Texas Band Director Helps Demonstrate Acoustics Technology for Music Education in San Antonio

San Antonio, Texas — To practice football, players go to the field. To practice tennis, players visit the tennis court. It’s logical – the best place to practice is where they play. However, musicians usually cannot rehearse in their performance space. Until now!

Innovative virtual acoustics technology is opening up new possibilities. On Feb.y 12, in a band director from San Angelo will highlight the solution recently installed in his band room.

What:

Demonstration of “virtual acoustics” technology for music education, which simulates a variety of performance environments to accelerate learning and preparation for concerts/contests. 2,100-sq.-ft. hotel conference room will feature 20 speakers + 2 microphones, mounted on temporary trussing and controlled by digital signal processor computer.

Where:

The Pavilion by Hilton, 200 S. Alamo Street, San Antonio. Adjacent to the Texas Music Educators Assoc.(TMEA) Clinic/Convention at the Gonzalez Convention Center. TMEA is the largest event of its kind in the country, attracting 26,000 people, more than 1/3 are active music educators. The TI:ME Music Technology National Conference is held concurrently.

When:

Friday, Feb. 12. Presentations run every 30 minutes during four sessions:
1) 7:30am-9:30am (breakfast served); 2) 11:30am-1:30pm (lunch served);
3) 2:30pm-4pm (refreshments); 4) 5:00pm-7:00pm (cocktail reception).

Pre-registration is encouraged because seating is limited. Attendees do not need to be registered for the TMEA Convention or TI:ME Conference.

Who:

Veteran band director Joel Ashbrook from Central High School in San Angelo, Texas, will join personnel from Wenger Corp. in explaining the system he’s been using at his school since the fall of 2015.

Ashbrook says, “The VAE Rehearsal System is outstanding – my students can actually experience playing in a performance environment: maintaining rhythm, tuning and pitch across the band.”

To see him interviewed for a KIDY-TV (San Angelo, Texas) story on Central HS’ technology, visit: https://youtu.be/oAc9-UNjdKI

Media Contact:

For more information, contact Warren Djerf at [email protected].

Featured

  • Designing for Every Mind

    Learning environments have the power to shape not just what students know, but who they become. When a school is designed with genuine empathy—for the full range of ways students think, sense, and engage with the world—it becomes more than a building. It becomes a catalyst for growth, confidence, and belonging. That is the animating idea behind neurodiverse design, and it is one that is transforming how more architects and designers are thinking about school design.

  • Phoenix School District Breaks Ground on New Prep Academy

    The Creighton Elementary School District near Phoenix, Ariz., recently broke ground on a campus replacement for Biltmore Preparatory Academy, according to a news release. The new space will allow the school to expand its enrollment by 50 percent for K–8 students and accommodate modern, collaborative learning styles.

  • Nashville Elementary School Receives LEED Gold Certification

    Goodlettsville Elementary School, part of Metro Nashville Public Schools in Nashville, Tenn., recently achieved LEED Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), according to a news release. The 81,750-square-foot school opened in 2023 and was designed by Goodwyn Mills Cawood (GMC).

  • S4L Announces 2026 Education Design Showcase Winners

    Spaces4Learning is thrilled to announce the winners of the 2026 Education Design Showcase! Now in its 27th year, the annual awards program honors innovative solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction across K–12 and higher education.