Media Arts Students Win Recording Award
Evan Martin, New Orleans Science and Mathematics High School, NOCCA Level II Media Arts &
Aleah Hyers, East Jefferson High School, NOCCA Level III Media Arts
NOCCA Media Arts Students Win
DownBeat Contest
NOCCA is proud to announce that Media Arts students Evan Martin, a junior at New Orleans Science and Mathematics High School, and Aleah Hyers, a senior at East Jefferson High School, received the prestigious award for best Engineered Studio Recording | Performing Arts High School in the nation as selected by the 41st Annual Downbeat Student Music Awards. The duo received this honor from their submission of three recordings, which include the NOCCA Big Band and two pieces of work recorded for solo New Orleans artists.
In the fall of 2017, the students began working with NOCCA audio production artist-teacher, Joseph Ceponis, who taught them the art of engineering. The students credit Ceponis and the resources they have at NOCCA, to the work they were able to complete outside of classroom.
“In two months what we learned in the studio were the fundamentals to make something great,” Martin said. “Those are things that Ceponis gave us. This is the only place we could have learned these skills because NOCCA provides us with the tools.”
Upon entering NOCCA, Martin knew he had an interest in studio recording. “I had come in knowing I had an interest in sound. I started to grasp the concept of studio art in our classroom studio. It was a lot of learning,” Martin said. “Recording the NOCCA Jazz students was the first studio piece that I had turned from a performance, to a piece of work.”
Initially, the students worked on the Jazz piece to add diversity to their portfolio. Entering the recording into the contest was not really part of the production plan. Hyers said, “By the end, we felt good about what we done, but when we decided to submit it, we thought it was a possibility to win. This award is a legacy award within the NOCCA Media Arts department.”
The two professionals in training already have their next projects in the works. Martin will be interning this summer at Esplanade Studios. Meanwhile, Hyers is completing the final touches to her 10-track debut album, “Relentless”.