Left (standing) - Graham Kirk - Director of Sales and Marketing, AES and Right (seated at console) Frank Wells - Director of Communications, AES.
AES Nashville Section "2019 AES Convention Wrap-Up"
The Nashville Section of the AES held their annual "AES Convention Wrap-Up" at "Welcome To 1979" recording studios.
Frank Wells, Director of Communications, AES, moderated the discussion and presented a wide range of info regarding the papers, sessions, exhibitors, and presenters. He also showed several photos of the people who make this convention happen. It was good to put faces with names. Frank explained that the NAB Show — New York, again sharing the Javits Convention Center with the AES, benefited both professional organizations. The main NAB convention traditionally held in the spring in Las Vegas has much less emphasis on audio than the other areas of broadcast and internet communications, production, and transmission.
Graham Kirk, Director of Sales and Marketing, AES, was also on hand to discuss the importance of AES conventions including the manufacturer's exhibits, the technical papers, and the value of socializing with all the industry professionals.
Dr. Wesley Bulla, Professor of Audio Engineering Technology, and Dr. Doyuen Ko, instructors at Belmont University, shared their experiences from an educational perspective. Belmont had a range of activities from peer-reviewed papers to participation in the recording and programming competitions. All-in-all, Belmont students and faculty generated two awards, one for traditional studio recording and another for Matlab programming design and ten papers for the AES e-library. Belmont had more representation in the technical programs, peer-reviewed papers, and posters, than any other educational institution.
Mark Rubel, Instructor, Director of Education -The Blackbird Academy also shared his experience. He was impressed to see the culmination of manufacturing representatives, students, scientists, educators, musicians, and audio industry professionals at one location interacting. Mark was impressed by the resurgence of analog audio consoles being touted as the next hot new product. Mark also attended several panels of interest which is another great feature of the convention.
Chris Mara, Owner/Engineer, Welcome to 1979 and Mara Machines
This is the second year that Chis has had a booth at the convention. Chris told the group that his feeling, initially, was that he did not need to exhibit Mara Machines at the convention due to his already established and steady business. After having a booth at the convention, that opinion changed dramatically. His production/sales rates have increased dramatically and he also is now in a position to educate the public about the attributes of analog recording in a digital world.
