IMPORTANT NOTE: These are the archived stories for Belmont News & Achievements prior to June 26, 2023. To see current stories, click here.

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Belmont’s Rock Showcase Features Top-of-the-Line, Recently Released Sound System Technology

Hope Buckner
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Belmont’s Rock Showcase Features Top-of-the-Line, Recently Released Sound System Technology

University’s production one of the first in the world to showcase the system

At Belmont University’s recent 2019 Rock Showcase, d&b audiotechnik’s KSL Line Array, one of the newest sound system technologies to hit the market, was provided by local touring sound specialists Spectrum Sound. The system was announced a mere two weeks earlier at NAMM.

The KSL line array, coupled with the associated SL-Sub, presents a major leap forward in live concert touring technology, and Belmont’s Rock Showcase was one of the first applications using this technology by Spectrum Sound and anyone else in the industry.

Students from Instructor of Audio Engineering Technology Scott Munsell’s Advanced Sound Reinforcement Class and Sound Systems Engineering Class worked alongside professional engineers and Belmont alumni Rudd Lance, Ashley Burns, Dylan Summerville and Jordan Baker from Spectrum Sound and Parnelli Award-winning System Engineer Andrew Dowling from Clair Global before and during the show.

In the weeks leading up to the show, Regional Manager and Belmont alumnus Jeremy Seawell, Product Manager Werner “Vier” Bayer and Head of R&D Acoustics Matthias Christner of d&b audiotechnik paid a visit to the Sound Systems Engineering Class to explain the technology behind the array and answer student questions about its deployment and application.

Coincidentally, this ties into an upcoming study abroad trip headed by Audio Engineering Technology faculty Ben Poff and Scott Munsell to the d&b factory in Backnang, Germany for a study on the design and manufacture of sound reinforcement systems.

Belmont Vision Brings Home Awards from Southeast Journalism Conference

Staff Writer
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Belmont Vision Brings Home Awards from Southeast Journalism Conference

Over the weekend of February 14-16, Belmont’s student newspaper The Belmont Vision won 11 awards and ranked first overall in the Southeast Journalism Conference on-site competition. A group of 24 Belmont students attended and participated in the conference competitions, and many attendees won individual awards.

The Vision won five awards in the Best of the South competition for content published from November 2017 to November 2018. The winners were selected out of 442 entries from 31 schools. Editor Bronte Lebo won first place for Best News Writer and third place for Best Feature Writer, Senior Video Reporter Caitlyn Alexandar won first place for Best TV News Feature Reporter, Managing Editor Melissa Kriz won fourth place for Best Opinion-Editorial Writer and Sports Editor Steven Boero won sixth place for Best Sports Writer.

By winning six awards in the on-site competition, the group earned Belmont enough points to place overall in the on-site sweepstakes. Joe Bendekovic won first place for News Writing, Justin Wagner won first place for Current Events, Rob Redel won first place for Media History and Law and Ethics, Marissa Avnaim won second place for TV Anchoring, Audio Manager Jason Saitta won second place for Radio News Reporting and Photo Editor Carina Eudy won third place for Sports Photography.

The Southeast Journalism Conference is an academic organization focused on encouraging greater interest in student journalism and forming closer ties among journalism schools across the Southeast including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. SEJC 2019 was hosted at Middle Tennessee State University.

Bruins Return to Campus for Homecoming 2019

Hope Buckner
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Bruins Return to Campus for Homecoming 2019

Belmont’s 2019 Homecoming celebration brought many Bruins back to campus for the week-long schedule of events held February 18-23. The theme, A Celebration of University Life, featured activities and festivities that appealed to students, faculty, staff and alumni.

The week began with a special Chapel centered around Mission Monday and included a non-profit fair where organizations from around the Nashville area displayed their work for members of the Belmont community. The day concluded with a student trivia night, hosted the Student Activity Programming Board. On T-Shirt Tuesday, Belmont students were encouraged to ‘give a shirt, get a shirt’ as this year’s Homecoming t-shirts were distributed on campus.

