For Release: May 29, 2008
Anniversaries, full technical program, many young visitors and an exciting exhibition
Amsterdam, May 2008: The 124th AES Convention in Amsterdam closed on May 20th, showing again its position as the most important pro-audio platform in Europe. Attendees came from all corners of the world and, in particular, there were many young visitors – not only students from Universities and Audio Schools, but young people starting their careers – and they found a lot to interest them. Nowhere was this more apparent than in the Live Sound seminars, which in a series of seminars running over three days, covered topics from the basics to putting on a production, in an all-day event called From the Rider to the Show.
The technical program, with many tutorials, workshops, master classes and strong paper sessions, was even more packed than ever and pinpointed the AES as the home for audio scientists as well as for all audio professionals. There was also a trend to cover more of the concerns of modern pop productions. The workshop about Recording Studio Design chaired by Fritz Fey was one example for this new tendency – and it was completely crammed. Other elements of the program attracting the young audience were for example the workshop on Creating a Music Download Website (Vicki Melchior), Bringing Dynamics back into the Mix (Ronald Prent), and of course, as the outstanding highlight, the special event about the re-recording of the Beatle’s Sgt. Pepper album, given by the famous Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick.
The Convention also celebrated a number of important anniversaries. The Sgt. Pepper album was recorded 40 years ago, giving the motive for the re-recording with young musicians. And it was also the sixtieth anniversary of Studer, the APRS (who helped in organizing the Sgt. Peppers event), and the AES, which has grown from 150 people in 1948 to 14,000 members globally. Roger Furness, the executive director of the AES, mentioned in the Convention’s press conference: “Today, we are a truly worldwide professional society dedicated to audio.” Several historical events commemorated anniversaries as well. 100 Years Of The Triode, 25 Years Of The CD, and The Rise And Fall Of The Compact Cassette.
The Exhibition was well visited, too. Although it was a bit smaller than in the recent years, this did not stop the visitors coming to see what was new and exciting within the exhibiton. With attendance almost the same as last year in Vienna at 6,200, the opening Saturday and the Monday were particularly well attended.
Thierry Bergmans, Exhibition Manager for the European AES Conventions, explained that although visitors from Germany represented the largest country group there was a significant increase of visitors from Eastern European countries! Many exhibitors expressed happiness with the people they saw and the business conducted and were looking forward to next year’s show.
“Munich, the location for the 126th AES Pro Audio Expo & Convention in 2009, will give us even more opportunities to open our doors to visitors from the southern parts of Europe and we plan to continue actively encouraging people from Eastern countries to come to AES” explains Furness. “It’s the true strength of the European AES Conventions to offer a platform for all pro-audio experts from across Europe, and even throughout the world. So save the date for next year’s Convention!”
The 126th AES Pro Audio Expo & Convention in 2009 runs from May 7 to 10 at the M,O,C, in Munich, Germany.
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A selection of high-res photos
(http://www.aes-press.org/selection/) and thumbnails of
each day as well as more press information about the
AES Pro Audio Expo & Convention in Amsterdam
is available on the AES press web site :
http://www.aes-press.org
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Press Contact:
European AES Press Relations
Stefani Renner
Phone: +49 221 940 43 72
