From Tiny Desk to Global Sound

Summary

Podcast Summary: All Of It – Episode: From Tiny Desk to Global Sound

Host: Alison Stewart
Guests: Josh Rogeson (Former Tiny Desk Engineer and Creator of Global Sound Concerts) and Jenna Lee (Program Director at NYPL's Studio 40)
Release Date: April 21, 2025

---

Introduction

In this episode of All Of It, Alison Stewart delves into the evolution of NPR’s beloved Tiny Desk Concerts and explores the emergence of a new series, Global Sound Concerts. The conversation features insights from Josh Rogeson, the former engineer behind Tiny Desk Concerts, and Jenna Lee, the program director at the New York Public Library’s Studio 40.

From Tiny Desk to Global Sound Concerts

Alison Stewart sets the stage by tracing the origins of Tiny Desk Concerts, which began in 2008 as an intimate performance series within NPR’s headquarters. Josh Rogeson, a pivotal figure in the success of Tiny Desk, shares his transition to creating Global Sound Concerts.

Josh Rogeson:
“Global Sound Concerts travel and film live shows with artists in their home cities and in locations that matter to them… we’ve recorded in Spain, Mexico, and Australia”
[02:42]

Jenna Lee elaborates on the inspiration behind Global Sound Concerts, likening it to a music-focused version of Anthony Bourdain’s cultural explorations.

Jenna Lee:
“I just thought, what a cool thing to do. Why don't I create a show that's… discovering culture through music as opposed to discovering culture through food. So hence Global Sound Concerts was born.”
[04:47]

Behind the Scenes: Astor Hall Recording and Little Kruta

The episode highlights a unique recording session in Astor Hall at the New York Public Library, featuring the string ensemble Little Kruta. Jenna Lee discusses the challenges and triumphs of capturing their performance in such a reverberant space.

Jenna Lee:
“We had the most unbelievable privilege of recording in Astor hall at the New York Public Library… the stunning resonance of this room… we had to do it bright and early before the library opened.”
[04:00]

The ensemble’s performance was meticulously engineered to preserve the room’s natural acoustics, showcasing the blend of technical skill and artistic sensitivity required for such setups.

The Public Song Project: Encouraging Musical Creativity

Josh Rogeson introduces the Public Song Project, an initiative encouraging listeners to submit songs inspired by the public domain, including poems, books, and movies. This project aims to democratize music creation by providing a platform for both amateur and professional musicians.

Josh Rogeson:
“You just have to put your own spin on it… like Eli Wing did with this Robert Frost poem, An Interrupted Cry Came.”
[00:29]

The project fosters community engagement, inviting participants to reinterpret and connect with cultural artifacts through music.

Studio 40: Empowering New York's Musicians

Jenna Lee provides an overview of Studio 40, the NYPL’s flagship public recording studio. She emphasizes its role in democratizing access to high-quality recording equipment and education for New York’s aspiring musicians and audio engineers.

Jenna Lee:
“Studio 40 is a public recording studio… equipped with full equipment to do all kinds of music recording. We have community engineers who train and learn Pro Tools, Logic, Ableton mixing… all for free through the New York Public Library's resources.”
[13:03]

This initiative not only supports artists in creating their work but also fosters a vibrant community of creators who benefit from free resources and expert guidance.

Insights into Audio Engineering

The conversation shifts to the intricacies of audio engineering, where Jenna Lee and Josh Rogeson share valuable lessons from their careers. Preparation and anticipation emerge as key themes in ensuring successful recordings.

Jenna Lee:
“To be prepared… think ahead, what is gonna happen… make sure I have all the cables… make a test recording before I leave the studio.”
[17:54]

Jenna Lee:
“When I started at NPR, we spent hours planning every single cable for the Newport Folk Festival… that laid the foundation for setting up the studio at NYPL.”
[19:14]

These insights underscore the importance of meticulous planning and adaptability in the field of audio engineering.

The Future of Global Sound Concerts and Field Recordings

Looking ahead, Jenna Lee discusses her plans to expand Global Sound Concerts to educational institutions, such as her upcoming trip to Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina. She aims to inspire students and emerging artists through interactive recording sessions and field recordings.

Jenna Lee:
“I’m using it as an opportunity to pay it forward… to inspire the next generation of audio engineers and musicians.”
[19:39]

She also expresses a desire to develop a curriculum focused on field recordings, emphasizing the significance of capturing music in diverse environments beyond traditional studio settings.