Senior Leadership Popcorn bar at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, February 20, 2019.WOW Wednesday provided an opportunity for ‘pop-up events’ to celebrate Homecoming in a unique way. The day began with doughnut holes and coffee in the Massey Lobby, a crowd favorite sponsored by the University Staff Affairs Council and ended with a surprise Zumba class sponsored by CHARG, a student organization dedicated to women who are interested in athletics and movement. The day also included a popcorn bar hosted by members of Belmont’s Senior Leadership Team.

Thank You Thursday included opportunities for Belmont faculty, staff and students to write thank you notes, and a Belmont Faithful Donors Luncheon was hosted in Harrington Place Dining. The weekend’s events began on FANtastic Friday with the Homecoming Chapel and the annual Homecoming in the Round Concert.

Saturday was packed with events including the Homecoming Prayer & Worship Ceremony, the annual Tailgate at the Tower, the Homecoming Carillon Concert and a series of meet-ups for alumni across campus.

The Belmont Women Bruins beat Eastern Illinois 98-57 at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, February 21, 2019.The Belmont Women Bruins beat Eastern Illinois 98-57 at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, February 21, 2019.At 3 p.m., the women’s basketball team kicked off a day of successful sporting events as they defeated SIU Edwardsville in the Curb Event Center with a final score of 87-54 (and accepted their OVC Championship Trophy). Immediately after, the Men’s Basketball Team defeated SIUE with a similarly impressive score of 97-75.

The Curb was ablaze all evening as both games were the final home events for the men’s and women’s basketball teams – meaning their seniors won’t find themselves playing on that floor again. To celebrate the moment, the women’s game began with a senior presentation where each senior was recognized alongside her family members.

The evening ended with a huge celebration of Men’s Basketball Head Coach Rick Byrd’s most recent accolade – his 800th career victory, achieved in the Curb just two nights prior. Byrd was presented with the game ball from that win, a special jersey with an iconic ‘800’ on the back and a special trophy. He took center court after both games ended, thanking his family, staff members, players – past and present, administration and most importantly, God.

Homecoming 2020’s dates have been set and the team will soon begin meeting to plan events. We’ll see you next year for yet another successful celebration of University life! 

Belmont Faculty to Research Digital Preservation of Music Row Studios’ Aural Heritage

April Hefner
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Belmont Faculty to Research Digital Preservation of Music Row Studios’ Aural Heritage

Dr. Doyuen Ko, associate professor of audio engineering in Belmont University’s Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business, was recently awarded a $350,000 grant for a study he’s pursuing on digital preservation of aural heritage in conjunction with his colleague at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). The second largest grant recipient of 253 humanities projects to recently receive grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Ko’s work will digitally replicate the acoustics of historic structures, including legendary Nashville Music Row studios, to establish protocols for preserving the aural heritage of culturally significant sites.

Ko, along with co-principal investigator Dr. Sungyoung Kim (RIT) and aural heritage consultant Dr. Miriam Kolar, noted in their grant proposal that building acoustics influence human experience, particularly in religious, performance and other public gathering spaces. “For centuries, across music history, composers and performers have viewed performance rooms as musical instruments, with distinct tonal, spatial and dynamic character,” they wrote. “Composers have sought to include the interaction of players and rooms within their music, and instrument makers consider a room response to sound.”

Dr. Doyuen Ko and students work in the anechoic room.

Aural heritage preservation is a form of heritage conservation that documents and recreates the auditory experience of culturally important places, enabling virtual interaction through physics-based reconstructions of acoustical dynamics. A two-step process is involved in aural heritage preservation. First, researchers must capture and document the acoustics of a space and then create virtual acoustics using captured data via digital audio technologies.

The researchers will develop, test and share their aural heritage process via three case studies, which represent culturally, architecturally and temporally distinct examples of endangered aural heritage: 1) Columbia recording studios on Nashville’s historic Music Row; 2) the Rochester Savings Bank, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places; and 3) the interior architecture of the 3,000-year-old UNESCO World Heritage Site at Chavín de Huántar, Peru.

