Meyer Sound Education : Instructors

Overview

Meyer Sound Seminar Instructors

Meyer Sound has long been committed to providing educational resources to the professional audio community. Beginning early on with the development of SIM Seminars, Meyer Sound has recognized the importance of training and professional development to attain the ultimate goal of the best possible performance from a sound system of any size or application.

Meyer Sound's educational program seeks to enrich its participants in the comprehension of the theoretical concepts as well as the "real world" implementation of audio principles.

	Oscar Barrientos Technical Seminar Instructor Oscar Barrientos’ educational credentials include a degree in Electrical Engineering and advanced studies in Acoustical Instrumentation at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Latin America’s largest university. After completing the SIM System II certification course in 2000, Barrientos gave private lessons in audio and acoustics, as well as teaching courses at audio schools in Mexico. Prior to joining Meyer Sound in 2003, he worked as a technical support and systems engineer for rental company AG-Audio, a position which involved support for productions by well-known international artists. Now a senior instructor for Meyer Sound Mexico, Barrientos is developing new instructional techniques to help students understand the physics of audio.
	Richard Bugg Digital Products Support Specialist Richard Bugg has been the lead user support person and instructor for digital products since 1999. His background includes several decades as a live sound engineer and electronic technician. Early formal training in instrumental performance and composition has provided the incentive to look at modifying system designs to meet artistic requirements. He is currently the Technical Support Manager for the digital products at Meyer Sound.
	Steve Bush Senior Technical Support Representative Steve spends his time helping customers as a Technical Support Representative, providing phone and email support, optimizing systems, and conducting product demos. But he also loves to teach, and his extraordinary breadth of experience and an engaging presentation style make him an in-demand seminar leader. Steve brings to the classroom years of experience as a touring system tech, and a FOH mixer for "oldies" bands, large-scale corporate events, and theatrical shows. In addition he has spent time in recording studios and working for regional sound companies.
	Gavin Canaan Educational Programs Manager Gavin Canaan’s career at Meyer Sound began with six years as a service representative before he moved on to sound rental company Pro Media/Ultra Sound for a five-year stint as their operations manager. Canaan returned to Meyer Sound in 2004 to serve as chief administrator of an expanding, worldwide educational effort that continues to set the standard for the professional audio industry. With broad experience at both the factory and user ends of the industry, Canaan is well equipped to grasp the importance of providing a thorough grounding in technology and a clear understanding of each product’s capabilities in complex sound reinforcement systems.
	Luke Jenks Product Manager For Loudspeaker Products Luke Jenks joined Meyer Sound in 1989, when he was just 18 years old and proceeded to work his way through positions in manufacturing, loudspeaker test, research and development, design services, and technical support. In 1999, Jenks began providing technical support in Europe and, in 2001, moved to France and assumed his current position. Jenks has been involved in the design and support of many of the major projects, tours, and festivals in Europe with which Meyer Sound has been involved, giving him a tremendous amount of direct, hands-on field experience to complement his intimate knowledge of Meyer Sound's technologies and philosophy.
	Buford Jones Live Audio and Education Specialist High-level sound reinforcement got its start in the 1970s, and Buford Jones was there to play a key role as it grew up. Jones’s career in sound reinforcement was established during his nine-year tenure at Showco, Inc. Rusty Brutsche, Jack Calmes, and Jack Maxson started Showco in 1970, and the 23-year-old Jones arrived in ’71 with an A.S. degree in electronics and two years experience as a bench technician. Over the course of his career, Jones averaged seven months a year on the road with a barrage of different artists, including Eric Clapton, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Stevie Wonder, Three Dog Night, Prince, Jackson Browne, David Bowie, Faith Hill, and The Kinks. Jones’s hard roadwork earned him a nomination for a TEC (Technical Excellence and Creativity) Award for Outstanding Creative Achievement, Sound Reinforcement Engineer in 1986, and another in ’88, before he finally won the award in 1989. A major milestone for Jones was helming the console for Pink Floyd’s 1987 “Momentary Lapse of Reason” tour, which gave him considerable experience in live surround sound mixing. A few years later, he was making history behind the board again on George Harrison’s famed 1991 tour of Japan with Clapton on lead guitar. Jones’s career has not been entirely limited to the road; he has also had considerable recording experience, including the engineering of Pink Floyd’s live Delicate Sound of Thunder album. Most recently Buford has become an active member of Meyer Sound’s Education department leading seminars around the globe which provide him the opportunity to pass on the lessons of all his years behind the board. The experience has been rewarding for him. “I am enjoying this phase of my career: helping to educate young engineers and sharing some of my experiences."
