Pro Sound News - March, 2001

"CRAS Seeds Industry with Next Crop of Pros"
 
A picture of the Conservatory article in the June,1999 issue of the Pro Sound News
 
TEMPE, AZ - Finding a way to work with today's top recording starts and leading producers and engineers is probably one of the most difficult tasks imaginable for someone just getting their foot into the recording industry door. As with most employers, they want you to have both an education and experience in order to get that job. But how do you get that experience without being given that initial first chance? A quality education followed by an internship in a first-class recording studio is the ideal start, and the Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences (CRAS) provides just that.

Scott Parsons, operations manager of the Studio Division at The Enterprise. the Burbank, CA-based recording studio, explains that the students from the Conservatory play a large part in the general success of The Enterprise. "I have been fortunate to work with many Conservatory students in my tenure at The Enterprise. Currently we have six runners - or, as we call them, general assistants - one manager, one technician, and one staff engineer from the Conservatory."

Parsons adds that the primary reason they like students from the Conservatory is the students' initial excellent training. "One extra thing we get from Conservatory students," he continues, "is realistic expectations of life in a studio. All to often, entry-level employees have no concept of what dues you must pay to succeed. The final difference with the Conservatory is the strength of the placement department. The have outstanding follow-through and they care about the success of their students."

Based in the heart of the Valley of the Sun in Tempe, AZ, CRAS is one of the country's premier institutions for audio education. The Conservatory has developed a unique and highly effective way to help future audio professionals launch their careers in the recording industry. More than 90 percent of the Conservatory's students find work in the audio industry.