Steven Dewey Earns Audio Engineering Award

2013 Dec 17

Steven Dewey was honored with a Silver Award at the Audio Engineering Society's 135th convention. Dewey submitted his winning musical piece, "A Forest, A Flood," in the Traditional Studio Recording division of the Student Recognition Competition.

The Audio Engineering Society, a professional organization dedicated to audio technology, has been hosting student competitions since 2006 as a way for audio engineering students to get feedback on their work and network with industry professionals.

Dewey, a senior sound recording technology major in the Ithaca College School of Music, presented his piece to a panel of three judges, all veterans of the sound engineering industry.

"The AES Convention is a great opportunity to expand one's social and professional circle in the record industry," Dewey said. "It was a little intimidating presenting my work, as the panel was made up of pretty experienced and qualified engineers, but in the end it was exciting and I tried to let my work speak for itself."

Dewey wrote and produced the piece for a classmate's clay animation project, a short film about an old man who ventures beyond the comfort of his home. He also sang and played guitar on the track. It was recorded in the School of Music's recording studio and mastered off campus at Pyramid Sound in Ithaca.

"The goal behind the song was to do more with less, so to speak," he said. "The arrangement, style and recording all followed that mantra, and the result was simple, clean and sweet. I'm beyond flattered that the AES judges recognized that effort."

Dewey will graduate in May 2014. His goal is to work in a studio in New York City, but he said he'll be happy as long as he's working with music and good people.

To hear Dewey's winning piece and more of his work, visit http://stevedewey.bandcamp.com.

To learn more about the Audio Engineering Society's student competition, visit www.aes.org/events/135/students.

To learn more about the sound recording technology program at Ithaca College, visit www.ithaca.edu/music/performance/programs/recording.