Audium’s Spatial Sound in Schools program and public education workshops are dedicated to developing the ears of beginning listeners and advanced musicians alike. Through these programs, students and artists are shown the potential of immersive audio environments and given instruction in the control of sound movement.

Spatial Sound in Schools

A semester-long program offered free to public high schools in partnership with SFUSD and Oakland School District. Students learn methods of deep listening and the art of composing spatial sound. Workshops are held by staff and residency alumni, both in-class and at Audium. By semester’s end, each student composes a site-specific piece shared in a student showcase night at Audium.

Audium offers this program – including staff time and venue use – to public schools at no cost. We loan portable in-class spatial audio kits to each classroom, aiding students in the mixing process. Audium Artist-in-residence mentors also visit the classroom, sharing personal journeys and demonstrating how experimental music can bridge histories and honor community traditions.

For many students, this program marks the first time their compositions are experienced in a professional sound environment. When presenting their work to family and friends at the student showcase, students gain a level of validation and visibility they rarely receive.

Teachers: Get in touch to learn more. 

Student Workshops

Part of Audium’s mission is to illuminate the immense sound world around us. We encourage new ideas in sound and music through targeted student workshops. Our school program offers an informative introduction to Audium’s sound world.  Young listeners are guided through various scenes, each demonstrating a different aspect of what it means to create a “sound-sculptured space.” Afterwards, students are given a chance to create a sound-environment themselves, triggering and controlling sounds using one of Audium’s midi or touchscreen controllers.

Teachers: Get in touch to set up a date for your class. 

Public Workshops

Audium’s public workshops introduce participants to the language of composing for sound and space. These programs expose artists and musicians to Audium’s philosophy of sound and space, based on over 50 years’ worth of experience in the field.

Public workshops are held quarterly; participants are taught how to think beyond just one’s eyes and ears- to the entire experience. These learning sessions challenge participants think deeply about our sonic world and encourages them to untether their imaginations.

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Audium’s educational programing is made possible in part through the support of the California Arts Council.