Belmont University is uniquely equipped for the Music Row studies in terms of geographic location and facilities, including a hemi-anechoic chamber and a 250-seat film sound mixing stage with a DOLBY ATMOS immersive audio system, the first university-based installation in the world. In addition, the college owns and operates two historic recording studios on Music Row, Columbia Studio A and B, which will be preserved and auralized in the project. From their opening in the mid-1950s, the Columbia studios provided the sonic landscape for many of that generation’s biggest hits and greatest artists, including Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Patti Page, Elvis Costello and Simon & Garfunkel.

The research team anticipates completing the stated goals of the project within three years.

NEH Chairman Jon Parrish Peede said, “These projects will shed new light on age-old questions, safeguard our cultural heritage, and expand educational opportunities in classrooms nationwide.”

Kole’s Song Included on Billboard’s Dance Charts

Hope Buckner
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Kole’s Song Included on Billboard’s Dance Charts

Caroline Kole, a Belmont junior and entertainment industry studies major, recently entered the Billboard Dance Charts at No. 32 with her song, “Right Now,” with VAVO. The listing, Billboard’s Dance Charts, looks at the songs and albums rising in popularity each week.

A recent Billboard article provided an overview of the song, along with other new-comers on the Dance Charts.

For more information on Kole and her musical career, follow along with her story on Instagram @CarolineKole.

Spears Presents Research at Mid South Psychology Conference

Hope Buckner
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Spears Presents Research at Mid South Psychology Conference

Psychology major Steven Spears recently presented research he conducted over the summer as part of Belmont’s Summer Scholars program at the Mid South Psychology Conference in Jackson, Tennessee. The project, “Utilizing Learning to Treat Clinical Depression in Long-Evans Rats”, advised by faculty mentor Dr. Timothy Schoenfeld (Psychological Science), investigated the role of flexibility training to rescue rats from a chronic stress-induced behavioral state resembling depression.

Schoenfeld and Spears attended a full day of talks across psychological science at the conference, including work on anxiety, mindfulness, drug usage, and new topics like growing fandom.

Nashvillians Gather for Annual Community Night

Hope Buckner
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Nashvillians Gather for Annual Community Night

Hosted by Belmont’s Office of Community Relations, Community Night provides an opportunity for members of the Nashville community to attend a night of Bruin basketball and family festivities

Each year, the Curb Event Center comes to life as more than two thousand members of the Nashville community find their way into its seats to cheer for the Belmont Bruins. The tradition, known as Community Night, provides an opportunity for neighbors and friends to attend a basketball game, eat dinner and participate in a variety of family-friendly events for free.

Joyce Searcy, director of Belmont’s Office of Community Relations, said the event has become a significant staple on campus. “We are so grateful for our neighbors and fellow Nashvillians,” she said. “This is just one simple way that we can continue to swing open our doors and show our community how much we appreciate their support.”

After a full dinner of hot dogs, chips and sodas, guests were ushered upstairs for the Belmont’s Women’s Basketball team’s game against Eastern Illinois. The Bruins defeated EIU with a final score of 98-57. Immediately after, the Men’s Team took on the men of EIU and came out with the same outcome, defeating the Panthers 99-58.

The men’s basketball game was especially special on Thursday night as Men’s Basketball Head Coach Rick Byrd earned his 800th career victory making him one of five active – and 12 all-time – NCAA Division I head coaches to reach 800 career victories. The Curb was ablaze with energy as the game ended and Coach earned his well-deserved place in the elite club of 800 wins.

But it wasn’t just basketball that could seen from the bleachers. Drum lines from two local high schools participated in a battle on the court. Going back and forth with their riffs, the students incorporated dance routines and full body choreography throughout their performance.

“This is one event we look forward to all year,” Searcy said. “This year was especially successful as we watched Coach Byrd earn this unique recognition. My team is already excited for what next year will hold.”

Alumnus Newsome Performs During Superbowl Halftime Performance

Hope Buckner
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Alumnus Newsome Performs During Superbowl Halftime Performance

D’Angeleau Newsome, a 2014 Belmont alumnus, recently performed in the featured drumline at the 2019 Superbowl Halftime Performance of Maroon 5’s “Girls Like You.” A percussionist and musical instructor, Newsome was selected to perform alongside Equinox Percussion, a competitive independent group hired outside of Atlanta for the recent show.

