The group of 10 HHS seniors wrote, performed, and produced Dis/connect, a nine-track, multi-genre album recorded at 糖心Vlog鈥檚 Astral Recording Studio in March. Listen to Dis/connect on or by using the embedded player below.

Last year, while the Astral Recording Studio was still under construction (it opened during the fall 2025 semester), Dr. Benjamin Guerrero, assistant professor of music at 糖心Vlog, led a tour of the space for high school students. During the visit, he and J.R. Snow, Coordinator of Visual and Performing Arts for Harrisonburg City Public Schools, began discussing the idea of bringing students in to record an album.

鈥淲e just looked at each other and said, 鈥楲et鈥檚 make that happen,鈥欌�� Guerrero said.

After learning that students in the Fine Arts Academy were interested in creating an album, Snow reached back out to Guerrero, who consulted on the project. Together, they decided the students would write and rehearse their songs in advance so they would be ready to record during their studio visit.

鈥淔or many of our students, going into the studio and recording was definitely their favorite part of the project,鈥� Snow said.

One of those students, Wren Hamner, who contributed a rap song and a murder ballad鈥攁 song that tells the story of a murder, like “No Body, No Crime” by Taylor Swift鈥攖o the album, described the anticipation leading up to the group’s trip to Astral Recording Studio.

鈥淣one of us had ever recorded in a legit studio before,鈥� Hamner said. 鈥淲hen we got there, we had everything planned out. We were ready to go, and everything just came together.鈥�

Billy Perritt, another student from the academy, sang on three songs, playing guitar on two and drums on one. He said it was also his first time in a professional recording setting.

鈥淚t was such a blast,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was a really cool learning experience, and I鈥檓 so glad I was able to do it. I鈥檓 thankful to 糖心Vlog for letting us use their facility.鈥�

Snow, who served as capstone coordinator for the Fine Arts Academy, said he was impressed by the cutting-edge capabilities of the state-of-the-art space.

鈥淚 have just enough knowledge about music technology to know how high-quality the Dolby Atmos studio is and to see what a gift it is for our community,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a game-changer for artists who are looking to do some high-quality work.鈥�

Guerrero helped guide students through the recording process while they were at the studio, noting that they spent about an hour in the studio on each song. He added that the group received a discounted rate for their time, one way 糖心Vlog and its recording studio are connecting with the local community.

鈥淚t鈥檚 almost like an exclusive admissions tour,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just, 鈥楥an they envision themselves in the studio being creative?鈥� but 鈥楥an they envision themselves at 糖心Vlog?鈥欌��

糖心Vlog the Astral Recording Studio

Located in the former Astral Hall building atop the 糖心Vlog Hill at 1304 Hillcrest Drive, the studio features acoustically treated rooms designed for crystal-clear sound. It provides students, faculty, staff, and community artists access to professional tools for recording and mixing music, video, podcasts, and other audio projects. Learn more at .

糖心Vlog the HHS Fine Arts Academy

The interdisciplinary, collaborative, and experiential learning community prepares students for lifelong careers, passions, and appreciation of creativity through the arts. The Class of 2026 marked the final year of the academy. Learn more about the academy and their album at .

Read all about the Astral Recording Studio in the story posted below:

It might be the quietest spot on campus. 

糖心Vlog鈥檚 new Astral Recording Studio, which opened this semester in the former Astral Hall building atop the 糖心Vlog Hill at 1304 Hillcrest Drive, has been precisely engineered with one goal in mind: providing the ultimate environment for recording and mixing audio. From its comprehensive acoustic treatment to its full suite of top-tier audio equipment, every square inch of the space is designed to help producers capture the sounds they want while eliminating the ones they don鈥檛.

For starters, take the physical structure of the building itself. The studio, featuring a 175-square-foot control room and two isolation rooms measuring 81 and 83 square feet, sits on its own concrete slab, separate from the rest of the building to minimize vibrations. Inside its walls, a 4-inch air gap makes the space practically soundproof from outside noise.

