Biographies of Interviewees

Professionals who were interviewed for the first edition of “Finding Your Career in the Modern Audio Industry” (conducted in 2020-2021):

  • Scott Adamson (New York, New York, US) – Touring front of house sound engineer & founder of The Production Academy, an online resource geared towards live sound skills. Scott has mixed at some of the most iconic venues in the world, and toured with artists such as Passion Pit, Haim, and Khalid.
  • Steinunn Arnardottir (Berlin, Germany) – CTO/Founder of Lottie. Steinunn received a Bachelors Degree in electrical and computer engineering in Iceland, and two Masters Degrees from Stanford University (Music, Science, and Technology; Electrical Engineering) in the US. She worked over ten years for Native Instruments in Berlin, starting as a DSP Developer and eventually becoming Senior Director of Engineering. She founded Lottie, a company who’s mission is to change the way young children experience technology.
  • Aline Bruijns (Harderwijk, Netherlands) – Sound Designer (post-production). Aline is owner of AudioRally SoundDesign, which she founded in 2009. Aline is known for her sound work on feature films, shorts, museum audio tours and project mapping. Aline has a Bachelor’s Degree in Jazz Vocals from ArtEZ University of the Arts (Enschede, Netherlands), and a Masters in Sound Design from HKU (Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht).
  • Chris Bushong (Nashville, Tennessee, US) – Front of house mixer, monitor mixer, RF coordinator and production manager. Chris has toured with Imagine Dragons and Smokey Robinson, and clients include the Nashville Symphony and Alabama Symphony. Chris has a Bachelors of Music in Music Production and Engineering from Berklee College of Music, and moved to Nashville in 2000 where he started his career in recording studios. 
  • James Clemens-Seely (Banff, Alberta, Canada) – Senior Recording Engineer at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. James has worked with garage bands, electronic artists, award-winning artists and producers, and nearly every professional orchestra in Canada.
  • Rachel Cruz (Los Angeles, California, US) – Program Manager – Electrics at Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. Rachel is a product development professional with roots in the recording studio and extensive experience in research and development (R&D), music technology and manufacturing. She has a Bachelors from Berklee College and Masters from Northwestern University.
  • Jeff Dudzick (Effort, Pennsylvania, US) – Content Creation Manager, Audible Studios at Audible, Inc. Jeff started his career working in classical music, including recording the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood (US) and restoring/mastering the Met Opera Radio broadcast catalog (for Sony Music and Sirius/XM). At Audible, Jeff began as an Audio Mastering Engineer (in 2010), growing to work with a large team of contractors on audiobook titles as a Post-Production Manager, before shifting into live original audio (spoken word and music content) with Audible Theater and Words + Music productions. He holds two degrees related to audio production (University of Hartford, McGill University).
  • Tommy Edwards (Austin, Texas, US) – Vice President of Product Development at Warm Audio. Tommy has worked for Logitech, Blue Microphones, Line6 and Alesis. Tommy holds a Bachelors Degree in Music Production and Engineering from the Berklee College of Music (US), and a Masters Degree in Molecular Biology (Ohio State University, US). Prior to working in audio technology, Tommy pursued a career as a musician, including session work and international touring as a guitarist.
  • Claudia Engelhart (New York) – Front of house mixer, Tour/production manager. Claudia built her career in the 1980s at legendary venues Keystone Korner (San Francisco), CBGB’s and the Knitting Factory (New York). She has been Bill Frisell’s FOH mixer since 1989, and has toured with Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, David Byrne among many other top acts.
  • Andrea Espinoza (Las Vegas, Nevada, US & Mexico) – Audio engineer, tour manager, licensed financial advisor. With a BFA in Sound Design and Engineering, Andrea spent eight years in touring audio, working her way up to monitor mixer and tour manager.  In lieu of recent events, she has been able to fully pivot into her own practice as a licensed financial educator and advisor for other live event professionals, while also helping create a not-for-profit housing program for young women who have aged out of foster care.
  • Britany Felix (Colorado Springs, Colorado, US) – podcast consultant and editor. Britany has done over 2,000 podcast episodes including 400 episodes of her own podcasts. Britany is a self-taught podcast editor, learning audio skills as she has built her company. Her business, Podcasting for Coaches, specializes in helping female entrepreneurs, coaches and consultants use podcasting to built their business. Britany is based in Colorado, but loves to travel and will work remotely (around the US, Europe, and Asia).