Jenna Lee:
“We need great content that isn't just in studio content… making these wonderful field recordings that I'm so enamored with.”
[20:12]

Notable Performances and Memories

The episode revisits memorable Tiny Desk performances, notably Mac Miller's concert. Jenna Lee reflects on the emotional weight of recording Mac Miller shortly before his passing, highlighting the deep connections fostered through such intimate performances.

Jenna Lee:
“We caught that performance very, very, within two weeks of his untimely death. It was such a wow moment.”
[10:22]

The camaraderie and authenticity captured during these sessions exemplify the unique allure of live, unfiltered musical performances.

Conclusion

Alison Stewart wraps up the discussion by reiterating the collaborative efforts of Josh Rogeson and Jenna Lee in bridging the gap between traditional studio recordings and immersive field experiences. The episode emphasizes the ongoing mission to make music creation accessible, preserve authentic performances, and foster a thriving community of artists and engineers.

---

Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Jenna Lee:
  “Studio 40 is a public recording studio… all for free through the New York Public Library's resources.”
  [13:03]

• Josh Rogeson:
  “Why don't I create a show that's… discovering culture through music as opposed to discovering culture through food. So hence Global Sound Concerts was born.”
  [04:47]

• Jenna Lee:
  “We had the most unbelievable privilege of recording in Astor hall at the New York Public Library… the stunning resonance of this room.”
  [04:00]

• Jenna Lee:
  “I think sharing and creating art is like, as close to God as you can get if there's such a thing.”
  [14:10]

---

This episode of All Of It offers a comprehensive exploration of the transition from intimate office performances to global field recordings, highlighting the dedication and passion of those who strive to make culture and music accessible to all.

Transcript

[Alison Stewart]

All of it is supported by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy to see if you could save when you bundle your home and auto policies. Try [e-mail] Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states. Listener Supported WNYC Studios.

[Josh Rogeson]

Listeners, the 2025 edition of the Public Song Project is now underway and you can get involved. For a chance to be featured on wnyc, send us a song based on something in the public domain. It can draw from a poem, a book, a movie. It could be as simple as a cover of a song that you, your parents, your grandparents or their grandparents grew up singing. You don't need to be a pro, just put your own spin on it. Like Nation Beat did on this Duke Ellington song you're listening to right now. Or like Eli Wing did with this Robert Frost poem, An interrupted cry came.

[Jenna Lee]

Over houses from another street, but not to call me back or say goodbye.

[Josh Rogeson]

To find out how to get involved, go to wnyc.org publicsongproject we're excited to hear your songs. This is all of it on WNYC. I'm Alison Stewart. Tiny Desk Concerts first launched in 2008 as a novel alternative to Crowsy Noid venues, the set was an intimate makeshift desk amidst office desks at NPR's headquarters. It's since become a globally recognized series. A big part of that success is thanks to Josh Rogeson. He is a recording and mixing engineer who works on around, oh, 800 sessions. He's also a judge for this year's Public Song Project here at WNYC and a longtime friend. He engineered us, you know, small performances on a little show called the Bryant Park Project. AW Rugstane has now taken on his engineering talents from the office to the road with the series Global Sound Concerts. They travel and film live shows with artists in their home cities and in locations that matter to them. So far, their locations have included Spain, Mexico and Australia. Here's the Aboriginal musician. I hope I pronounced this right.

[Jenna Lee]

Juganji Jangaji, thank you.

[Josh Rogeson]

Performing in Brisbane tonight, Josh we at the Stabbers Nyarchos found library at the NYPL for a free masterclass on recording and engineering. It's hosted by my other guest, Jenna Lee. She's the program director for the NYPL's recording studio and Media center, which is available for free to all New Yorkers. Welcome to the studio.

[Jenna Lee]

We're so happy to be here.

[Josh Rogeson]

Thanks for having us, listeners. Our Phone lines are open if you want to call in and speak to the man behind the sound of NPR's Tiny Desk. 2124-3396-9221-2433-932, WNYC. Or if you have a question about the NYPH ELS resources for musicians, you can call in as well. 2124-3396-9221-2433, WNYC. So you just came from recording something.

[Jenna Lee]

Oh, my gosh. We had the most unbelievable privilege of recording in Astor hall at the New York Public Library, the famed public library with the two lions out front. And you walk into this beautiful space with tons of reverberant, stunning sound. So the trick was to find an artist that would fit into that location. And I think we nailed it with a wonderful group called Little Kruta, a string ensemble of three violins, a viola, a cello and a double bass. And, of course, the stunning resonance of this room. And we had to do it bright and early before the library opened at.

