Ido Zilberman is recording engineer and studio supervisor at the CvA. We asked Ido about the value of recording time in the CvA Recording Studio, how students can make the most of it and what inspires him personally.

What makes studio time valuable for students, in your opinion?
I would really like to encourage students to see time at the studio as an opportunity to learn, explore and experiment freely without thinking about the outcome - that’s the important thing. In The Studio, there is so much to learn - things like playing with headphones, working with a producer, hearing how your sound translates when recorded -, but there’s also room to investigate your music. Ideally, there’s a balance between the concrete goals of the student - the amount of music the student would like to record - and time spent learning and experimenting.

What advice do you give to students who are coming into the studio for the first time?
I encourage students to start developing their “producer’s ears” - in other words, to listen to music the way a producer would. I advise them to come to the studio with examples of productions (meaning in this case, the sound of the recording) that inspire them. I want the students to imagine what their music would sound like when recorded. Will it feel like listening to them in a room, or on a stage? Will it sound realistic and transparent, aggressive and edgy, or pristine and clear?

This process makes the student form clearer productional ideas for their music. My job as the producer is to help them crystalize the ideas and make them reality.

What inspires you in your job?
I always say: the best days are the ones where we work well together – when there's great communication, when we keep digging and finding ways to make the production and the performance better. That’s what inspires me. I love the moment at the end of a session when we’ve actually made something. We created this piece together. We figured it out – how to make it work, how to make it happen. That’s incredibly satisfying.

Is there a project that you are proud of?
Last year, we did a big band recording that I’m really proud of. Two students approached me with the idea to record their big band. It was way too ambitious to do in a single day, but I wanted to give them the opportunity to make it happen.

Beyond being an incredible musical project, it was also a great chance to involve students in the technical side of the process. Since I also teach several technical courses, I invited students to help set up the session and assist with the recording itself. I try to teach students as much as I can, and this project was a perfect example of how I’d like to involve them in future sessions as well.

I also support the Composing for Film students with their projects, recording twenty soundtracks for student films each year. I love working with media, and these sessions allow us to explore a wide range of instruments and ensembles.

How do you see the role of the studio in the artistic process of students?
Recording involves making many decisions. Will we play all together in the same room? Use the isolation booths? Record to a click track? Will we do it all in one take, or split into sections and edit? Experimenting with these different options helps you learn which choices are right for you in shaping your own sound.

The studio also invites you to listen more deeply and focus more on your creation and creative proces. It functions like a microscope, enhancing details that go unnoticed when you are on stage or in rehearsal. This type of focus can help students fine-tune their dynamics, interplay, intention and communication as a band – all skills that will also transfer to their craft beyond the studio walls.