  • Eric Ferguson (Bangor, Maine, US) –  Assistant Professor of Audio Engineering at the New England School of Communications at Husson University. Eric started his career in Los Angeles as a runner at A&M Studios and worked his way up to staff engineer, where he worked with artists such as Chicago, Ringo Starr, and Billy Corgan. On the live sound side, he has worked as front of house and monitor mixer, system engineer, tour and production manager. He has toured internationally with artists such as Lee Ritenour, James Ingram, Mary Chapin Carpenter.
  • Gabrielle Fisher (Hacienda Heights, California, US) – Audio Designer for the Walt Disney Company. Gabrielle has an audio degree from Citrus College (Glendora, CA) and started her career at Knott’s Berry Farm amusement park as an audio engineer and stage technician. Since 2005, she has worked at Disneyland, starting as an Audio Engineer mixing live events and theatrical shows. She has also done system design projects for the park, and worked on a Disney cruise ship.
  • Megan Frazier (Seattle, Washington, US)  – VR Sound Designer. After a successful career as a banking industry headhunter, Megan decided to pursue VR sound design starting with hackathons. Megan has worked at Altspace VR, the social VR platform for Microsoft, and as a sound designer for Amazon. Megan has a Bachelors in International Business (2012) from Whitworth University (Spokane, WA).
  • Leslie Gaston-Bird (Brighton, England) – Freelance re-recording mixer and sound editor, author, educator. Leslie is owner of Mix Messiah Productions, and is author of the book “Women in Audio.” She has been in the audio industry over 30 years, including 12 years in public radio and 13 years as an educator (overlapping) in addition to her freelance work in television, film, and music.
  • Hiro Goto (Los Angeles, California, US) – Violinist, arranger, recording engineer, live sound engineer. Originally from Tokyo, Japan, Hiro has a Bachelors Degree from the Berklee School of Music (Boston, US), and has worked in the U.S. since. Hiro is a session player, music arranger, and performer in a variety of musical genres. Hiro also works in live sound for clubs, restaurants, houses of worship, and other venues.
  • Giosuè Greco (Los Angeles, California, US) – Film composer, music producer, and musician. Originally from Italy, he studied at the Conservatory Of Music in Vibo Valentia, then moved to the U.S. to study Music Production & Engineering at Berklee College of Music. He moved to Los Angeles after graduating in 2014.
  • Jeff Gross (Los Angeles, California, US) – Foley mixer, music producer, engineer, mixer. Jeff has worked in the audio industry since 1992 when he started 144 Studios. In 2008, Jeff pivoted into post-production sound as a Foley Mixer for Sony Pictures Entertainment. Jeff continues to do “all things audio,” taking opportunities from music writing to forensic audio. 
  • Alesia Hendley (Tampa Bay, Florida, US) – Sales Engineer at Access Networks, Multimedia Journalist and Content Creator. After receiving a certificate in Audio Engineering, Alesia pursued working in live sound before pivoting into AV, where she does operations and installations of audiovisual systems.
  • Clare Hibberd (Glasgow, Scotland) – Lecturer in sound at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Clare spent over a decade working on West End musical theatre in London and touring nationally and internationally. Clare worked at the Royal Opera House Muscat in Oman from 2015-2018.
  • Meegan Holmes (Los Angeles, California, US) – Global Sales Manager at Eighth Day Sound. Meegan has worked in live sound over 25 years, starting as a stagehand eventually mixing monitors, front of house, and system teching on tour. She has toured with TOOL, Queens Of The Stone Age, Linkin Park, and Natalie Cole, among others.
  • Mariana Hutten (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) – Producer, mixing and mastering engineer. Mariana was raised in Argentina and Montreal. . . Mariana worked in video games (in Montreal and Toronto) while building up her career in music production.
  • Rob Jaczko (Boston, Massachusetts, US) – Chairman, Music Production and Engineering Dept. at Berklee College of Music since 2000. He was formerly a staff recording engineer at A&M Studios, Hollywood, California (1989 – 1995) with credits including Bruce Springsteen and James Taylor.
  • Tom Kelly (Denver, Colorado, US) – Podcast editor and content creator. Tom is owner of Clean Cut Audio, and has worked on over 1,500 podcast episodes plus 350 of his own episodes (and YouTube videos). Tom has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Audio Production from The Art Institute of Washington-Northern Virginia, and sought out work in music production before moving to Denver. There, he discovered podcasting, and quickly built a podcasting editing business, and a reputation for upholding sound quality.