	Miguel Lourtie Technical Seminar Instructor Miguel Lourtie has been affiliated with Meyer Sound over the entire course of his career in sound reinforcement, starting in 1993, when he first worked for a Meyer Sound distributor in Europe, and then as a Meyer Sound certified SIM engineer. In 1997, Lourtie founded Lourisom, an audio consulting and distribution business in Portugal, which distributed Meyer Sound products in the country. In his current role as a member of Meyer Sound's European Technical Services group, Lourtie provides technical support and design services to customers within the European community. In addition to his technical skills and experience, Lourtie also possesses multilingual capabilities that allow him to reach industry professionals in their native languages including Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, French, as well as English.
	Simon Matthews Systems Specialist Northeastern Region Simon Matthews has a 20 year career in audio, the last 15 as a production sound engineer for Broadway shows in NewYork. In that capacity, he has mixed the sound for more than 18 productions,including major musicals (including Young Frankenstein, Lestat, The Pirate Queen, Brooklyn, Into the Woods revival) and a number of plays. Several assignments came as a result of his association with sound designer Jonathan Deans, including his last post as production sound engineer for extended previews of the much-talked about Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark. Prior to his long stint on Broadway, Simon worked as a FOH engineer in regional theater as well as for one-off productions and corporate presentations. His first break into Broadway production came in 1996 with a revival of the hit musical 1776. Simon has both a solid technical knowledge and years of experience from the users’ perspective. He has been a user of LCS show control systems since his first assignment with 1776, and has progressed with programming and operational experience through subsequent generations of the technology, including the D-Mitri system for Spiderman, the first on Broadway. He is thoroughly familiar with the product line, having worked with reinforcement systems incorporating every Meyer Sound loudspeaker ever employed in theatrical production.
	Jason McCarrick Education Program Coordinator Jason has extensive experience in live sound and production and has worked as a touring System Tech and Rigger, as well as a freelance FOH and monitor engineer. Jason has toured with Cirque du Soleil's Quidam, Metallica's Death Magnetic Tour, Rod Stewart, Lil Wayne, and Celtic Woman. While on tour, Jason used a variety of Meyer Sound products including Milo, JM-1P, Galileo, and SIM in the field, and during his time with Quidam, Jason received SIM training from Bob McCarthy. Jason lives in Nashville, TN and is based at the Meyer Sound Nashville office.
	Bob McCarthy Senior Education Consultant Bob McCarthy has been involved in all aspects of source independent measurement (SIM) since the breakthrough technology’s inception in 1984 and has travelled worldwide to design and align systems for every type of venue. McCarthy created the original 40-hour comprehensive SIM School and has trained hundreds of SIM operators and all of the certified SIM instructors. His teaching style is fast-paced, rigorous, and marked by his ability to explain complex material in an understandable, practical manner. McCarthy recently executed a complete redesign of the SIM course to incorporate his newest alignment and design techniques, including up-to-date information on optimizing modern arrays and utilization of digital processing technology. McCarthy is the author of the SIM Sound Reinforcement Applications Guide and the Meyer Sound Design Reference, a comprehensive guide to designing and optimizing sound systems. For further information on Bob McCarthy, please visit his website: http://www.bobmccarthy.com.
	John McMahon Executive Director Digital Products John McMahon has been at the forefront of digital audio technology used by Cirque du Soleil® and theatrical productions worldwide. Working closely with consultants, sound designers and other end users, McMahon strives to make Meyer Sound’s digital audio technology accessible for the benefit of performers and audiences alike. Prior to joining Meyer Sound, McMahon was CEO at Level Control Systems (LCS Audio) and President at Cadence Digital Audio Inc.
