Fifth Circle Audio

20/01/2024

A bit of what we were doing today. Big show- recording and sound reinforcement. Videos will be edited by us as well… will be released in the coming months. Used Dante to route our audio. Millennia Media, FPC preamps on stage, wireless mics, playback, etc… on this. Love that the technology allows for this to happen so easily these days.

15/01/2024

Sound check last night. Mixing this run of Camerata Pacifica concerts. Two works requiring a PA. Lots of wireless in use (mics and monitors), using Dante for communication at FOH and sending down to Meyer x40 speakers at stage. The only analog lines to stage are for the PA system.

26/12/2023

Happy and Merry from Fifth Circle Audio. Enjoy our latest work for Camerata Pacifica. This is a beautiful performance of a piece that is near and dear.

Recorded Live in Concert, November 10, 2023, Music Academy, Santa Barbara, CA. Jose Franch-Ballester, Ani Aznavoorian and Irina Zahharenkova perform Brahms' ...

22/12/2023

This is going to be a great way to end the year of gigs. Long Beach Camerata Singers annual Messiah concert. This year with the amazing Tessarare Baroque Orchestra. The orchestra sounds spectacular.

13/12/2023

Videos from Summerfest 2023 have finally dropped on the La Jolla Music Society YouTube page. There were so many amazing performances this year… we didn’t do the video, but all audio recordings and post production are by Fifth Circle Audio.

This is probably the best performance of the Shostakovich Trio that I’ve ever heard. The performers just slayed this piece. Please enjoy:

Stefan Jackiw , violin; Sterling Elliott , cello; Conrad Tao , pianoProduced and directed by Tristan CookFor La Jolla Mu...

30/11/2023

How I love surround mixing. There just isn’t like the enveloping feel and open sound you get when you move from 2 speakers to 5. I just wish I had an Atmos rig to be able to do that (this project will eventually end up that way).

30/11/2023

Just finished mixing this the other day- just getting masters out to the label. It’s going to be such an awesome CD. Great repertoire and performances.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C0Rs8NmIAVO/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

30/11/2023

Christmas concert season has begun. Tonight recording the Long Beach Camerata Singers Catalyst Choir. A 14 person chamber choir composed of some of the top singers in LA. A great way to start the holidays.

17/11/2023

It’s been a rather busy couple months here… lots going on and I haven’t really had the time to post much. But this one I was completely remiss about the lack of post. This past spring, I was contracted by Parma recordings to record a large wind ensemble session at UNLV. That recording is a special one- it features the Boston Brass and the great Joseph Alessi (principal trombone of the NY Phil for those that don’t know). Alessi was playing the premiere recording of the trombone concerto of Chick Corea- in this case arranged for wind ensemble.

as of the past couple weeks, that recording is finally out. It’s a fun one for sure. Enjoy- it’s available in both optical media and your favorite streaming platform.

26/10/2023

Finally Finished the mixes... Woo Hoo!!! This is the most involved mixing I think I've ever been a part of. By the time we got through it all, it was pushing 40 hours of work. Now back to the artists for comments and hopefully we can master the album and get it released. (We're currently scheduled for an early February release)

16/10/2023

Technology is amazing. Had a mixing session today but I was the only person in my room. Producer was listening in Ohio, one artist was in Texas, and another artist was in England. And we all worked collaboratively.

17/09/2023

Opening weekend of the concert season. Got 2 big days. Chamber music recording for video. Full high end rig- Schoeps and DPA mics, 96KHZ audio and full timecode used. 4 cinema cameras with quality glass used. (canon C300 mk3 with Cine servo lenses). Then to a local orchestra that serves one of our Asian communities. A fully amplified show, but we are just recording. Similar quality mics, the Millennia Dante rig to record.

29/08/2023

Augustin was one of the artists at Summerfest again this year. I always enjoy getting to work with him- not only is he an amazing performer, he also understands the recording process and his expectations and requirements keep me on my toes. LJMS has released a number of videos on YouTube with him playing (using my audio) and there should eventually be more.

