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Aspiring DJs, producers and engineers: Jumpstart your career at the new LightHouse Audio Academy Workshops

Aspiring DJs, producers and engineers: Jumpstart your career at the new LightHouse Audio Academy Workshops

LightHouse’s new immersive program launches in fall 2018 to educate blind and low vision students for careers in music, radio, recording and more.

October 15 preview: Meet other aspiring blind DJ’s and get a performance from working DJ Ryan Dour at a free Audio Academy DJ Demo Night!

This fall LightHouse is pleased to announce our new Audio Academy, an ongoing series of immersive courses to teach employable skills in the field of audio engineering and production. For our first course, we are partnering with the Illinois-based, blind-run I See Music, the only school in the nation that offers a comprehensive audio education curriculum for blind and low vision learners.

“Intro to DJing” will be a 3-day intensive workshop, which will host a small group of students in our dorm-style residences over two nights for an immersive, high-value learning experience. The course will introduce students to the software Deejay Pro and teach students the basics of a fully accessible and non-visual DJ method. See full course details below.

The workshop will also include a comprehensive discussion of the vocational opportunities in the DJ field from Byron Harden, founder and CEO of I See Music. Come spend the weekend with your fellow audio heads, and learn the skills needed for competitive employment in the music and entertainment industry.

What is Audio Academy?

Back in the days of analog, being a blind radio disc jockey, record producer or even a house engineer was not out of the question. But with the turn of the century and the turn to digital, the industry traded knobs, buttons and sliders for inaccessible graphic user interfaces on screens. For several years, the accessibility of the audio industry screeched to a halt.

Today, the landscape is greatly improved: industry leaders like Apple, AVID, Algoriddim and Native Instruments have made commitments to accessibility, and blind individuals can finally operate the tools of the trade to become studio owners, radio producers and musicians in a competitive working environment.

LightHouse Audio Academy will continue over the course of the year with talks, informal gatherings and more immersive weekends (each weekend will focus on a different topic, software or hardware application).

Please note: all who are interested in the workshop must fill out our brief application form.

LHAA 101: Intro to DJing Workshop

When: Friday, Nov. 9 at 9 a.m. – Sunday Nov. 11 at 5 p.m. (3 days, 2 nights)

Where: LightHouse for the Blind offices and residences – 1155 Market Street., San Francisco, CA 94103

Who: For all blind and low vision students

Fee: $800, (includes 2-night overnight stay, breakfast and lunch for 3 days)

Prerequisites: Ability to navigate with VoiceOver on Mac OS

Equipment: Apple workstations will be provided to students for the weekend if necessary, but bringing your own computer (Mac OS or iPad only) and Deejay Pro-compatible DJ controller is recommended.

Apply: To apply for a spot in the first workshop you must fill out our brief Audio Academy application form, located here.

If you’re still unsure, join us on October 15 at 7 p.m. to get a sneak peak of what it’s like to blind DJ at our free preview event.

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