	John Monitto Director of Technical Support Worldwide John Monitto relies on his extensive experience in the professional audio industry to head up Meyer Sound’s ever-growing technical support department. Building on his BA in Broadcast Communications Arts (with an emphasis on audio production), Monitto worked as a project manager within Pro Media’s (now Pro Media/Ultra Sound) fast-growing sound and audio/visual system installations division, as well as touring with artists including Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and José Carreras. Corporate AV also falls within his experience, such as events produced by IBM, Apple Computer, Clorox and Motorola. Monitto is also a primary source of feedback from the field into product design and Meyer Sound’s educational program and has often been a trainer for Meyer Sound seminars.
	Thomas Mundorf Technical Seminar Instructor While he was still a student in 1984, Thomas Mundorf founded a rental company. In 1996, he bought his first Meyer Sound loudspeakers. Today Mundorf provides technical support to Meyer Sound’s customers, and continues to work as a freelance FOH engineer and system tech. He studied Electrical Engineering in Cologne and has a Master’s degree in Staging.
	Michael Pohl Technical Sales Support Michael Pohl is Technical Sales Support for Meyer Sound customers in Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland. In this role Michael provides technical and sales support to Meyer Sound customers in these regions throughout the sales process and, when needed, provides additional support after the sale. Michael's affiliation with Meyer Sound dates back to 1995. After an extensive education in musicology, music, and audio engineering, Pohl worked for several Meyer Sound dealers and design-build companies in Germany. While at these companies, he designed, implemented, and tuned several theatrical and live-performance venues. Pohl also worked as an audio engineer in recording studios and arranged, recorded and mixed several productions. Michael joined Meyer Sound Germany's staff in 2004.
	Mauricio Ramírez Senior Technical Seminar Instructor Mauricio “Magu” Ramírez, Meyer Sound’s first full-time seminar instructor, is known on both sides of the Atlantic for his wealth of technical expertise and his engaging instructional style. Prior to his career in audio engineering, he earned a degree in computer management in his native Mexico. After working with several sound rental companies and artists, he applied his experiences to form a study program for training professionals in sound reinforcement. In 1992, he established the Dynamix School to instruct students from Mexico and South America. Ramírez attended SIM School in 1993, and three years later agreed to open a Meyer Sound school in Mexico. In 1997, Ramírez was named coordinator for Meyer Sound Mexico’s educational effort, and two years later received certification as a SIM Instructor. Currently he conducts seminars (in English or Spanish) throughout Europe, Asia and Latin America.
	Jason Rauhoff Technical Support Digital Products Specialist In his position on the Digital Products Support Team at Meyer Sound, Jason Rauhoff provides product support and training to users of Meyer Sound’s digital products and teaches seminars as part of the company’s worldwide education program. Before joining Meyer Sound, Rauhoff spent 16 years in Las Vegas as a FOH mixer, programmer, recording engineer, and sound designer. His Cirque du Soleil credits include Zumanity, ZAIA, CRISS ANGEL® Believe™, and Viva ELVIS. Rauhoff also worked on "The Dragon's Treasure" show at the Bubble Theatre in Macau (2009 TEA Award winner), The Bellagio Conservatory, and The Rat Pack is Back at the Sahara Las Vegas. Rauhoff was also a recording engineer for "The College Dropout" album by Kanye West (winner of the 2005 Grammy for Best Rap Album and nominee for the 2005 Grammy Album of the Year), as well as the soundtrack albums for ZAIA and Zumanity. Jason graduated with honors from Columbia College in Chicago in 1993. He holds a Bachelor's of Arts Degree in Audio.
	Roger Schwenke Staff Scientist As Staff Scientist at Meyer Sound, Roger Schwenke, Ph.D., plays a pivotal role in conducting acoustical measurements and research to support new product development and to recommend scientific solutions to audio challenges. Since joining Meyer Sound in 2001, Schwenke has participated in developing the Constellation acoustic system, SIM 3 audio analyzer, the original MAPP Online acoustical prediction program, as well as the 57-seat, AIA Citation Award-winning Pearson Theatre at the company’s Berkeley headquarters. He was co-inventor of the Meyer Sound patent “Loudspeaker horn and method for controlling grating lobes in a line array of acoustic sources.” On TV, Schwenke was named “Honorary MythBuster” for his many appearances as an expert in acoustics on Discovery Channel's show “MythBusters.” Roger Schwenke holds a Ph.D. degree in acoustics from the Pennsylvania State University.