The Knight Shift Radio Club at Charlottesville High School will continue to air for the 2023-2024 school year! Last year the club was jump-started by two CHS alumni, Grace Boyles and Conrad Heins. Four additional students helped them run it: Roxie Pearl, Lily Zanoff, Max Sweet, and Evie Viglietta. The club met weekly and put out episodes regularly. Now that five of the six students graduated in the spring of 2023, the club has been picked back up again by junior Grady Rajagopalan and seniors Evie Viglietta and John Proulx.
Evie Viglietta shared with KTR, “I found out about it through my friend Conrad, who was like ‘Hey, we’re starting a radio show, me and Grace.’ He then invited me, I went to a meeting, then offered my abilities.”
In January of this year, Evie joined the radio club and got involved in sound-mixing. Sound mixing is the process of combining and blending sounds from different track recordings, and balancing the levels so the sound flows smoothly and is clear to the listener. It’s a crucial role, especially when recording audio, and is also incredibly time-consuming and requires a lot of skill.
“If you are into music and you want your voice to be heard, we’re going to try and create a live streaming station, so we would love anyone’s help with that. Or if you’re interested in sound editing and sound design.” Rajagopalan said when they were asked if the club was looking for new members.
The club offers episodes on Spotify, called The Knight Shift Radio. There are currently seven episodes available to listen to, all of which were published earlier this year. The episodes include playlists designed by students, and special editions for holidays and school events, including the Prom or Valentine’s Day specials.
“I’m just a big fan of music, I’ve been listening to it my whole life. My parents exposed me a lot when I was young, and from then I’ve just been interested in spreading that musical community through CHS,” said Proulx, one of the current club organizers, who also created a playlist for the radio station last year.
“It’s a lot of work, it takes a lot of time. We put out a weekly episode, or at least that’s what we were doing. But as long as you’re free and you’re willing to dedicate the time and effort into it, you should join,” said Viglietta.
The club normally takes place during Black Knight Time on Wednesdays. Members meet in studio space behind the Black Box, where they record episodes regularly. The club is currently accepting new members, with all kinds of roles, like sound editing, publicity, radio show hosts, and more. Join to grow your knowledge in music, audio, and editing! Students can get involved by either contacting John Proulx or Grady Rajagopalan via email, or by messaging the radio’s current Instagram, @theknightshiftradio.
