Photos by KYLE GREEN The Roanoke Times

Evan Baldacci, 16, records his guitar into a computer at the Music Lab. The Lab is shifting its focus "from purely performance to this very substantial mix of education and performance," says its director, Chris Stup.

KYLE GREEN The Roanoke Times

Guitar instructor Greg Ayers gives a lesson to beginning guitar student Emily Hamilton at the Music Lab, which reopened inside Jefferson Center in April.

Less than a year into its revival, the Music Lab is expanding its footprint beyond its 3,900-square-foot space at Jefferson Center.

The former Downtown Music Lab is working on higher-education partnerships and expanding what it can offer the young people who use the lab, including a newly hired studio engineer, a laptop orchestra project and more interaction with nationally touring artists.

Spring semester will bring not only new classes for the youngsters -- including a rock band class -- but a college-level music business class at the lab, in partnership with Virginia Western Community College.

The business class, for Virginia Western students only, is set up for 20 students, but 18 already have signed up, lab director Chris Stup said.

"The number of adult-learning requests we have had since we opened the doors back in February, I mean it's constant," Stup said. Stup's resume includes 14 years of teaching college students.

Elizabeth Wilmer, dean of humanities at Virginia Western, said in an e-mail that this is the first class of its kind being offered by the college and is "designed primarily for teacher recertification." It is a one-credit class.

"Future partnerships with the Music Lab are certainly possible," Wilmer wrote.

Stup said he thinks the class will grow into several other music-related courses.

"I want people in these doors. I want adults in these doors. I want college students in these doors. My thing is, I want to see college-level learning and instruction and credit taking place at the Jefferson Center. ...

"You walk in this building -- and to me it's already cool enough -- but now it's like, hey, not only do we bring world-class entertainment, not only do we have a slew of great tenants here, not only do we have a pretty cool, historic building and a very cool new music lab, but you can also take a college course there. How freaking cool is that?"

The business curriculum has also been designed for music lab students, and Stup hopes it brings in plenty of young nonmusicians.

"The biggest myth about the music lab is that you have to be a musician to come here," Stup said.

"We have a ton of kids who are coming in who either have never touched an instrument or have very limited music experience, because they get involved with the technology side or engineering or production. But now ... we need business kids. When this music business curriculum fires up ... we want to get those high school business kids in here."

The business curriculum will cover finances, promotion, marketing, publishing, copyrights, facility management, artist management, record companies, merchandising, song licensing and more.

"If you're a marketing kid or an economics kid," he said, "this is the place to come in and get experience with the entertainment industry."

Open for recording

The music lab's recording studio, full of world-class, donated equipment, is now ready for public use. The lab recently hired recording engineer, producer and bassist Jake Dempsey as chief engineer. Dempsey is also teaching lab students who have an interest in recording and engineering.

"What an asset, man," Stup said. "That just took this place to a whole new level."

The Pace Brothers, a Roanoke-based jazz act, came in to record an entire record, and at least six other sessions have happened since, Stup added.

He said Dempsey, who recently closed his studio, the Red Room, "brings his thing and his gear and his expertise and talent, knowledge and clients. He brings that younger, hipper music scene. ... He's getting clients that he's never had before. We're getting people in our doors who have never walked through our doors before."

Mixing education, fun

The lab has joined forces with the Boys & Girls Clubs and Virginia Tech's Interactive Sound & Intermedia Studio to develop a laptop ensemble for fifth-graders.

The Tech program, run by composition and music technology professor Ivica Ico Bukvic, was designed for college students to learn about laptop orchestra development and performance. (Tech's laptop orchestra uses such items as computers and video game remotes to create music.) Stanford University and Princeton University are the only other schools with such a program. And now, thanks to a grant, it will be modified for fifth-graders who are members of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southwest Virginia.

The goal is a spring performance by both the pupils and Virginia Tech's newly formed laptop orchestra, Stup said.

New curriculum at the lab includes a rock band class. Private instrument lessons come from the cream of Roanoke's music crop: Bassist Bernard Hairston, keyboardist James Pace, guitarist Greg Ayers, classical guitarist Gary Mellas and members of the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra, who are teaching Suzuki violin lessons.

Artist residencies will begin this spring with internationally touring hip-hop artist Toni Blackman, who comes here annually to work with the Jefferson Center program Sisters of the Circle.

Her role has been expanded to put her in contact with music lab youngsters, too. More will come, very likely including Texas-based jazz/funk band Snarky Puppy at the end of March, Stup said.

"It's going to get way more creative, way more collaborative."

Acts such as the fiercely talented Snarky Puppy will be more than just a show for young people. It will be part of the learning experience as well.

"If there's one way I could summarize the whole thing," Stup said, "is we are now shifting the paradigm from purely performance to this very substantial mix of education and performance."

On the Net: www.jeffcenter.org/musiclab