Gilbert, Ariz., Jan. 29, 2019 - The Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences (CRAS; www.cras.edu), the premier institution for audio engineering education, will be opening the doors to its Gilbert, Ariz. campus (1205 N. Fiesta Blvd.) to prospective students, parents, and the media on Saturday, Feb. 2 from 10am – 4pm. Three CRAS graduates with careers in the music recording and touring industries will be on hand for the Open House, and they will also be part of an Open Panel Forum held for current CRAS students the evening of Jan. 31.
“There are a host of opportunities for our students once they graduate, and we want to give them an idea of what’s out there first hand for them once they enter the open market,” said Kirt Hamm, CRAS administrator. “Besides our mandatory internship program, getting our students in touch with our graduates who either are working for others, or who have made the leap into self employment, is huge. That’s what this grad panel is about in our upcoming Open House. Continued education, networking, and learning what it takes for going out on one’s own by those who have done it already is of enormous value for any student.”
Hamm continued, “We also want prospective students and their parents to discover everything there is to know about a CRAS education, and with hard work and dedication just how successful they can be. For instance, every year, CRAS graduates populate, in great numbers, Grammy nominations for the year. At the upcoming Grammy Awards, 34 CRAS graduates worked on 36 Grammy-nominated albums and songs across 33 categories.”
Members of the February Open House Grad Panel include:
Jazz Gaudet - Engineer/Assistant Engineer/Freelance Dialogue Editor at AfterMaster Studios; Jazz is a 2017 GRAS graduate; After interning at AfterMaster, Jazz then worked up to this position. For the dialogue editing position, Jazz started shadowing a post mixing engineer and started getting work from her. Jazz’ duties include setup and tear down of sessions, operating Pro Tools for vocal comps and/or recording, and troubleshooting all technical issues and fixing/making cables. Jazz’ advice for current CRAS students, “Exceed all expectations. Don’t settle for doing only what is asked or expected of you. Go above and beyond what is required of you and make yourself indispensable.”
Ethan Obbema - Audio Engineer/Musical Arranger at Mutato Muzika; Ethan is a 2017 CRAS graduate; Ethan interned and then was hired on full-time at Mutato Muzika. His duties include mixing, editing, engineering, composing, and arranging. Ethan’s advice for current CRAS students, “Stay respectful and be ready to fill the positions that pop up. Work to continue learning outside your main gig and build relationships with all the people you work with.”
John Wallace - FOH/Tour Manager for Flora Cash, Cute is What We Aim For, Steve Moakler; Lori McKenna, Le Butcherettes, and Makeout; John is a 2013 CRAS graduate and interned at a church west of Phoenix, Ariz. (FOH). As a tour manager, he handles the day-to-day for a band on tour. As a FOH audio engineer he loads into every show and while the crew sets up the bands gear he tunes the room with Smaart, run a virtual sound check, and ring out the wedges and FOH before the band ever steps foot on stage. During the show he is in charge of the mix as well as multi-tracking each show into Pro Tools for the band’s reference. John’s advice for current CRAS students, “Passion, determination, and unrelenting perseverance is what is needed to make it in this industry. Get used to hearing ‘no’ and don't let it stop you.”
At the February Open House, guests will be able to interact with CRAS faculty and get a taste of the curriculum and the state-or-the-art audio gear spread throughout its numerous classrooms as well as its 42-foot Mobile Broadcast Unit. They will also be able to participate in live demonstrations in many of these real world audio recording studios, live sound venue, and labs.
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.
“We want everyone to see, hear, and feel how our 11-month program focuses exclusively on what a student needs to know to begin living their passion in any one of the many facets of the Recording Arts,” Hamm concluded.
For more information on the Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences, please visit www.cras.edu, contact Kirt Hamm, administrator, at 1-800-562-6383, or email to info@cras.edu.
About The Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences
Based in the heart of The Valley of the Sun with two campuses in Gilbert and Tempe, Ariz., The Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences (CRAS) is one of the country’s premier institutions for audio education. The Conservatory has developed a unique and highly effective way to help the future audio professional launch their careers in the recording industry and other related professional audio categories.
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