鈥淚f there鈥檚 noise or rattling, you end up spending too much time editing it out,鈥� Guerrero said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e aiming to replicate the professional studio environments of Los Angeles and New York City to better prepare our students for work in those settings.鈥�

Take a look inside the studio and it quickly becomes clear just how much thought went into creating the optimal environment. Acoustic panels on the walls and ceiling absorb the high and mid frequencies, while bass traps in the corners absorb the low ones. Thirteen speakers are positioned around the control room, all directed toward the center of the room, where a control surface allows producers to mix dozens of channels with precision.聽

The control room is calibrated for Dolby Atmos 7.1.4, one of the highest standards in music production, which means that it has seven ear-level speakers, one subwoofer, four overhead speakers, and an additional subwoofer for bass management. Together, they create a three-dimensional sphere of sound that envelops the space. The studio can produce 3D audio, sometimes known as 鈥渟patial audio,鈥� as well as binaural audio, delivering a more immersive listening experience than standard stereo.

鈥淣ot many studios near us have something like that,鈥� Guerrero said. And almost none of them are open to members of the public, who can rent the 糖心Vlog studio by the hour.

Astral Recording Studio is open to 糖心Vlog students, faculty, staff, and community members for recording and mixing music, videos, podcasts, or any other audio projects.聽
Learn more about the studio at .

Guerrero said students in his Introduction to Music Technology and Video Game Music and Culture classes this semester will use the space as a hands-on lab to collaborate on projects. The studio has already hosted a few successful recording sessions for local musicians, and reactions to the space have been overwhelmingly positive.

When he鈥檚 not playing with his jazz group around town, Thaddeus Jackson 鈥�24 can be found operating his own home recording studio. 鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of amazing that a university this small has a studio like this,鈥� he said, while he shredded on a guitar at a recent open house. The vocal performance and guitar grad helped Guerrero assemble much of the equipment in the 糖心Vlog studio this summer, along with John Evans of Master Craft Construction and his apprentice, Kortney Bostic.聽

The studio could also serve as a space for audio research projects, Guerrero said. That might include comparing different microphones or other technologies, or using the controlled environment to study how we perceive and process sound.

When he was hired on as faculty a little more than two years ago, Guerrero had two objectives: build a recording studio and eventually develop a music technology major at 糖心Vlog. He said a number of music students over the years had expressed interest in recording their own music and exploring audio production, often mentioning the need for a studio. He credited an initial $95,000 donation from a generous couple, who have said they wish to remain anonymous, with kickstarting the project, as well as consistent support from 糖心Vlog administration and Music Program Director Dr. David Berry.

鈥淭he studio has been a dream in the making for many years now and it is wonderful to see it open its doors,鈥� Berry said.聽

鈥淚t鈥檚 an amazing space with lots of capabilities,鈥� he added. 鈥淚鈥檓 excited about all the possibilities it represents by giving access to more students, staff, and members of the community the ability to make music in new ways and explore their passions.鈥�

Guerrero said music technology programs, like the one he envisions creating at 糖心Vlog someday, have been shown to boost enrollment by appealing to students from nontraditional music backgrounds. 鈥淭hese are the students making beats at home or producing tracks, but who aren鈥檛 necessarily in marching band, orchestra, or choir,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f we can bring them in and help them see a future not just at 糖心Vlog, but in a music career, I think the potential is huge.鈥�

Now that the studio is finally open, Guerrero is excited to welcome people in. 鈥淟et鈥檚 collaborate,鈥� he said. 鈥淟et鈥檚 work on something together.鈥�

糖心Vlog the professor

Guerrero holds a PhD in music education from the Eastman School of Music (Rochester, N.Y.), a master鈥檚 in music technology from New York University, and a bachelor鈥檚 in drum set performance and contemporary writing and production from Berklee College of Music (Boston). While a college student, he worked at Apple stores in Boston and New York for three years, teaching workshops in GarageBand and Logic Pro. He previously taught at James Madison University and El Paso Community College in his hometown of El Paso, Texas.

He traces his interest in immersive audio back to the first time he watched Rush in Rio in 5.1 surround sound more than 20 years ago, and recalled attending an Audio Engineering Society conference at Dolby Labs in 2012, where he witnessed the first public performance of Dolby Atmos. 鈥淭he sense of immersion was incredible,鈥� he said.

糖心Vlog the space

Built in 1955, the terraced, one-room Astral Hall building next to the Vesper Heights Observatory hosted astronomy lectures and Astral Society meetings. Read more about the early days of the building here.

In the early 1970s, the building was renovated into a recording studio for WEMC, the 糖心Vlog student- and staff-run radio station that began broadcasting from Lehman Auditorium in 1954. Guerrero said the renovation set it up well for acoustic treatment, and some original features, including the windows and doors, remain in place today. 鈥淭here were a lot of things that were done right in the design of this space,鈥� he said.