Peter Ponce

Spanish/hispanic, southern, Texan, Minnesota/Upper Midwest, generic/no accent

My experience is primarily in live environments. I began humbly in 1988 as a volunteer announcer for the local marching band contest. I am an educational administrator in Grand Prairie, TX, but in my spare time I announce many events, including sports (football and basketball. I've also announced soccer (1998-2002), and softball (1998-2004). I've substituted for several sports, most notably baseball. --lead announcer for Mansfield ISD's Vernon Newsom Stadium, which uses a state-of-the-art digital sound system. We've hosted many playoff football games there, including Texas UIL State Football Championship games. --halftime shows for marching bands and drill teams since 1994. --the annual marching band showcase for the Arlington ISD (since 1998). I'm also the "Voice of the UT-Arlington Marching Band," having announced their shows since 1998, and I've announced the annual Duncanville Marching Invitational since 2000. I've had two other experience with live performance: 1) the 2002 UTA Percussion Bash - I provided voice-over interludes between musical selections - this included reading album notes, proverbs, and even telling jokes. 2) the 2004 UTA Concert Band "Visions of Flight" concert - I provided a voice-over of a poem that accompanies Ron Nelson's piece "To The Airborne." My experience with recordings is minimal, but consistent. I provide voiceover work for Summit High School's automated phone notification system, which also delivers pertinent school information to parents. Lastly, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that each year since 1998, I have read EVERY NAME at Graduation Exercises in May, an average of about 500 per year. I really have had minimal formal training with voice-over work to date, but I have had many experiences which have assisted me in developing a quality voice. In 1984, I began duties as a high school marching band drum major. Little did I know it would lead to the same job in college and even as a drum major instructor for 16 years. An important aspect of this job is the use of vocal commands to instruct and move the band. Through this experience I've been able to develop many useful vocal qualities. I've been involved in choral groups since 1995 - this background has certainly helped me with voice projection and enunciation. I also serve as a lector at my church, which affords me similar experience, especially since the church has unique acoustics. As a band announcer, I've learned from Dr. Jack Gibson, now retired from UT-Arlington, where he taught in the radio-TV area. Dr. Gibson preceded me as the Voice of the UTA Band, and he's passed on many lessons to me through the years. Most recently, I had a session with Bruce Carey of Voices Carey in Dallas. He was willing to accept me as a student in his studio; however, I am currently working on saving up the money to finance these lessons. I do not have a specific "studio" in my home, but I have an area of the house that is acoustically dampened using acoustic foam. I use a Dell 640m laptop with either an Applied Research & Technology USB Dual Pre or an M-Audio Fast Track Pro USB interface. As for microphones, I used either an AKG Perception 220 condenser mic or an M-Audio Nova condenser mic, as well as a Stedman pop filter. I think my full-time career as a teacher has assisted me in terms of voice work mainly because of interaction with students. I've made it a point throughout my career to be judicious with my use of words - I don't want to be a teacher who drones on. This transfer especially to my P.A. work, where I can make an announcement efficiently and succinctly. Given the time constraints of recorded voiceovers, I would imagine it would help there, too. Additionally, teaching has actually led to recorded work on my part. I've begun to post podcasts for my students as review of content we study. I've gained significant experience with planning, scripting, recording, and editing my podcasts as a result.