A big part of work load at Michigan Tech are the sound practicum classes. In these classes, students get hands on work with productions put on by the university. Some of my work in the sound practicum classes has been doing sound design and composing for productions such as Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and Journey Through the Keweenaw: Interactive Museum.
Sweeney Todd Sound Design
For our production of Sweeney Todd, my work was doing the sound design, and QLab playback. I utilized personal sound libraries, shared sound libraries from other students and professors at Michigan Tech, and even did foley work to accumulate a collection of useful sounds to serve as a base for the unique sound design for this production. Some notable sounds include meat grinders, bodies falling down metal chutes, and the iconic factory whistle used during intense and important moments within the musical. On top of sounds used within the musical, I also got to create pre-show and post show ambiences to give the audience an authentic soundscape before the show even begins, and after the dramatic conclusion.
Journey Through the Keweenaw Composition
Michigan Tech doesn’t only put on theater productions. In the spring semester of 2026, we hosted a fun interactive museum about the Keweenaw peninsula, with exhibits about Keweenaw history, local music and art, wildlife, and more. For this exhibit, I was in charge of composing a piece that played throughout the McArdle black box theater that hosted the Journey Through the Keweenaw interactive museum. For this piece, I chose to compose it through VCV Rack 2.0, a virtual Eurorack synth modulator. I wanted a warm, laid back ambient feel, as I felt that this would perfectly encapsulate the overall atmosphere of the Keweenaw. On top of that, I used recordings of Lake Superior, and native bird species to serve as an extra soundscape of the Keweenaw ambience within this work of music.