  • Camille Kennedy (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) – Boom operator and sound utility for sound for picture. Camille started on union film and television sets in 2011, working in construction, props, and grip work before working her way into the sound department. She has diplomas in Music Performance and Music Industry Arts and a Graduate Certificate in Audio Post Production from Fanshawe College.
  • Karrie Keyes (Ventura, California, US) – Monitor Mixer, Co-founder/Executive Director of SoundGirls. Karrie has been monitor mixer for Pearl Jam and Eddie Vedder for over 25 years, and has toured with Neil Young and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
  • Andrew King (Denver, Colorado, US) – Broadcast audio engineer (A1 and A2). Andrew received a Bachelors in Live Sound Engineer from New England School of Communications (NESCom) in Bangor, Maine. He started working professionally in broadcast in 2013 after moving back to his home state, Colorado. Andrew has been A1 for live music, MLS soccer, and college sports, and as A2 on NBA, NHL and NFL games as well as at the 2018 Olympics in Korea. Andrew also does live sound for music cruises.
  • Kelly Kramarik (Denver, Colorado, US) – Audio engineer, podcast editor, film and tv sound specialist. Kelly earned a Bachelors Degree in Multidisciplinary Studies from West Virginia University and a Masters Degree from University of Colorado Denver (2018). Kelly has worked professionally in a variety of disciplines – live sound, music recording, podcast editing, TV/film production, and post-production sound. Kelly works for Starz in the promotional department as an Audio Editor, and works freelance through her business, Kelly K Audio.  
  • Avril Martinez (Seattle, Washington, US) – Sound Designer & Implementer for video games and AR/VR. Avril started in theatrical sound design and live sound before pivoting into video games. They have worked for Riot Games, Tinker Design+Storytelling, and Microsoft.
  • Langston Masingale (Syracuse, New York, US) – product designer, music producer and engineer. Langston is owner of Handsome Audio and creator of Zulu, the first first passive analog tape simulator. Langston helped start JJ Audio, a microphone company, in 2009. He started in the audio industry at age 16, learning about audio from his uncle’s recording studio.
  • Kevin McCoy (Minneapolis, Minnesota, US) – Head Audio, Hamilton “And Peggy” Company (San Francisco, California). Kevin started his career in small professional theaters in Minnesota before getting into touring. Kevin has toured with many Broadway shows (Motown the Musical, Cabaret the Musical, Mamma Mia) as an A2 and A1 (Head Audio) including First or Second National Tours. Kevin has also worked as production manager for touring shows.
  • John McLucas (Los Angeles, California, US) – CEO of McLucas Media, Pop music producer and content creator. John has over 200 videos on his Youtube channel, is host of the Modern Music Creator Podcast with over 100 episodes. He has built a career as a music producer with a specialty in vocal production. John is a graduate of Musicians Institute in Hollywood, CA.
  • Mehrnaz Mohabati (Los Angeles, California, US) – Supervising Sound Editor/Re-Recording Mixer. Mehrnaz has a Bachelor’s Degree in Musicology (Surech University, Iran) and a Master’s Degree in Sound Engineering (University of Official Broadcasting, Iran). She worked as a music engineer in Tehran, Iran for seven years before moving to Los Angeles in 2010. She pivoted into post-production (after attending LA Recording School), and has since been working as a dialog editor, ADR mixer, sound supervisor and re-recording mixer for tv and films.
  • Jeanne Montalvo Lucar (Dobbs Ferry, New York, US) – Audio Engineer and Radio Producer. Jeanne holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Florida and a Masters in Music Technology from New York University (NYU). Jeanne started her professional career in classical music before pivoting into spoken word audio (NPR, Bloomberg, Latino USA). In 2018, Jeanne earned Spotify’s EQL Studio Residency at Spotify Studios and Electric Lady Studios (New York). She has since worked freelance in spoken word audio and music recording with a special interest in Latin music.
  • Avery Moore Kloss (Paris, Ontario, Canada) – Audio storyteller, podcast producer, and award-winning radio documentarian. Avery has a bachelors degree in journalism and history (double major) from Carleton University (Canada) and a Graduate Certificate in Radio Documentary from the Salt Institute (Maine, US). Avery teaches Audio Storytelling at Wilfred Laurier University (Brantford, Ontario, Canada).
  • Tina Morris (Los Angeles, California, US) – Music Studio Manager at The Village. Tina attended the Berklee College of Music, where she intended to be a guitarist but pivoted into Music Production and Engineering. After moving to Los Angeles, Tina started at the Village (a famous music recording studio) as a studio tech and worked her way up.
