Wilmette Junior High celebrates new source of sound and vision

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8th grader Jordan Xidas and Steve Ponte, the contractor who built the studio, look over the recording XidasWilmette Junior High Schools new recording studio on 2/3/12. | Joel Lerner~Sun-Times Media

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Updated: March 11, 2012 8:21AM

Music makers and audiophiles the world over know what it means to say, “We can fix it in the mix.” Now, thanks to a $15,000 grant from the District 39 Educational Foundation, students at Wilmette Junior High School will have the chance to fix their own mixes, in the new Paul Tilley recording studio.

Teacher and students who will benefit from the studio, built and named to honor the memory of District 39 parent Paul Tilley, checked out its capabilities last week during its official Feb. 3 dedication.

The foundation financed the studio through its Paul Tilley Music Fund, established by foundation fine arts co-chair Cristina Tilley in memory of her husband, who died in 2008.

“The recording studio seemed like the perfect way to honor Paul’s memory,” Tilley said before the dedication. “He was an exceptionally creative person who loved music. I wanted to do something that would celebrate music and encourage our kids to express their creativity.”

Ann West, the foundation’s marketing chair, agreed Monday.

“We thought what a good idea it was to enable kids to be able to record their own music … we had been holding on, because we had to make sure there was space for the studio, but once (Principal) Dave Palzet was able to find an old office we could retrofit, we were able to move forward,” she said.

Work on the studio took place over the summer, West said. Steve Pont, a professional audio consultant who designs studios for music and advertising professionals, helped pick out the new space’s equipment, while district parent Stan Xidas donated his contracting experience to turn the unused office into a studio. Foundation member and parent Tim Scherman customized a window in the studio, to help optimize sound in the room.

“You can record in the studio itself, or if you have a bigger group they can play in the bigger room adjacent to the studio, and people in the studio will be able to see them as they work,” West said.

Teachers already have begun to find ways to make use of the studio in their curriculum plans, and the Youth Connection, which provides after-school opportunities for children in fifth through eighth grades, is also exploring studio possibilities, she said, “so it’s very much a community thing.”

“That’s what is so great about the foundation. We can provide money for our schools to be able to offer things like this, that can make the learning experience that much better.”

The nonprofit District 39 Educational Foundation raises and grants funds for projects that expand, enrich and complement educational opportunities for students, staff and community. It provides programs and materials that can’t be funded with tax dollars alone.

District 39 Superintendent Ray Lechner praised foundation members for making the project possible.

Lechner also thanked Tilley, “whose vision, energy and perseverance took this project from initial concept to this state-of-the-art recording studio,” he said.