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Category: Live Sound

WCA #293 with Heidi Trefethen

WCA #293 with Heidi Trefethen – Live Sound, Recording, French Horn, Struggles with The Mormon Church, Session Mindset, Sexism and Learning to Evolve

Heidi Trefethen is a French Hornist, multi-instrumentalist, educator, and sought-after sound engineer, Heidi Trefethen shuttles back and forth across continents frequently, in roles both onstage and off. As a hornist, she has performed in numerous ensembles and venues in Italy, the UK, Bosnia, Thailand, Guatemala, Israel Turkey, and the US, including the LA Philharmonic, the JazzUp Festival in Italy, Cleveland’s Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame, San Francisco’s Davies Symphony Hall and SFJAZZ’s Miner Hall.

As a live sound engineer, she has worked with the likes of Shawn Colvin, Meshell N’degeocello, Odetta, Ellis Paul, Joan Baez, Joan Armatrading, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Holly Near, John Stewart of the Kingston Trio, Dar Williams, Al Stewart, Jane Siberry and Lucy Kaplansky, often at the legendary Freight and Salvage in Berkeley, CA. Heidi can be often seen behind the sound boards at SFJAZZ where she was recently recruited as a FOH and A2 engineer. 

As a recording engineer, she studied at the California Recording Institute’s intensive sound engineering program. An internship at the historic Coast Recorders and a job at Rocket Lab mastering house had her working side-by-side with technical heavyweights John Cuniberti, Dan Alexander and Michael Romanowski. Heidi’s engineering credits include Tammy Hall’s “Blue Soul,” Jessica Jones and Mark Taylor’s “Live at the Freight” 2011, Lucy Kaplansky’s “Kaplansky Sings Kaplanksy,” 2000, Michael Burles’ currently “Untitled Recording” 2017, Nestler and Hawtin’s “Duality” 2014, co-engineered with Bryan Bell, Herbie Hancock’s first engineer, and full production of Anne Rainwater’s solo piano recording of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variations.

In this episode, we discuss:

  • SF Jazz
  • French Horn
  • Freight & Salvage
  • Teaching
  • Learning to Evolve
  • Mentoring
  • Women’s Audio Mission
  • Covid’s Effect
  • The Audio Pro Advantage
  • The Importance of Recording & Music
  • Overdubbing at a Young Age
  • Education
  • Open Mic Nights
  • Live Sounds
  • Producing
  • Session Mindset
  • Communication Style
  • Struggles w/The Mormon Church
  • Empathy
  • Women in Audio
  • Sexism
  • Bay Area
  • Speaking Italian
  • Making a Living
  • Not Working for Free

Links and Show Notes:

Credits:

  • Guest: Heidi Trefethen
  • Host: Matt Boudreau 
  • WCA Theme Music: Cliff Truesdell 
  • Announcer: Chuck Smith
  • Editing: Anne-Marie Pleau & Matt Boudreau
  • Additional Music: The License Lab

WCA #292 with Jessica Paz

WCA #292 with Jessica Paz – Manhattan Special, Soda Stream, Theater Sound, Women in Audio, Sound Design, Advocacy, and Last Minute Christmas Gifts

Jessica Paz is a Tony Award-winning Sound Designer for theater, film and music. Most recently, she collaborated with Nevin Steinberg on the sound design for Anaïs Mitchell’s acclaimed production of Hadestown, which earned the duo a Tony Award, Drama Desk Award and an Outer Critics Circle nomination.

On Broadway, Jessica was an Associate Sound Designer on projects including Dear Evan Hansen, Bandstand, Disaster! The Musical; The Assembled Parties (MCC); and Fela!.

Other design credits include Little Shop of Horrors (Westside Theater); Kiss My Aztec (Berkeley Rep); Twelfth Night, Othello, Miss You Like Hell, Julius Caesar, A Midsummer Nights Dream, and As You Like It (The Public Theater); Burn All Night (A.R.T Oberon Stage); Ugly Lies the Bone (Roundabout); A Sucker EmCee, and The Muscles in Our Toes (LAByrinth); The Kings Whore (Starcatcher Productions); Becoming Dr. Ruth (Westside Theater); Looking for the Pony (Vital Theater Co.); Women Beware Women (Red Bull Theater); STRETCH – A Fantasia (New Georges); Welcome to Fear City (KC Rep); Scott & Hem in the Garden of Allah, and See How They Run (Barrington Stage); Legally Blonde, and 9 to 5 The Musical (North Shore Music Theater); Romeo & Juliet, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Othello, and Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare on the Sound’s Productions); SCKBSTD (Virginia Stage Co) ; Volcanoes Birthright (Organic Magnetics); TempOdyssey, And Her Hair Went With Her, Bookends, and Minstrel Show (NJ Rep).

Jessica has been a Front of House Engineer for musicians including The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Antibalas, Julia Haltigan, Femi Kuti, Lady Antebellum, Candy Shop Boys, People vs. Larson, Michael Arenetta, Bugaboo, Carte Blanche, King Holiday, The Woes, Stone Cold Fox, The African Children’s Choir and many others. She has also been a Lecturer of Sound Design in addition to student advisor for Princeton Universities production of Next To Normal, and was the Sound Designer of the Actor’s Studio Drama School’s yearly Master’s Thesis productions from 2009 – 2014.

Jessica is fascinated by music studio and live concert techniques. She is constantly learning and researching innovative approaches from the traditional music recording world, and bringing them into her theater work. A proud member of IATSE Local 829; Soundgirls.org; Woman’s Audio Mission; USITT; and Co-Chair of the board of the Theatrical Sound Designers and Composers Association. She currently resides in New York. Pizza is her favorite food group. 

In this episode, we discuss:

  • Manhattan Special
  • Theater Sound
  • Broadway/Off Broadway
  • Theater Sound Design
  • System Design
  • Audio Teams
  • Audio Roles
  • Mentors
  • Large Budgets
  • Network Audio
  • Rain vs. Audio
  • Women in Audio
  • Theater vs. Club Sound
  • Union Rules
  • Money
  • Passion for Audio
  • Past Jobs
  • Trying to Leave Audio
  • Advocacy

Links and Show Notes:

Credits:

  • Guest: Jessica Paz
  • Host: Matt Boudreau 
  • WCA Theme Music: Cliff Truesdell 
  • Announcer: Chuck Smith
  • Editing: Anne-Marie Pleau & Matt Boudreau
  • Additional Music: The License Lab

WCA #279 with Kevin Ward

WCA #279 with Kevin Ward – Teaching, Learning, Seizing Opportunity, Migrating to California, Team Building, and Faith

Kevin Ward is a producer, engineer, mixer, teacher who has worked with Vince Gill, Willie Nelson, Judy Collins, Dolly Parton, Boots Randolph, Jerry Springer, Vassar Clements, Sam Bush, The Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, Rhonda Vincent and Richie McDonald of Lonestar. Kevin is also behind MixCoach.com where he teaches people to mix in different styles and genres from rock and Jazz to full orchestra and pop-country. Kevin is currently the Technical Director at Crosspointe Church in Anaheim, California.

In this episode, we discuss:

  • Teaching
  • Learning
  • Seizing Opportunity
  • Moving to California
  • Religion in Pro Audio
  • Worship Sound
  • Team Building
  • Pareto’s Principle
  • Parkinson’s Law

Links and Show Notes:

Credits:

  • Guest: Kevin Ward
  • Host: Matt Boudreau 
  • WCA Theme Music: Cliff Truesdell 
  • Announcer: Chuck Smith
  • Editing: Anne-Marie Pleau & Matt Boudreau
  • Additional Music: The License Lab