Modesto Sound moves into new home

Modesto Sound, a nonprofit that helps students ages 13 through 22 learn the basics of recording, quickly has found a new home after its three-year stay at Gregori High School ended last week.

It has moved to 110 Santa Barbara Ave. off Yosemite Boulevard near the Jack in the Box, founder and Executive Director Brenda Francis announced Thursday.

Modesto Sound, which provides job training for youth, professional recording and live sound services, will have an open house at its new location on June 27 from noon to 3 p.m. It will include live music and refreshments.

“We have had extra expenses for this relocation, including renovations: building a wall for secure storage, painting, Wi-Fi, documentation, etc. We also need funds to start our youth job-training program back up,” Francis wrote in a letter to supporters, seeking donations.

“The building on Santa Barbara houses a nonprofit TV station and photography studio, and our addition further improves the area with legitimate foot traffic and community service,” she also wrote. “We will do our part to improve the high-risk neighborhood and offer a safe environment for area youth, along with collaborating with nearby organizations like Casa Cultural – the cultural tutoring center just across the street.”

Francis created Modesto Sound at her home in Modesto in 2005. When the program outgrew her digs three years ago, she was able to find low-cost rental space at Gregori, with the understanding that when the growing school needed the space, she’d have to vacate.

Modesto Sound now boasts about 200 students in various parts of the program, which is funded through donations, grants and very low recording fees ranging from $20 to $40, with students receiving discounts. Since its inception, more than 500 artists have recorded at Modesto Sound. Others have trained on the technical side in the studio by staging live concerts and by learning about radio engineering.

For more information on Modesto Sound, visit its website, www.modestosound.com.

This story was originally published May 22, 2015 at 8:57 AM with the headline "Modesto Sound moves into new home."