Bethune-Cookman University released a new album Thursday – its first in 20 years.
The university’s HBCU Records, the only student-run record label at America’s more than 100 Historically Black Colleges and Universities, helped produce the album, “Hold Fast to Dreams.” Students from B-CU’s Concert Chorale performed all 11 songs on the CD, which features chorale music, a cappella performances and some piano-accompanied songs.
The project began as a way to give students firsthand experiences in recording an album, said Pamela Browne, executive director of B-CU’s Mike Curb Music Business, Entertainment & Sports Institute.
B-CU kicked off the album’s release with a reception in its Wilson Rotunda. The last time B-CU released an album, some its students weren’t even born, so the opportunity was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“When they first told us that we were going to be doing an album, it was exciting. As a music and recording technology major … this was my dream come true,” B-CU senior Marcus Anderson said. “Before, during and afterwards, it was just an overwhelming feeling of, ‘I can’t wait until I’m able to hear this album.’”
Besides lending their voices, students at HBCU Records helped produce the album. The student-run record label, founded in 2016, lets students learn about different aspects in the music industry including, finding and developing artists, songwriting, recording, producing, booking, marketing and promotions, Browne said.
As a first tenor section leader, Anderson was a feature soloist on the album. He also pulled double duty as an assistant engineer.
“I was really all over the place, running back and forth, helping out with the technical side, the singing side, the recording side and everything,” Anderson said.
B-CU junior Jerry Williams helped with recording setup on the album. The work involved many long days, but Williams said he thought the final product was “phenomenal.”
Before an album is ready for release, it has to be mixed and mastered. Mixing requires listening and sorting through the sometimes hundreds of takes of each song and then narrowing it down to the best versions. Once those versions are chosen, the album has to be mastered, which is where sound levels are fine-tuned to give the music a signature sound, Browne said.
B-CU staff along with veteran music producer Darryl Tookes put on the album's finishing touches. Tookes has been in the music business for 40 years and has cut albums for everyone from Aretha Franklin to Michael Jackson.
However, from the looks of it, the students impressed Tookes as much as the celebrities he’s worked with did. Before addressing a small crowd at reception, Tookes paused, regarded students with a warm, extended gaze, and gestured for a round of applause.
“It’s almost impossible to take your music from your soul and to develop it and to share it and to find ways to even market it,” Tookes said. “My job will not be over with the project until the world hears it.”
Brown, who recorded a similar Grammy-nominated album with the Fisk Jubilee Singers in 2004, said the album holds pace with the pros.
“I believe this recording is as good or better than that recording,” Browne said. “I think this is a really stellar project.”
While the album’s original release date was set for October, B-CU postponed the release so it could distribute the album itself rather than use an outside source, Browne said, adding that the entire process took about nine months.
The last album B-CU released was “From Bach to Gospel II” in 1998. When the school’s longtime chorale director left B-CU in 2011, the new leadership explored releasing a new album, Brown said.
Those looking to listen to “Hold Fast to Dreams” can download it for $15 on iTunes, Spotify, and other major platforms. Fans can buy the CD locally for $20 by emailing: lanet@cookman.edu or curbinstitute@cookman.edu.
Money from album sales will be used to help pay for the chorale to travel and to help students book performances, Browne said.
“Just set this as your alarm,” B-CU director of chorale studies Terrance Lane said. “Every time you stream it, we get a penny.”
While the figure wasn’t literal, streaming album sales only pay a few cents per stream, Browne said.
However, B-CU didn’t make the album for the money. And that’s evident in how the album’s title ties into B-CU's founding: in that, where others saw a dump site, Bethune saw a school, Lane said.
“The message that we wanted to give to our listeners was to hold fast to your dreams because this institution is a reality that dreams come true,” Lane said.
It’s also apparent in the music, pulled from the hearts and souls of the 45 B-CU students who sung on the album.
“This is my second family. I love them,” B-CU sophomore or chorale singer Benjamin Simmons said. “I can hear the love. I can hear the joy. You can feel it through that music.”