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Past Event: Diversity and Inclusion for the AES PNW SEction

March 10, 2021 at 6:00 pm

Location: Redmond WA, USA Via Zoom

Moderated by: Greg Dixon

Speaker(s): Dr. Angela Dane, Atrocity Drums; Maria Garcia, multi instrumentalist & producer, Ryan Lee, multi instrumentalist and live sound engineer; Lillian Blair, Staff Engineer @ Vera Project

Note: the meeting time is Pacific Time, UTC -8.

AES PNW Section | March Meeting Notice
Diversity & Inclusion within the AES PNW Section
Presented by
Dr. Angela Dane
Teacher, Writer, Musician, Producer
and the
AES PNW Section
ZOOM MEETING 6:00PM PST (UTC -8)
Wednesday, 10 March, 2021


At the 133rd AES Convention (San Francisco, 2012), Karrie Keyes and Michelle Sabolchick Pettinato participated in the "Women of Professional Concert Sound" panel; SoundGirls was then established to provide women working in professional audio a community to come to for support and advice, and for empowerment and inspiration.


Dr. Angela Dane, our presenter, thinks the PNW Section could provide similar mentorship programs, perhaps in conjunction with the Audio Production Certificate program at UW, of which she is currently a student. As of now, there are zero women or people of color as instructors in the program.


Dr. Dane created the Facebook group Womxn & Audio (Seattle), to connect women and non-binary engineers and audiophiles and to learn from others' wisdom and experience without fear of intimidation or inherent bias. It began as a small group of 5 and quickly grew to 200. They have invited legendary engineers like Susan Rogers to speak to their group as well as holding masterclasses on the basics of audio, mixing, and mastering.

Professionals in the field, like Latin Grammy nominee Maria Elisa Ayerbe, have given demos of their mixing techniques and methods. On January 14th, Leslie Gaston-Bird, author of Women in Audio was interviewed by our group to discuss her research as well as the lack of representation of women of color in the field. Seattle is no exception in this regard. The group is extremely productive and encouraging, clearly responding to a demonstrated need within the community.


Dr. Dane's band, Atrocity Girl, built their own DIY studio at home, due to unfortunate incidents with male engineers in Seattle studios, including one who threatened their bassist, another who hit on their guitarist, and another who sent inappropriate Facebook messages and another commented — the moment the band walked in — "women are always wasting time talking." This immediately made everyone feel insecure and guarded. These four instances occurred in 2020, weeks apart, as they attempted to find a fit for their all-girl band to record their debut album.

Message from the AES Diversity and Inclusion Committee Co-Chairs: Mary Mazurek and Cecilia Wu

The AES Diversity and Inclusion Committee Co-Chairs will provide updates on the committee's current plans and efforts. The Diversity and Inclusion Committee was formed to advance various strategic goals towards building a more diverse and inclusive AES. The committee is comprised of dedicated members from across the globe and in various audio-related trades.
Dr. Cecilia Wu obtained her Master of Arts degree from Stanford University and obtained her Ph.D. in Media Arts and Technology from UC Santa Barbara. As a musician, Dr. Wu's work has been published by Cambridge University Press, SEAMUS, ICMC, NIME, Audio Engineering Society (AES), Springer, IEEE, EMI Records, SONY, Warner Music, Universal Music Group, and many music labels and publishers around the world. As a multimedia artist, she received the "Young Alumni Artist Grant Award" from Stanford University and her work was acquired by the Denver Art Museum for their permanent collection. As a scholar, she has received research awards from AES, the University of California, the University of Colorado, and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.
Currently, Dr. Wu is an Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado's College of Arts and Media and the Editor-in-Chief of the Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS).
Mary Mazurek is a GRAMMY-nominated recording engineer. The Recording Academy awarded her nomination at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards in the category of Best Engineered Album, Classical. She is also a broadcaster and radio/podcast producer. Her work is regularly featured on WFMT Radio and WFMT.com. Additionally, she is a sought after educator and speaker who enjoys contributing in the classroom and on panels and committees within her industry and beyond. She serves as a role model and advocates for women in the recording industry, which is currently less than 5% female. She loves sharing her sonic insights across disciplines.
Mary began her career as a recording engineer in 1992 after studying under Murray Allen and Tom Miller at DePaul University and Universal Recording, Chicago. Since then, she has engineered thousands of sessions for albums and broadcasts. Her credits include Alec Baldwin, The Chicago Chorale, The Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Charles Earland, Michael Feinstein, International Music Foundation, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Kronos Quartet, LA Guitar Quartet, Howard Levy, Lyric Opera, The New York Philharmonic, Yo-Yo Ma, Johnnie Hammond Smith, Dr. Lonny Smith, and many others. Her work can regularly be heard on WFMT Radio, Chicago, in syndication in the U.S., and throughout the European Broadcast Union. Her recordings appear on the Bellissima, Cannonball, Çedille, Delmark, Lyon & Healy, MSR, Naxos, Random House, Sheridan, and Sounds True labels.
She is on the faculty of Columbia College's Audio Arts and Acoustics Department and DePaul University School of Music. She has also taught at The Illinois Institute of Art and the Merit School of Music. She has guest lectured at Cleveland State University, Ohio University, UC Denver, University of Illinois Urbana, and Northeastern Illinois University.
Mary is a voting member of The Recording Academy. She has served as a governor and task-force chairperson in that organization. She was elected the first woman president of EARS of Chicago and continues to serve as a steering committee member. She is a Member of the Audio Engineering Society and is chairperson of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee. She is currently a member of the exclusive DPA Master's Club and an Educational Advisor for Leapwing Audio.
Mary is also an interdisciplinary artist whose work is based in sound and image. She received her MFA in Interdisciplinary Art from Columbia College, Chicago, IL, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Art Theory from IDSVA, Portland, ME. Her work has been exhibited in Chicago, New York, Mexico, and Berlin.
"Representation is imperative to inspire the next generation of engineers from all backgrounds and genders. We cannot be what we cannot see, and it is imperative to try to change a narrative that refuses to include women," says Dr. Angela Dane


This is a Zoom meeting, and your RSVP is required to attend.
The RSVP link and the presenter's bio sketches can be found at the AES PNW Section website: https://www.aes.org/sections/pnw

View Official Meeting Report

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Posted: Monday, March 1, 2021

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