Audio Engineering

My passion for audio has roots at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where I was exposed to the world of recording and engineering and worked as an Audio Technician and WSUW Radio Station Assistant Music Director. Thanks to the mentorship and guidance of my wildly talented professors, I was fortunate enough to leave that undergraduate program with an internship at Audio for the Arts, a professional recording studio in Madison, Wisconsin, in hand. At AFA I found not only a community, but a family—and also (eventually!) a full-time job. I worked as an engineer at AFA for many years, where I did more than hone my skills with hardware and software. I learned how to properly mic a Mridangam, but more importantly I learned how to run cables in a way that would respect the rug and stage space of classical Indian musicians. I learned how to choose the best microphones for recording a choir, but more importantly I learned how to navigate the process of planning, scheduling, and packing gear from the studio, loading, parking, and unloading that gear on-site, and coordinating entry and exit from a concert hall, maintaining proper stage etiquette, and snagging a few paper programs before the show starts for tracking and timing notes throughout the performance.

From mic’ing feet dancing across a stage to transferring reel-to-reel recordings of an Ojibwemowin storyteller, at AFA I learned how to record people.

I departed AFA to pursue a Masters Degree in Sonic Arts at Queen’s University of Belfast in Northern Ireland. There, I honed my skills as a performer and collaborator, diving into multimedia collaborations and extended techniques for both audio and video. I worked with EKG and EEG bio-signals, OSC and networked audio, and the design and construction of novel instruments and interfaces for human expression. At the Sonic Arts Research Centre, I coupled my audio skills with computational creativity, expanding both through my research and creative practice.

I’ve continued my audio work in a professional capacities across multiple institutions, including serving as the Instructional and Music Technology Specialist at the The Juilliard School in New York and teaching courses on topics ranging from Audio Engineering, Recording, Listening and Analysis, and Sound Design for Games, Film, and Interaction.

In the past 5 years I have pursued these interests at Georgia Tech, where I completed my PhD. In my time there, I had the opportunity to serve on the EarSketch and TuneTable/GrooveMachine research projects as well as build computational and physical instruments and interfaces for my own research. More information on these projects can be found in the Research and Work sections of this site. Below you will find some examples of my recording and engineering work, particularly during my time working for at the original and enduring source of inspiration: Audio for the Arts.

CLIENTELE

The number of clients I worked with during my time at AFA were innumerable; the following are a selection of those I worked most closely and extensively with.

Wisconsin Public Radio, Festival Choir of Madison, Ladies Must Swing Big Band Ensemble, Warseid (Viking Metal Band), Wisconsin Symphony Orchestra, Jubilate Choir, Wisconsin Philharmonic, American Family Insurance, Concert on the Green, Philharmonic Choir of Madison, True North, Freedom From Religion Foundation, Appleton North Symphony Strings, Oconomowoc Wind Symphony Band, Stanley Boyd Choir, Waunakee Community Band, Wisconsin State Music Association, Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra, Immanuel Lutheran Choral Arts Society, First United Methodist Church, Intermezzo String Quartet, Indian Grad Students Association, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Wisconsin Choral Directors Association, Snarky Puppy, Matthew Rothschield (Progressive Radio), The Onion News Radio, Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, Frode Gjerstad Trio, Madison Jazz Society, The Weather Duo, Bell Monks, The Groggers, and many more.

GEAR

All things hard- and software!

Digital and analog boards, small and large.

Dynamic, condenser, and ribbon mics from AEA and AKG to Earthworks, Neumann, Royer, Shure, and everything in-between.

Outboard gear from Avalon and Ampria to True and Summit. EQs, Compressors, Amps, FX—anything you can put into the signal chain.

Recording and deployment from ADAT and Reel-to-Reel, to Radio and TV. Archiving, licensing, publishing on any medium.

Pro Tools, Logic, and MaxMSP to MIDI, and OSC—if it makes or takes signal, I’ve got it covered.

VENUES

Recital and concert halls, theatres and clubs, concert halls, stadium and arenas, outdoor events and festivals, churches and cathedrals, living rooms, basements, cafes, and—of course—the studio!