[Josh Rogeson]

10Am so where did this idea for Global Sound Concerts come from?

[Jenna Lee]

You know, I really loved all the home concerts that were happening during the pandemic for Tiny Desk. And I thought, how interesting is it to actually go to the locations of where these musicians are from? People like Natalia Laforcade, people like Mon Laferte, she was super pregnant walking through this stunning church, and it was, like, so visceral. And I love that they recorded in the style of Tiny Desk, but you know, where they were living or where they were from, and I just loved that. And I thought, what a cool thing to do. Why don't I create a show that's. If Anthony Bourdain had a music show. Let's discover culture through music as opposed to discovering culture through food. So hence Global Sound Concerts was born.

[Josh Rogeson]

I wanna play a clip from your series. This one is called Gypsy Jazz in a Mexican Cemetery. Okay, who's featured in this video and how did you discover them?

[Jenna Lee]

This incredible duo from Todos Santos, Mexico. Someone in Todos Santos, where my parents actually relocated to Baja. And one of their friends were like, we just had this duo play at, like, a wedding or I forgot it was like some sort of party. And they're incredible. You have to check them out. I heard their music, and it's just clarinet and gypsy guitar. And they were playing all this amazing, like, Django Reinhardt and gypsy jazz stuff. And I'm like, I didn't know why, but, like, I kind of just wanted to choose a really interesting location to record them. So I'm like, why not do it in this super old beautiful cemetery? And I'm not sure why, but I really think it works.

[Josh Rogeson]

Let's take a listen. Sa what tends to surprise you about the work that goes into a Global sound concert or even a Tiny desk performance.

[Jenna Lee]

You know what's amazing is everywhere I travel, there is music. Everywhere I go, there's good music. And they don't have to be famous. They don't have to be like. They just have to be passionate and care about what they're doing. So, like, that duo is Oscar Aledo playing gypsy guitar and Carlos de Santos playing clarinet. And, you know, I just found them in this tiny little Baja town of Todos Santos, Mexico. And it's just incredible how much talent there is in the world. And that's what's exciting me about your project Song project, where people are gonna be submitting in the public domain. It's pretty cool pieces of work. And just to share, that is incredible. So I've been creating these contests where I've been traveling on Instagram with the hashtag GlobalSoundChile. So it creates this wonderful community of a bunch of musicians who are uploading one minute videos and like, oh, wow, what are they doing? And it went totally viral. Over a thousand submissions to the GlobalSoundChilly contest.

[Josh Rogeson]

Wow.

[Jenna Lee]

And I'm like, wow, what a really cool way to, like, create audience engagement and get people excited about, you know, making art together.

[Josh Rogeson]

Jenna, let's bring you in here. You're the NYPL's program director for their media lab. You also worked at NPR Music and Tiny Desk Concerts. When you think about what made them special, what did make them special? The Tiny Desk concerts.

[Unnamed Guest]

I loved how intimate the sound was. People just came in and they were playing in an office space. They walked in and they were surprised by how stripped down the set was, how they didn't have any PA and they were just playing their heart out, listening to each other and playing right for an audience face to face, less than five feet away from them. So it's almost like, as everyone says, performing in your living room. And you got a really super intimate side of that performance played out in front of them. And then Josh has been one of my long term mentors. Yeah. Really taught me a lot about audio engineering. And I think he really brings out the intimacy and the sound of that space. So it's so cool to see him on his next projects or with the recording we did in the morning, capturing the liveness of the room, what the space Actually sounds like what the moment sounds like. Beyond just what you'd hear on a regular record. You're hearing a live, intimate performance where someone's spitting their heart out in front of you.

[Josh Rogeson]

You asked us for your favorite Tiny Desk concert and the one you put on your list was Mac Miller. Why is that one special?

[Unnamed Guest]

I love the Mac Miller concert. I think he's joking. People are just locked into that concert with him. Obviously, Mac is a mainstay of the independent artist scene. He's really coming out with his own special story and heart and love the background. Love how he's joking around with everyone so intimately. I think Josh has more to that one.

[Jenna Lee]

Yeah, I think we caught that performance very, very, like, within two weeks of his untimely death. And that was just such a, like, wow, I can't believe we got that. And Thundercat actually flew out. He was on tour to play bass for Mac. He specifically flew out just to play bass with Mac. And you can see that camaraderie. I think that's what's so special about these live performances captured in an off cuff sort of way where I'm not using monitors, I'm not using a pa. It forces the musicians to sort of like, wait a minute, we're just playing music together in a room, like around a campfire. And there's something when you strip away all that tech and you get rid of the headphones and there's something that happens. It's like, it almost just sort of like, this isn't that serious. We're just having fun playing music together. Even though this might be the most successful thing we ever put out.

