Grammy award winning mix engineer Robert Orton delivers keynote lecture and workshops at an Industry Day for Music Production students.
The YSJU Music Production courses are well-known for students working directly with professionals in the music industry thoughout their degree. Our Industry Day has been on hold since lockdown and we’ve been proud to be able to bring the annual event back with a ‘Boom Clap‘! Robert Orton, mix engineer for the likes of Lady Gaga, Charlie XCX, Sting, The Police, Trevor Horn, Sting and countless others returned to give an insightful lecture on his career to date. Robert not only included the glossy bits, but also the nitty gritty of contemporary mix engineering practice, and importantly the business side. Robert also held mix workshops in the studio with students going through a commercial mix, which was enlightening.
Students also attended a post-production workshop with Fred Englefield from MotionPost. They work on many film and TV projects for Netflix, Universal, Film4 and many others. Fred walked us through the audio post process demonstrating where students might apply their skills in creating sound effects for films.
As per previous Industry Day traditions, alumni were invited to present to the amassed students, explaining how the course they’re training on has assisted them in achieving their success. Notable alumni were Sam Ashley and Tom Whitehead who both work for leading games audio company Pitstop, who later ran a workshop on sound design for games.
Other alumni included Alex Dye who runs events for Formula 1 including entertainment packages, including the music, for each race internationally. Faith Benson spoke of her career in music retail and the current workings of setting up her new recording studio facility. Mike Jones (aka Former Hero) spoke of his trajectory from student producer to an artist with millions of listens on Spotify, working with the same management company as SanHolo and playing gigs at the likes of the Ministry of Sound in London.
The day ended with a networking event where students were able to mingle for several hours with all the visitors and discuss the music and allied industries.
