Past, Present CRAS Students Travel to New York for AES Convention

If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. That is certainly true for many Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences graduates. During the recent Audio Engineering Society (AES) Convention, the Student Services Department of the Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences traveled to New York on behalf of its current and future students.

“We sent members of our staff to New York to connect with and develop ongoing and new relationships with manufacturers at the AES Show as well as with recording studio managers and employed CRAS graduates in order to help place our students in their mandatory internships prior to graduation, and then open potential graduate job placement opportunities,” explained Kirt Hamm, CRAS administrator. “Like we recently did in Nashville, we were able to meet with some of our graduates who are already interning and working in many of New York’s top studios, as well as make new contacts in others. All of this helps our current and future students get a leg up when positioning themselves near or after graduation in some of the industry’s best available pro audio environments.”

During the visit, CRAS staff visited and met with personnel from DNR Studios, Penthouse Studios, Rift Studios/Virtue and Vice, Flux Studios, The Kitchen (venue), Reservoir Studios, CDM Studios, Live X Studios, Moon NYC, Lounge Studios, Eastside Sound, and Audio Test Kitchen.

“This trip was inspiring and fruitful,” explained Rachel Ludeman, Employment Coordinator for CRAS. “We’ve already sent candidates to DNR Studios, Live X Studios, Penthouse Recording NYC, Eastside Sound and Adam Audio, and the outcome looks great. There is opportunity in New York’s pro audio community as long as you’re adaptable and willing to work hard for it. CRAS is excited and honored to send some of our finest engineers to these facilities, and appreciate all the new relationships we have made.”

Romaine Patterson, CRAS graduate and owner of DNR Studios, said it felt like life coming full circle when she could open the doors of DNR Studios to CRAS. “The education they provided enabled me to create this space,” she said. “The only thing better then sharing it with them was hiring my first CRAS graduate a week later.”

Jesse Rothman, owner/operator of Penthouse Recording Studios, added, “I am always happy to bring on a CRAS graduate at my studio. I know prior to offering any training that they have some real studio experience, are knowledgeable in signal flow and have an understanding of how to use and maintain the studio equipment.”

The Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences is composed of two nearby campuses in Gilbert and Tempe, Ariz. A CRAS education includes Broadcast Audio, Live Sound, Audio Post for Film and TV, Music Production, Commercial Production and Video Game Audio, all taught by award-winning instructors who have excelled in their individual fields. CRAS’ structured programs, and highly qualified teaching staff, provide a professional and supportive atmosphere, which is complemented by its small class sizes allowing for individual instruction and assistance for students in engineering audio recordings. CRAS has been providing quality vocational training in Audio Recording for more than three decades. The curriculum and equipment are constantly being updated to keep pace with the rapid advancements in the music and sound recording industries. CRAS’ course offerings and subject matter have always centered around the skills and knowledge necessary for students’ success in the Audio Recording industries.

The 11-month program is designed to allow every student access to learn and train in all of the Conservatory’s studios which are comprised with state-of-the-art audio recording and mixing gear, the same equipment used in today’s finest studios and remote broadcast facilities, including Pro Tools 12, API Legacy consoles, SSL G+ and AWS consoles, Studer Vista consoles, and much more. All students must complete a 280-hour industry internship to graduate from the Master Recording Program II that may ultimately lead to industry employment.

“CRAS is a place that offers a very well rounded education for anyone with an interest in audio,” said John Muller, an engineer at Flux Studios who worked on the most recent Frank Ocean track. “They teach you everything from the basic fundamentals that you need to get somewhere in the industry. Not only is the staff extremely good at what they do, they teach you things in a hands on world filled with some of the best equipment that you will run into in the following stages of your career.”

Concluded Alex Oana, co-founder of Audio Test Kitchen, “We’re all entrepreneurs these days and every dollar and minute counts. I knew when I reached out to find affordable yet highly trained help for my audio industry startup, CRAS graduates would be a reliable resource. With their help, Audio Test Kitchen was able to deploy high value engineering personnel at a stage when we needed it most. The graduates ended up taking on more responsibility than we ever envisioned and we continue to rely on them today.”