Two veteran rock producer-engineers are helping create a state-of- the-art audio studio at Mt. Olive High School. Record producer and engineer Tony
Bongiovi and record producer, engineer, and mixer Ron Saint Germain have
been hard at work on the studio since the fall of 2015.

Bon Giovi, a cousin to rocker Jon Bon Jovi, has engineered records for Stevie
Wonder, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Diana Ross, and The Temptations. As a
producer, he contributed to more than 40 gold and platinum records for artists
such as Aerosmith and Ozzy Osbourne. Saint Germain has produced and
engineered work for U2, Creed, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Michael Jackson,
among many others.

Their work at Mt. Olive will come to fruition in September when the studio
officially opens and the school’s audio engineering course begins.

Saint Germain recently collaborated with Trevor Campbell, who will head
the MOHS audio production program, to find the perfect equipment that
would serve as the heart of the studio. After traveling to different studios and
trying out audio equipment first-hand, the two decided on a console made by
renowned music company API that can interface with computer software to
create a hybrid of analog and digital signals.

“The audio production program will truly be a professional level experience, the
kind you find at colleges all over the country,” said Dr. Larrie Reynolds,
superintendent of schools and music enthusiast. “It will be a terrific
complement to our music and performing arts program as well as our television
production program.”

The new audio studio will allow performances in the adjacent performance
space to be professionally recorded. Both areas are part of a $2.5 million
renovation project being completed this summer that will convert the school’s
former auditorium into instructional use. The highlight of the new space will be
a high-tech design lab that will enable engineering students to design, prototype,
and produce products.