[Josh Rogeson]

Let's listen to Mac Miller on Tiny Desk.

[Jenna Lee]

Yeah. The world is so small Till it ain't I'm building up a world till it break she hate it when I call and it's late I don't want to keep you waiting I hope I never keep waiting.

[Josh Rogeson]

I'm speaking to Josh Rogeson. He's the former engineer for NPR's Tiny Desk, creator of the new series Global Sound Concerts, and he's a judge for the Public Song Project. Also here with us is Jenna Lee, program director for the New York Public Library's Media Lab. We'll have more after a quick break. This is all of it.

[Jenna Lee]

I might trip I never fall God.

[Josh Rogeson]

You are listening to all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. My guests in studio are Josh Rogeson, engineer and creator of the Global Sound Concerts, and Jenna Lee, program director at the NYPL's Studio 40. You're the lead engineer, Jenna, at the Studio 40. First of all, what is Studio 40? Let's start there. Let's start there.

[Unnamed Guest]

It's a great place to start. Yeah. Studio 40 is a public recording studio, is our flagship space at the New York Public Library, which is equipped with full, full equipment to do all kinds of music recording. We have drums backline for guitars, keyboards, everything you would want to do to record your song for free at the New York Public Library. It's run by community engineers who train and learn Pro Tools, logic, Ableton mixing, how to run a sound check out of that space. We have computer labs with free access to software, and we run a really vibrant, exciting education program where you can get your foot in the door to audio engineering, get a leg up as an artist in the city, all for free through the New York Public Library's resources. We're also inviting Josh in for a master class tonight from 6 to 8pm so that's part of our deep dive into other sides of the recording industry. And it's a really wonderful community space for emerging artists all throughout the city.

[Josh Rogeson]

And it's one of the places where people who want to join the Public Song Project can go and record their masterpiece for free. We'll call it a masterpiece.

[Unnamed Guest]

Absolutely, yes. We offer free recording time for artists in the city. You come, you get your library card, you do an orientation with us, and then you can book the studio and use the space. And we have our community engineers who can help run your sessions with you. And we've been spitting out masterpieces, and it's really. It's a cool. It's a cool artist community.

[Josh Rogeson]

Want to also let people know next Monday is our deadline for the Public Song Project.

[Jenna Lee]

Oh, God. Sign up.

[Josh Rogeson]

Why are you telling people to sign up? I'm curious.

[Jenna Lee]

You submit. Submit. Because I think sharing and creating art is like, as close to God as you can get if there's such a thing, you know, And I think any opportunity I love, now that I've left, you know, tiny desk and npr, now I'm doing global sound concerts. I'm really using it as an opportunity to pay it forward to inspire the next generation of audio engineers and musicians, like, hey, let's go out and create some cool content. Like being at the New York Public Library this morning in Astor hall on, like, the famed Fifth Avenue with the two lines out front. It was like such an iconic moment, and I've never heard music in that space before. And to listen to the string ensemble stop suddenly and hear 2, 3, 4 seconds of decay. It was chilling. And the fact that I can share that now with an online audience I think is so special. I'm using, like an ambisonic mic, which uses four capsules to pick up, like the three dimensional space. So you're really of what it sounded like to be in that room at that moment with these musicians. It's kind of like how journalism and music production, that's what I'm about. I'm like capturing real moments in time that are live and ethereal, but that can be shared on the beautiful platform of YouTube.

[Unnamed Guest]

Folks, that's one thing I love about Josh, is he's always coming up with crazy ideas. I said, can you give us some behind the scenes? Do you want to do a live recording? Can we do something so people can see? Like, peel back the curtain, do a deconstruction? What's in your bag? What do you do? How do you set it up? What are the technical steps to make the magic? And Josh is all about demystifying that. And so I was like, let's do a live recording. Let's do something. And he's like, ooh, ooh, ooh. Can we do it in that crazy hall? In that space?

[Jenna Lee]

Yeah, like, can we go in the famed hall in Astor hall on Fifth Avenue, in the classic library at Bryant Park? And she's like, I guess we can ask. And it happens.

[Unnamed Guest]

She made it up 6am, you know, up and atom before the public arrived.