  • Devyn Nicholson (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) – Manager of Audiovisual Services at McGill University. Devyn has a Masters Degree in Sound Recording from McGill. Devyn was the technical manager for the Schulich School of Music before moving into the University’s AV department. He currently oversees AV needs of campus construction projects, as well as operations for existing classroom AV on campus. on campus.
  • Sal Ojeda (Los Angeles, California, US) – Re-recording mixer and sound editor. Sal grew up in Guadalajara, Mexico, where he learned about sound recording. Sal attended Glendale Community College in Arizona, graduated from Berklee College of Music, then moved to Los Angeles. He worked in music production before working with a company specializing in foreign dubbing work. Sal works on tv shows, films, and commercials, and has worked on the music teams for major broadcasts such as the Oscars and Emmys.
  • Phebean AdeDamola Oluwagbemi (Lagos, Nigeria) – Audio engineer, production manager, and co-founder of Audio Girl Africa. Febe started her professional audio career interning for Azuza Productions, one of the top live sound companies in Nigeria, then moved into working for the company as an audio engineer and production manager.  
  • Piper Payne (Nashville, TN) – Mastering Engineer at Infrasonic Mastering. Piper has a BFA in Audio from The University of Michigan, and a graduate degree in Audio from the University of Stavanger in Norway. She was owner and Chief Mastering Engineer of Neato Mastering in Oakland, California until 2019, and has been the Recording Academy President for the San Francisco Chapter since 2013.
  • Luisa Pinzon (Bogota, Colombia) – Audio engineer, graduate student. Luisa has a Masters in Music (Sound Engineering), and has worked in music and TV in Columbia. She was a practicum at the Banff Centre in 2018-2019, and began a Masters at CalArts in Valencia, California in 2021 (focused on sound synthesis).
  • Burt Price (Boston, MA) – Chief Engineer at the Berklee College of Music. Burt has worked at Berklee over 20 years, including developing 52 production studios in two locations (Boston and Valencia, Spain). He has worked in studio/audio tech and vintage gear repair for over 30 years.
  • Kristen Quinn (Seattle, WA) – Audio Director at Polyarc Games. Kristen has worked as an Audio Director at Riot Games (where she spent four years on Legends of Runeterra) and Microsoft Game Studios, where she also worked as a sound designer. Kristen started in game audio at Monolith Productions.
  • Jason “Redz” Reynolds (Toronto, CA) – Touring live sound engineer (front of house, monitor mixer and tour/production manager) and consultant for houses of worship. Jason learned audio from Paul Price at their church in Kingston, Jamaica and moved to Canada in 2004. Jason has toured internationally with reggae artists Stephen Marley, Shaggy, and Magic!.
  • Susan Rogers (Boston, MA) – sound engineer, producer, and educator. Susan is best known for her engineering work with Prince from 1983-1987, and producing artists such as Barenaked Ladies and David Byrne. She is currently a professor the Berklee College of Music. In 2000, she left the music industry to go to college, starting with Bachelor’s Degree and completing a PhD from McGill University focused on music cognition and psychoacoustics.
  • Sarah Stacey (Dublin, Ireland) – Radio, audio and podcast producer. Sarah is a freelance audio producer (with clients including the BBC) after working full-time for four years at Today FM in Dublin. Sarah has a Master of Arts in Radio Production (Bournemouth University, UK) and a Bachelor of Science in Multimedia (Dublin City University).
  • Becca Stoll (She/Her/Hers) (Norwalk, CT) – Theatrical audio engineer.  She specializes in mixing musicals, and is especially passionate about mixing new works. Becca works freelance in New York City as a mixer and production audio head. Before that, she spent 4 years working at regional theatres around the country such as Goodspeed Musicals and American Repertory Theatre. Becca is an alumnus of the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama. She lives in Connecticut with her husband, Marty, and their cat, Cleo.
  • Marc Thériault – Chief Mastering Engineer at Le Lab Mastering in Montreal, Quebec (Canada). Marc started working in live sound when he was 16 in Quebec. He has worked for Celine Dion’s touring sound crew since 1996, including during her residency in Las Vegas.
  • Nick Tipp (Los Angeles) – Recording Engineer, Mixer, Audio/Video Producer. Nick specializes in recording and mixing live performances (from classical music to rock bands) as well as live in-studio tracking. He has produced Pulitzer-nominated and GRAMMY nominated albums (including for Ted Hearne in 2020). Nick has a B.S. in Music Recording from the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California.
