Webster University AES Student Section

As our 20th Annual Central Regional Audio Student Summit (CRASS) is just around the corner, starting this Friday, March 27th... let's hear it for some of our presenters coming in to speak!

Known and watched worldwide, NPR Music's Tiny Desk Concerts offer listeners worldwide the opportunity to hear their favorite musicians in an entirely unique and stripped-down manner. It takes a group of talented engineers and professionals to make it run smoothly in such a... well, tiny environment, and overseeing it all is Josh Newell! He is the Audio Technical Director for NPR music, and the lead audio engineer for their Tiny Desk Concerts, being involved in over 150 Tiny Desk performances, working with the likes of this year's Super Bowl halftime performer Bad Bunny. As a freelance engineer, he has also worked with the likes of Linkin Park, Avril Lavigne, and Celine Dion as a freelance engineer. He will be speaking at CRASS during several of our panels! Be sure to come to his keystone on Saturday, March 28th, and listen to Newell give a history of Tiny Desk, his philosophies on microphone technique, EQ, and all things technical. You can also come see his mixing and recording processes live on Friday, March 27th, as he brings in a Tiny Desk multitrack to re-mix live, and thereafter will engineer a live session of a tape recording at Webster's studios. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet and listen to one of the hardest working people in audio today! We hope to see you there!

As our 20th Annual Central Regional Audio Student Summit (CRASS) is just around the corner, starting this Friday, March 27th... let's hear it for some of our presenters coming in to speak!

12-time Grammy nominated engineer Joe Carrell doesn't have just one specialty-- he can work in all sorts of environments, whether it's recording and mixing rock, country, jazz, bluegrass, gospel, or even classical recordings! He has over 40 number-one-charting songs to his name with Billboard Top 10s in multiple categories. He has also worked extensively with the "Produce Like A Pro" YouTube channel, where he has helped give production advice and pointers to an audience of over 800,000 subscribers. He will be speaking at CRASS this Friday and Saturday, March 27th and 28th! First, he will be part of our Multitrack Madness panel, where he will be bringing in one of his multitracks and mixing it live in Webster's studios. On Saturday, he will have a panel where he will give background into his career and insights for any producer striving to reach the heights he is at. You won't want to miss these chances to meet and learn from him at CRASS!

As our 20th Annual Central Regional Audio Student Summit (CRASS) is just around the corner, starting this Friday, March 27th... let's hear it for some of our presenters coming in to speak!

Sound effects in all sorts of media-- television, film, video games, just to name a few-- are crucial to the impact of the whole experience on the individual. It takes a group of dedicated artists and sound designers to make them perfect; chief amongst these talented individuals is dedicated Foley Artist, Katie Waters. She has experience in all aspects of Foley, whether it's as a recording engineer or in post-production. Her work as a Foley Artist in particular has spanned several forms of media, performing Foley for films that have been played at the likes of the Sundance Film Festival, while also receiving a nomination for the G.A.N.G. Awards and Golden Reel Awards for her work on Destiny 2. She will be a presenter at this year's CRASS, speaking and performing at our Foley Recording Session this Saturday! Don't miss out on this chance to listen to an expert perform in her field and listen to how sound effects get created and perfected!

We have a date! Webster's 20th annual C.R.A.S.S will be held from March 27th to 29th, 2026. Every year, some of the sharpest and brightest minds in audio engineering and the music industry attend from all over the world to meet and learn from each other. There are dozens of panels to elucidate each and every aspect of audio you could ever imagine; not to mention the opportunity to see Webster's state-of-the-art, multi-million dollar recording studio in action. A treasure trove of priceless information will be at your fingertips for these three days, but only one question remains... will YOU be there?