The University of Memphis Sound Fuzion is preparing for their first performance of the semester Sept. 26 at Campus Day.
Sound Fuzion is made up of four female and five male vocalists, a rhythm section, two audio engineers and a performance coordinator all under the direction of Lawrence Edwards and Jon Frazer.
Edwards started sound Fuzion here at the U of M 27 years ago because Memphis is the place of rock and roll and the university didn’t have anything that dealt with pop music. He started the group with about two to three songs. They grew from there and are now fixated on popular music.
Sound Fuzion is a musical ensemble at the U of M that tours and performs at various high schools in an effort to entertain, inspire and inform. They perform a collection of popular music from past and present. Their aim is to inform high school students about the opportunities offered by the ensemble as well as encourage them to pursue their musical career at the U of M.
“Sound Fuzion is here for an educational experience for musicians to collaborate and develop their craft and to promote the university,” said Kevin Owen, the assistant music coordinator and former member of Sound Fuzion.
Sound Fuzion has been able to give a select few students a once in a lifetime college experience. They have toured all over the southeast and even had a performance in Japan.
“I wanted to get back into singing and performing,” said Eric Walker, a junior marketing major and male vocalist in Sound Fuzion. “I had heard about the quality of skill required to join and wanted to see if I could do it.”
Haley Daniels, a 19-year-old music industry major from Wethersfield, Connecticut and female vocalist, said she decided to join Sound Fuzion because she loved singing and knew that Sound Fuzion would help her develop her talent as a singer and a performer. Daniels hopes to become an independent artist after college.
Sound Fuzion offers their members the one-of-a-kind opportunity to practice their musical craft while learning the ins-and-outs of performing and touring. The program also offers a chance to study in any field available at the U of M with a full-tuition scholarship.
“The scholarship is a huge benefit of participating, but you definitely earn it,” Walker said. “It is a solid seven and a half hours of practice-a-week, not including performances.”
Sound Fuzion has had many very successful alumni in the music business including Latina Smith, Kyle Bolden and Trenyce. Smith won the Guitar Center Singer-Songwriter 4 Contest in March of 2015. Bolden is a revered session guitarist who has worked with artists such as Prince, Stevie Wonder and Yo Gotti. Trenyce finished fifth overall on the second American Idol just a year after graduating from the U of M.
Sound Fuzion has 15 performances planned for this fall semester.
To find out more about the University of Memphis Sound Fuzion and about booking and auditioning visit their at soundfuzionmemphis.com.