While at Belmont, Newsome studied biology with a pre-med emphasis, but he’s been a long-time musician. After a recent move to Kansas City to pursue a master’s degree in biomedical sciences, Newsome said he wasn’t sure he’d find himself performing before a crowd again – especially a crowd of 80,000+. “My goal is to attend medical school at Kansas City University in the Fall,” he said. “So I never thought I’d have the chance to keep performing. The idea of doing so at the Superbowl was a no-brainer! It’s easily the coolest, most exhilarating experience I’ve had to date.”

After getting over the sheer volume of eyes that would watch his performance both in the stadium and at home, Newsome said he was able to take a moment and reflect on the entirety of the experience. “I was able to think about the roster of instructors, peers and students through the years that have inspired me and fueled my passion for music and music education,” he said. “I am honored and humbled to have had the opportunity to represent them all on such an immense stage.”

 

Garrett, Science Students Judge Local Middle School Science Fair

Hope Buckner
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Garrett, Science Students Judge Local Middle School Science Fair

For the second year in a row, Dr. Danielle Garrett, assistant professor of chemistry education, was invited to judge the Donelson Christian Academy (DCA) 6th – 8th grade science fair. Belmont undergraduate students Christopher Hansen (chemistry & French double major), Alex Ficarro (neuroscience major), Deviyani Bajpai (neuroscience major), D Newsome (computer science major) and Clancy Lyles (economics major) assisted  Garrett as judges. More than 80 projects were on display featuring a variety of topics that included both the physical and biological sciences.

“I was so glad to be invited back again to help judge the DCA science fair,” Garrett said.  “Across the board, the projects this year were extremely creative.”

Garrett and Belmont students split the judging responsibilities, with 2 people in charge of determining which projects placed for each grade. After judging was complete, they chose the award for Best in Show. “The Belmont students who volunteered hours of their time to help with the science fair were amazing,” Garrett said.  “It was wonderful to see how excited and enthusiastic they were about making a positive contribution to the DCA school community.”

“Science fairs are so important because even though kids that age don’t really know what they want to be, they get to have a taste of what scientific research is actually like. Taking science out of the classroom allows kids to understand that science isn’t just something to be learned, but discovered,” Ficarro said.

When asked about their overall experience with the science fair Newsome said, “Having the opportunity to be a science fair judge this week was a very perceptual experience for me. Until this, I was on the student side of the science fair, the one having a project graded, hoping it was good enough for whoever judged it. It was very cool to be on the other side for once. It was really refreshing to take a step back from college sciences to see how 6th-8th Graders take an interest in their projects.”

Hanson shared a similar view. “The science fair was eye opening,” he said. “I never really participated in an event like this while I was a grade school student – I think it really fosters appreciation for scientific discovery. After reading all the posters I found that the projects themselves have so many tacit lessons. Of course, science itself, alongside spelling and grammar, but I think it also teaches critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity – skills that are not taught directly in the classroom.”

Voight Serves as Invited Faculty Member at Annual Scandinavian Congress

Hope Buckner
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Voight Serves as Invited Faculty Member at Annual Scandinavian Congress

Dr, Mike Voight, professor in Belmont’s School of Physical Therapy, was recently an invited faculty member at the Annual Scandinavian Congress of Medicine & Science in Sports. The aim of this Congress is to create contact between physiotherapists working in sports and physical activity, provide training, share knowledge and create working relationships with other professionals with the same interest.

Held in Copenhagen from January 30 to February 2, Congress was hosted by the Danish Society of Sports Physical Therapy and Danish Association of Sports Medicine. More than 800 specialists from sports medicine connected to consider conclusions and assumptions to advance education for medical, sports, treatment, rheumatology, orthopaedics, prevention, anti-doping and general sport medicine and sports injury subjects.

Prior to the Congress, Voight served as a peer-reviewer of abstracts submitted for presentation. Over 200 abstracts were reviewed and ultimately chosen for inclusion. Throughout the event, Voight served as one of the jury to select the best poster presentation and oral presentation given.

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