John D. Alexander

Making an anechoic choral recording

The utilization of auralization as a tool for acoustic analysis continues to grow and develop. An important element for successful auralization listening experiences is the selection of anechoic source material. In researching the current library of anechoically recorded source material, it was discovered that choral material was not readily available. The Wenger Corporation, St. Olaf College, and 3M undertook a joint project to create an anechoic choral recording. The paper describes the challenges of this recording project—from the technological, logistical, and musical standpoints—and the solutions that were successfully implemented.