Panel Discussion: The State of Audio Education in the Pacific Northwest

November 18, 2015
Steve Turnidge, Steve Malott, Lawrence Schwedler, Jim Elenteny, Marlie Pesek, Joe Reineke, and Steve Barsotti | AES PNW Section vice Chair, Music Technology Faculty, Shoreline Community College, Northwest University, Program Director, Music & Sound Design, DigiPen Institute, Shoreline Community College, Robert Lang Studios, Seattle Academy of Recording Arts, Art Institute of Seattle

Decades ago, when the audio industry was in its infancy, there was no way to get formal education in Audio Engineering. You hung out at a studio, maybe and maybe you got a job sweeping floors, running coffee, etc. which maybe led to helping with setups, 2nd engineering, and some day: your first session. Or maybe you went out and got a degree in just about anything; Music or Electrical Engineering were obvious choices. Or perhaps you were a musician and were able to make the move to the other side of the glass.

Some studios started offering classes as a way to fill in blank spots in the schedule (and also as gofer bait). Many people got started that way. Via Tascam, others joined the home studio revolution. Only a few colleges and universities had any sort of audio engineering program. Interdisciplinary degrees were one of the options then. Formalized coursework was a natural outcome of this process, and today it’s easy to find specific programs in specific parts of the field of Audio Engineering. The Pacific Northwest section of Audio Engineering Society November meeting is a panel discussion with people from the education side of the field, addressing questions that we’ve already given them, as well as your own.

The panel discussion will be moderated by Steve Turnidge, AES PNW section vice chair. The panel participants are: * Steve Malott, Music Technology Faculty, Shoreline Community College, Northwest University. * Lawrence Schwedler, Program Director, Music and Sound Design, DigiPen Institute. * Jim Elenteny, Shoreline Community College. * Marlie Pesek, Robert Lang Studios * Michelle Sanders Leyva, Seattle Audio Recording Academy