St. Cecilia Studios

Modern music and an ancient muse

 
Brett Ryan has been a musician since his toes could tap. However, the ECMA winner put music on the back burner in the early nineties and got involved in property development. One of the properties he and his wife, Lara, purchased was St. Cecilia, an old church in Purcell’s Cove.
 
Soon after the purchase, in 2005, Brett Ryan felt himself drawn back to his art. He would spend all day renovating the church – which was taken down to a dirt floor and lovingly reconstructed – and then spend evenings writing and making music once again.
 
Months later, he discovered St. Cecilia is the patron saint of musicians. Today, the muse is inspiring many musicians from around the world in the renovated St. Cecilia Studios.
 
In addition providing an inspiring space and a fully equipped studio for musicians, the company also does commercial work for television and documentaries, explains Lara Ryan, who coordinates marketing. In industry jargon, St. Cecilia’s is a music and 5.1 audio post recording and mixing facility.
 
Indeed, St. Cecilia Studios has carved out a unique niche in the industry. There are only a handful of audio post facilities in Nova Scotia, and most of these do video work as well. St. Cecilia’s doesn’t. There are also several music studios in the province, but none do commercial work. St. Cecilia’s does.
 
“It makes it challenging,” says Lara. “But we’re committed to meeting those challenges and making St. Cecilia’s a special place for musicians – and a successful company.” And the studio has been a success, being nominated as Music Nova Scotia’s studio and producer of the year in 2007 and receiving an East Coast Music Award nomination as studio and engineer / technician of the year in 2008.
 
One of the studio’s strengths is its expertise. In addition to Brett and Lara, Hayward Parrott, a Juno award-winning producer, is part of the team. “People come to work with Hayward,” says Lara Ryan.
 
Hayward, in turn, laughingly says he gets to go to church every day.
 
The impact of the setting – for all who visit St. Cecilia Studios – cannot be underestimated. “The space is a big part of our company. We’re in a creative industry. Inspiration is a huge part of the business we’re in,” says Lara.
 
Creativity infuses St. Cecilia Studios. A NSCAD student painted the ceiling, and Brett’s father created 27 new pieces of stained glass. “This is a space that was built by artists for artists,” says Lara. “We wanted to create a facility that helps others create their art better.”
 
Meeting that goal also requires the latest cutting-edge technology. Innovation is central to success in the music and recording industry, says Lara. She notes that St. Cecilia’s has surround-sound technology, which a lot of companies in the business do not yet offer.
 
St. Cecilia Studios also has the power of place. In addition to the great building, there is also the inspiration found in the community of Purcell’s Cove. Nestled at the mouth of the magnificent Northwest Arm, quarries in Purcell’s Cove at one time provided much of the stone that built neighbouring Halifax. “The people born and raised in the ‘Cove’ have for years been known for their industriousness and fortitude,” says Lara.  “We want to bring that same resourcefulness to our business.”
 
In a global marketplace, that business can be drawn from the four corners of the world, she adds. It’s not essential that customers actually set foot in the studio, although many musicians come to do just that. The company, for example, worked on a project out of California that was part of the DVD release of Sean Connery’s film First Knight.
 
“We did the director’s cut commentary,” says Lara. “We patch, or connect, with other studios. People don’t have to be here for us to do the work.”
 
But there is no other place that St. Cecilia Studio’s could possibly exist. “We could be in Toronto or California or we could be here. Here is where we want to be,” says Lara.
 
“It’s all about lifestyle,” she adds. “It’s about being with your family and being where you want to be. We’re really very, very lucky – and we know it.”

Feature story written by donalee Moulton