  • Jack Trifiro (New Hampshire, US) – front of house mixer, tour manager/production manager. Jack got his start in live sound through jam bands, and moved into working for production companies doing concerts and festivals. He has been working with Victor Wooten since 2005, starting as front of house and later taking on tour and production managing. He is also monitor engineer for Béla Fleck & the Flecktones.
  • Ryan Tucker (Los Angeles, California, US) – Product Designer. Ryan is a product designer for Warm Audio. He has worked in software and hardware quality assurance for McDSP, Universal Audio, Blue Microphones, Guitar Center, Line6, DTS and more. Ryan worked as a studio tech at the Berklee College of Music after graduating from their MP&E program, and started his career in Los Angeles as a studio runner (Henson Recording Studios).
  • Karol Urban (Los Angeles, California, US) – re-recording mixer, sound editor. Karol has a diverse list of mix credits over the last 20 years spanning from feature films, scripted and unscripted television series, TV movies, and documentaries. She started her career in the Washington DC area after graduating from James Madison University in Audio Post Production. She was elected president of the Cinema Audio Society in 2019.
  • Catherine Vericolli (Tempe, Arizona/Nashville, Tennessee, US) – Recording engineer, archival engineer, recording studio owner. Catherine started Fivethirteen Studios in 2006, which specialized in analog recording. In 2020, Catherine relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, where she is Chief Transfer Engineer and Archival Engineer at Infrasonic Transfers & Archival. Catherine attended the Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences (Tempe, AZ) in 2003-2004.
  • Fei Yu (Beijing, China) – music producer, music editor, music supervisor. Fei’s company, Dream Studios, pairs Chinese filmmakers with Western composers. She has worked with major Western composers & artists (Andrea Bocelli, Hans Zimmer, Rupert Gregson-Williams, Lorne Balfe, Tyler Bates, the London Symphony). Fei started her career as a music editor for the China Film Group, and she is a graduate of Beijing Film Academy (Music recording and Film scoring) and McGill University (Masters of Music – Sound Recording).
  • Eliza Zolnai (Budapest, Hungary) – Production sound assistant. Eliza studied at the University of Theatre and Film Arts in Budapest, where she started working on film sets while still in school.  In 2020, she temporarily relocated to New Zealand, where she worked during the COVID pandemic. She has worked on major Hollywood films including Terminator 6 and Dune (2021).
  • Javier Zúmer (Royal Leamington Spa, England) – Video game Sound designer. Javier grew up in Seville, Spain, where he did a Sound for Media Associate Degree at Néstor Almendros. After working freelance (in production sound, post production sound, and music production), he relocated to County Galway, Ireland, where he worked as a sound designer and re-recording mixer at Telegael. Javier pivoted full-time from post-production into video games in 2020, when he relocated to the UK to work for Pixel Toys.

Written interviews

  • Lucy Diggle, Audio System Engineer, Jaguar Land Rover
  • Shaun Farley (Albany, California, US) – Sound editor at Skywalker Sound. Shaun has worked in public radio, television, and film, and started his career in the Washington D.C. area. He served as a contributing editor for popular industry site DesigningSound.org from 2011-2019. Shaun has a MA in Visual and Media Arts from Emerson College.
  • Jonathan Hubel (Richardson, Texas) – Audio engineer and podcast editor
  • Mabel Leong – Mabel Leong has worked in Singapore for an advertising agency (BDA Creative Singapore) on commercials, advertising, and online media, and also for Night Owl Cinematics, a production company, where she does production and post-production sound for online content.
  • Agnes “Aji” Manalo (Manila, Philippines) – Assistant Professor at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde
  • Tiziana Mazzucco (Milan, Italy) – Audio Technician (sound for picture)
  • Jack Menhorn (Redmond, Washington, US) – Audio Lead/Video game sound designer/composer. Jack is Audio Lead at Formosa Group, and was Editor in Chief of the popular industry website DesigningSound.org from 2012-2018. Jack has a Bachelors Degree in Composition from Greensboro College. He worked in video game QA (in North Carolina) before moving into sound design and lead audio designer positions.
  • Ashton Morris (Colorado) – blind accessibility sound design for PhET
  • Pete Reed (London, England, UK) – Technical Sound Designer at Playstation. Pete started his career in theater sound, including four years as sound engineer on Matilda the Musical (London West End). While working in the west end, Pete pivoted into video game sound, where he was working on AAA titles within three years. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Music and Technology from Brunel University London.

Other major resources used for the book:

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