[Josh Rogeson]

What are some of the common questions you get from people who are interested in engineering?

[Unnamed Guest]

Oh, wow. I mean, I think a lot of people come in thinking that engineering is, like, behind a certain wall, or you have to have some sort of technical background or like some sort of shoe in the door to be able to do it. And actually, as part of our orientation class, we teach everyone how to run a sound check. Because whether or not you're in front of the microphone as an artist, whether you're behind, whether you're playing with faders, pressing buttons, plugging in cables, knowing each step of the process, I think really empowers you to feel like you can talk to the engineer and get the most out of your sound, or that you're not shut out of the technical process that comes to making the magic happen. And I think that that is really when people find out that it's not that simple, or, sorry, it's not that hard, it's really quite simple. I think that that really opens a lot of doors for, like, the DIY recordings that will get them in the door to more and more and more as artists and really enable them to get their voices out on the different platforms in the digital age.

[Josh Rogeson]

Josh, what was helpful advice that you got along the way in your engineering career?

[Jenna Lee]

That's a great question. To be prepared. So to try to think ahead, like, what is gonna happen? What are the possible scenarios that are gonna happen when we roll into the New York Public Library and show up? What are the caveats? So make sure I have all the cables that I need to run all the lines, make sure that I have batteries and power. Make a test recording before I leave the studio to make sure that all the equipment is going to be reliable and working and maybe have a backup plan. So it's always about anticipation. The more you plan, the smoother the gig will go.

[Unnamed Guest]

And Josh really taught me that when he were. Actually, when I started at npr, I was a little baby audio engineer, audio engineering assistant. And we drove eight hours up to capture audio for the Newport Folk Festival. And we spent eight hours in the car listening back to mixes for Tiny Desk and planning in our heads where every single cable of hundreds of feet of Cat 5 were going to go for this crazy recording gig. And that is what laid the foundation, I think, for my technical background to set up the studio at NYPL. It was really those 8 hours, 16 hours in the car just thinking through audio problems and doubling up ways to do different things and being prepared by planning out an actual.

[Jenna Lee]

Yeah. Newport Folk was three stages simultaneously. The stages were hundreds and hundreds of feet apart from each other. Thousands. We had to run all these cables so all the audio would end up in the same place so that tune in could switch between the three different stages whenever they wanted. And we recorded every single set front of house and audience mics. So it was like. And it was just me and Jenna. So. Yeah.

[Josh Rogeson]

Where are you gonna go next for your Global Sounds concerts? What do you think?

[Jenna Lee]

Oh, my gosh. Well, it's been amazing. I'm actually heading to Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina, and I'm leaving to the day after tomorrow. So I'm gonna go down there, spend some time with the students. What I love to do is pay it forward, get some people excited, and find some artists to record with the students as an educational opportunity. So that's really what's fueling Global Sound Concerts is just my desire to pay it forward. And the actual, like, YouTube page where I encourage everybody to check out the Global Sound Concerts YouTube page.

[Josh Rogeson]

Pretty cool.

[Jenna Lee]

I feel like they're almost just like an afterthought or a final landing spot for. What I really want to be doing is just getting people excited about making content, making music. You know, in this world where we're all on our phones, we need great content that isn't just in studio content. Why not make these wonderful field recordings that I'm so enamored with? And that's my specialty. So I kind of want to create a new curriculum for audio producers and engineers to actually do field recordings, not just in studio stuff.

[Josh Rogeson]

My guests have been Josh Rogeson and Jenna Lee. Thank you so much for your time today.

[Jenna Lee]

It was such a pleasure to see you. Thanks, Alison.

[Unnamed Guest]

Thanks for having us. Really appreciate it.

[Josh Rogeson]

And that's all of it. I'm Alison Stewart. I appreciate you listening. I appreciate you. I will meet you back here tomorrow.

[Jenna Lee]

A roll that feels like paradise. And always at a heavenly prize.

[Josh Rogeson]

Angel soft. Angel soft.

[Unnamed Guest]

Soft and strong.

[Josh Rogeson]

So it's simple.

[Jenna Lee]

Pick up a pack today. Angelsoft Soft and strong.

[Josh Rogeson]

So cool.

[Alison Stewart]

Since WNYC's first broadcast in 1924, we've been dedicated to creating the kind of content we know the world needs. In addition to this award winning reporting, your sponsorship also supports inspiring storytelling and extraordinary music that is free and accessible to all. To get in touch and find out more, visit sponsorship.wnyc.org.