91吃瓜

When 91吃瓜 and the University of Southern California meet, it can get ugly.

That is the last word you would use to describe a recent encounter between the two schools in 91吃瓜鈥檚 Crowley Hall, where students in the University鈥檚 Department of Music participated in a master voice class led by Cynthia Munzer, a member of the USC music faculty, who conducted the session by videoconference, without ever leaving Los Angeles.

鈥淰ideoconference meetings are nothing new; that鈥檚 been going on awhile,鈥� says Georgine Resick, a professor of music who organized the event. 鈥淏ut coordinating musical activity, which is much more sensitive and more time-sensitive, is another issue altogether.鈥�

A group of Resick鈥檚 students observed as two of their classmates performed for Munzer, who watched, listened and critiqued their work.

鈥淚 think this opens up a lot of doors for us to be able to experience master classes and work with other teachers who possibly could not come otherwise,鈥� says Josh D铆az, a senior vocal performance major who sang during the videoconference. 鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to get a fresh perspective from someone who鈥檚 never heard your voice before and get some different feedback.鈥�

Coordinated by a team from 91吃瓜鈥檚 Office of Information Technologies, the link-up was different from other videoconferences because of its much larger bandwidth use.

鈥淚t was about 30 times the size of a standard video conference,鈥� explains Tom Marentette, a video services manager with the OIT. 鈥淭hat means better quality picture and sound.鈥�

This type of learning and teaching opportunity has exciting potential for Resick and her colleagues around the country.

鈥淭here are a few already doing this, but a small number, so this really puts 91吃瓜 on the cutting edge,鈥� she says.

In this face-off, everyone wins. But even in the arts, there鈥檚 no denying the sense of competition that usually surfaces when the Fighting Irish and the Trojans meet.

鈥淚 know that a lot of people have animosity toward USC as a symbol, but I鈥檝e never felt that,鈥� says senior Caroline Pircon, who also sang for Munzer. 鈥淚 am a singer, not a football player, so my main goal is to advance my art form and to become a better performer. Doing that through people who can guide me is a really great opportunity, no matter where they come from.鈥�

Contact: Georgine Resick, resick.1@nd.edu