The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation has added to its roster of educational workshops a series of instructional programs for teens interested in audio engineering.

The newly added workshop will be geared toward teenagers, offering classes in audio engineering in two different settings: live concerts and recording studios. Both workshops will be monthly, hosted on Saturday afternoons, and will take place simultaneously at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Center starting February 24.

One class will be taught by Chris Finney, a Grammy-winning producer, engineer and mixer, and will focus on studio fundamentals and how to record a jazz band, covering a wide array of topics ranging from introduction to microphones to isolation of sound. The second will focus on live event sound, microphones, instruments, and the fundamentals of concert audio engineering.

The workshops will be open, free of charge, to students between the ages of 13 and 17, and are made possible with support by a grant from the Country Music Association Foundation. However, enrollment in both workshops will be limited to 20 students, with admission reliant on an essay and application submission.

These workshops are part of an ongoing effort by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation to increase arts education opportunities for young people. They add to the growing roster of classes the Foundation presents in the state-of-the-art education facility the foundation opened three years ago, the George and Joyce Wein Jazz & Heritage Center.

This year’s Sync Up conference, also featuring a series of workshops organized by the Foundation, will run year-round, with panel discussions, interviews, screenings and social events, approaching the entertainment business from the perspective of the independent artist.

The themes for this year’s conference and panel discussions are “Booking a Tour,” “Clearing Samples for your Record,” and “Band Web Sites: What Makes a Good One?” The new monthly series of Sync Up events is designed to provide practical information to already working artists who are struggling to launch their careers.

The newly added classes for teens focusing on audio engineering will start on February 24 and will continue through August. To participate, students and their parents or guardians must submit an application using this online form. A brief essay written by the student is required.