News

About a year ago, I popped into the Frederick YMCA Ausherman Arts Center to talk with their administration. While in the main foyer, the sound of a vocalist caught my ear, and that sound was coming from the YAAC Recording Studio down the hall. The quality of the vocals were strong enough that I wanted to see who was singing. I popped into the control room and met 13 year old Libby Knight. Right away I knew she had talent, and at her age, it was something special. Libby agreed to be the lead singer for the house band I was assembling to perform at 2026 Carroll Creek Unplugged. Fast-forward a year, Libby has just been signed with “Good People” records, a new label owned and operated by the Frederick Arts Council. This is exciting news for Libby, FAC, YAAC, Global Z, and the community music scene. I encourage you all to check out Libby and her just released music video, “Bows.” We are excited to be working with Libby once again as the lead vocalist for our 2027 Carroll Creek Unplugged event.

We are super excited to announce a new collaborating partnership with Mount Saint Mary’s University! As a sponsor of Global Z, The Mount will provide classroom space on their Frederick Campus from which we can host projects that require a safe and controlled space conducive to learning. This is a fantastic development and truly enhance the learning experience of our music arts youth!

August 1 & 2 , 2026, in collaboration with the Asian-American Center of Frederick, Global Z delivered a 2-day Introduction to Audio Production workshop taught by Dr. Jonathan Cresci, Assistant Professor of Sound Recording Technology at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. This free event provided hands-on access to commercial-quality audio production equipment to a diverse group of Frederick County youth. The project places a priority on recruiting from marginalized, at-risk, and ALICE families while encouraging young women to consider a career in audio engineering – a field currently heavily dominated by males. We were incredibly excited that 50% of this year’s participants were female – that is an amazing accomplishment! Our post-event survey confirmed the training we deliver provides an exceptional opportunity that is highly appreciated, valued, and not available by any other means to Frederick youth. Students learned about the science, technologies, and processes of recording music and the treatment of recording spaces. The workshop serves as a springboard, allowing students to apply knowledge to personal projects, seek additional formal education, or seek out entry-level positions in the audio arts field. With sufficient funding, we hope to add more seats to our 2027 workshop!

All seats for our 2026 pilot of Suitcase SoundTech have been reserved, and we had a number of folks sign up on our waitlist. We are incredibly excited to see the interest in participating in this annual, 2-day, Introduction to Audio Production workshop! For those who would like to participate next year, keep an eye out for announcements in June and July. Hopefully we can secure the funds needed to purchase additional computers, which would open up opportunities to increase the number of seats for our 2027 session.

The Global Z Recording Project in partnership with the Asian-American Center of Frederick is hosting a free 2-day Introduction to Audio Engineering workshop for youth ages 14-24. There is limited seating – first come first serve!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C054FA4AB28A6FDCE9-64570680-2026

Tickets are just $2.00, or 3 for $5.00! Cash only, please bring small bills.
Must be present to win!