AES Student Blog

Piper Payne joined the staff of Michael Romanowski Mastering in 2011.

Piper received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Performing Arts Technology–Media/Sonic Arts Concentration from the University of Michigan. While pursuing her degree in this technologically-rigorous program, she gained five years of experience as a Resident Student Engineer (RSE) in the U of M recording studios, specializing in classical music recording. Her position as RSE placed her at the hub of a major studio upgrade and gave her high-level experience in teamwork and project management. Piper continued her education at the University of Stavanger in Norway, receiving a Graduate Studies Certificate in Music Production and Recording. In Norway, Piper had the opportunity to learn analog-to-digital archiving with MemNor Sound Archival Service and apprenticed with Thor Legvold at Sonovo Mastering. In 2009, she worked as mixing engineer and mastering assistant with Bob Katz at Digital Domain in Orlando, Florida, and in 2010 accepted the post of Senior Audio Associate at The Banff Centre in Banff, Canada.

Piper is a Governor on the SF Board of the Recording Academy and Chairs the Producers and Engineers Wing. She also serves on the Education Committee. In addition she is an active member of the AES, the Women's Audio Mission, and Balanced Breakfast Music.  While Piper’s focus is in mastering, she also works in software development for Digital Audio Workstations. Piper’s location recording skills are being challenged with Coast Recorders and the Bay Area recording scene, where she is a first-call for large-venue live concert recordings and many classical performances and she is also the Chief Content Creator for Giving Stage, an online concert venue benefitting nonprofits and causes.