EIT’s music men – Ron Kessels, seated, and Tom Pierard

Not long back from working with John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival fame, Ron Kessels is happy that others will benefit from his live sound and recording experience at a short course being held at EIT.   

Learning facilitator for EIT’s Certificate in Contemporary Music Performance, Ron will be teaming up with lecturer Tom Pierard to run the weekend workshop being held on campus on 26-27 October.

“It was awesome,” Ron says of the concert staged in London’s Hyde Park, at which Fogarty – the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter for the legendary American rock band – opened for Bruce Springsteen.

As a self-employed sound and audiovisual technician, Ron is in demand internationally and he has toured with such well-known bands as Muse, Snow Patrol and the evergreen Crosby Stills and Nash, who continue to attract huge numbers wherever they perform.

“It’s all about the experience you’ve had,” he says about scoring these jobs.  “Mixing a band in a live environment isn’t easy – it’s not something you can learn from a book.”

Ron will share his experience at the short course and, together with Tom, will answer questions and help those attending with any problems.

“It’s not going to be all talk,” he says.  “There are going to be lots of hands-on activities.  We will be working with Mac computers and music industry software used by people all over the world and at EIT to teach students enrolled on the certificate programme. 

“We know there’s definitely a demand for this, so it’s an opportunity for anyone wanting to know anything about live sound and recording.  It will interest those keen to record at home as well as musicians wanting to get a better understanding of live sound mixing.”

Costing $165, the short course will run from 9am to 4pm over the two days.