of the CD that our band produced with Stephen Duffy. He achieved such excellence by establishing instant rapport with these middle school musicians and immediately gained their respect. The atmosphere that he created was especially important since the music they were recording was jazz, and therefore required extensive improvisation. He definitely was able to bring out the best in the performers, both in the session and in the studio." -- Maddie Hogan, Prospect Sierra Middle School, El Cerrito
To give you some idea of what's possible with Splendid, we've presented some sample MP3 tracks below in different categories. To listen to these you'll need a browser that understands MP3 (most browsers "know" MP3 nowadays), or an MP3 player. If your browser understands MP3, just click on the relevant link; if not, right-click on the link and use the resulting menu option to download the sample for playing with your favorite MP3 player. You can also click on the CD thumbnai limage to see a larger version of the associated CD cover.
For a full free sample CD featuring over 50 excerpts from various Splendid clients, please contact Splendid directly.
Elementary Schools
St. Paul's Episcopal School, Oakland, CA, 3rd Grade
St. Joseph the Worker's School, Berkeley CA
St. Isidore School, Danville CA
Prospect Sierra School, El Cerrito CA.
High Schools and Adult Choirs
Fremont Christian School Chorus, Fremont CA
Carondelet / De la Salle High School, Concord CA
Castilleja High School for Girls, Palo Alto
St. David's Parish Festival Choir, Richmond CA
"Easy, easy, easy! That's what it is like working with Stephen Duffy and Splendid Sound Productions. Stephen and his staff did an excellent live recording of our Concert of Classics featuring over 200 students in five performing groups. I used this recording as an audition CD for a choral festival at Carnegie Hall. We got in!
Thanks Stephen for your exceptional work."
--- Darryl Guzman, Fremont Christian High School Vocal Music Department
Some Frequently Asked Questions
Some FAQ's mostly centered around the school / church / choir packages:
How Does It Work?
1. A few days prior to the concert we come to your school or church, meet briefly with you and / or your music department head, and take a look at the room(s) we’ll be recording in. We recommend a simple test recording at this stage to test the accoustics and give you instant feedback on how you sound.
2. We record an actual rehearsal. Over the years we've actually discovered that recording the rehearsals works better trhan the final concert -- there are fewer distractions and it's easier to do retakes and overdub soloists, etc.
3. We mix all the material onto a CD-R for you to listen to and review. You decide at this stage which pieces you want on the final CD.
4. We mix and produce the master with your review and ship it to the manufacturer along with any artwork you might have. Suggestion -- talk to your art department and have the children do the art!
5. Ten days later the CD’s arrive at your school shrink wrapped and ready to sell.
How Do We Sell the CD’s?
Some ideas from previous events, mostly aimed at schools, but church groups will probably find similar things useful:
1. Announce the CD’s in your Friday Notes or at assembly and have parents pre-order them.
2. Ask parents to volunteer time to help sell them at school or church events i.e. parents night, graduation, picnics etc.
3. Send out flyers to childrens’ parents and grandparents.
4. Make sure you get as many of the children on the recording as possible.
5. Let parents know that by buying a CD they are raising money for the school.
Other Frequently Asked Questions
How much time do I need to reserve the service?
Generally speaking, the more time the better. This coming year is already starting to get booked and many schools like to use their annual Christmas concert for the CD. Most of the concerts fall in the same week, unfortunately, creating quite a rush on our resources
How do I guarantee a booking?
The best way to do this is to contact us as soon as you know the date of the event you want recorded, and talk with us to arrange the details.
How does the Fundraiser Package work?
If you have the time and the resources, we recommend that you do the artwork, printing, and packaging yourselves. However, Splendid Productions is associated with an excellent graphics design artist and can make a very professional-looking CD. This is purely a matter of taste and economics.
How long does it take before we get the finished product? For example, we’d like to have it as a Christmas gift!
Well, every situation is different. Christmas time is typically the busiest time of the year for CD manufacturers. Even so, I can generally have the CD turned around within ten days of your approval.