A child prodigy who survived a crippling fire at a young age, violinist Augustin Hadelich is a superstar soloist with the globetrotting itinerary and critical acclaim to prove it. Hadelich talks with CBS News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jonathan LaPook about his affection for his instrument, and...

27/08/2023

And another Summerfest is in the books… time to go home.

26/08/2023

Last day! More fun stuff. Bruch double (pictured), Dohnanyi trio, Bohemian Rhapsody, and the Tchaikovsky Serenade.

26/08/2023

Getting ready for the second to last show… almost done.

22/08/2023

And now I’m listening to a rehearsal for Friday’s concert. Conrad Tao, Stephan Jackiw, and Sterling Elliott playing Shostakovich 2nd trio.

This is why summer festivals are awesome.

22/08/2023

Not a bad start to the day… Anthony McGill, Clive Greensmith, and Conrad Tao playing some Brahms.

11/08/2023

Summer festivals are always fun- getting to hear artists on the sharing a stage that you normally wouldn’t hear together is always great and can be just plain special. Tonight is shaping up to be one of those shows… as I sit here in dress rehearsals thinking about how lucky i am to hear this. We’ve got Alisa Weilerstein and Inon Barnatan playing the Chopin Cello Sonata. And then we also have the Takács quartet playing the Beethoven Razumovsky quartet. (And then a couple other smaller works with similarly major artists playing)

31/07/2023

Oh man this sucks…

I had the opportunity to record him some years back. It was voice recording for promotional material for his P*e Wee’s Playhouse special that was on cable. He was professional and a complete gentleman to work with. A truly nice guy. And then I received Christmas cards from his office for several years afterwards…

May he go on to his next great adventure. 😢

With his red bowtie and impish antics, he became a fixture of children’s television and movies.

29/07/2023

This afternoon between sound checks, I get to hear a rehearsal of a chamber orchestra arrangement of Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with Paul Groves and Sasha Cooke singing and Alan Gilbert conducting… concert tomorrow afternoon- combined with the Brahms Horn Trio.

29/07/2023

And we are off. Opening night of Summerfest. Another unreal program. Lot less gear in the control room now with the Dante rig.

21/07/2023

Sexy racks… Millennia Media, FPC Jan Al Cases

12/07/2023

Time to update the rig. Time to go Dante. Will also have MADI options with this gear as well.

07/07/2023

Back at the Doheny Mansion to record the New Hollywood String Quartet’s summer festival. This year all music of Ravel and Debussy.

29/06/2023

Monday we finished the 22-23 concert season with a recording of the last performance of Kaleidoscope’s final concert of the season. A chamber music show with 2 pieces of standard repertoire and several newer works as well including premieres. We recorded a full multitrack audio recording and 5 cameras of 4K video.

11/06/2023

Crazy week last week, but only now getting to post… two big sessions. One in Claremont- some Cello and piano. Used stereo ribbons on the cello. The other was recording some Catholic praise music on the west side…. Full band with a choir that consisted of both kids and adults. Made for some fun balancing the sound.

21/05/2023

Last session of the month…

20/05/2023

The insanity of May is finally winding down this weekend. But first the last Jacaranda subscription show of the season. And tomorrow, another session…

Taking the Ohma Ribbons out for another run this evening… They sound amazing on the Steinway. May have to eventually get a set…

18/05/2023

This week was another special session that I was so honored to be a part of. My dear friend and amazing colleague Elaine Martone and I recorded the Baylor University wind ensemble with Julian Bliss, clarinet soloist. The repertoire was great and the students performed admirably.

We recorded 3 major works over 4 days. 1- John Mackey’s new clarinet concerto (Divine Mischief) 2- Zhao Tian’s Sinfonia, and 3 - Morton Gould’s Derivations for clarinet a jazz band. As a former clarinetist, getting to record these works was a blast. The Mackey concerto should become a part of the standard repertoire for the instrument. It is a great work.

The setups were big and it was not an easy room to get our sound in, but I’m very happy with what we ended up with. I think we will have a really good sounding recording. And of course, working with Elaine for the first time in several years was a reminder of how great of a producer and musical mind she is. It really makes everything so much easier when that’s the case.