Students in the 音乐学院’s Music Industry Studies and Music Management programs had the rare opportunity to work and learn alongside one of the best recording engineers in the business—7-time Grammy Award-winner Leslie Ann 琼斯.

琼斯, director of music recording and scoring at the world-famous Skywalker Sound studio, 与学生一起沉浸其中, week-long visit as a guest artist-in-residence during the annual Pacific Music Business Conference in April.

“When I looked on her website and saw how many films and video games and TV shows she’s worked on, 我的下巴掉了下来,25岁的莱利·弗格森说, 音乐产业专业.

From Rosemary Clooney to Halo, making great art

琼斯 joined the recording industry at a time when few women were in the field. She was the first female recording engineer at ABC Studios in Los Angeles in the mid-1970s.

Over an impressive career spanning nearly 50 years, 琼斯 has recorded albums for top-tier musicians, including Rosemary Clooney and the Kronos Quartet, worked on the popular video game “Halo” and countless other high-profile projects.

The daughter of musicians Spike 琼斯 and Helen Grayco, 琼斯 grew up surrounded by music. She was in her own band as a teenager but after she started working on live sound, she became hooked.

“To quote the line from Hamilton, ‘I'm in the room where it happens,’” 琼斯 explained. “I'm a part of making great art, and my job is to help facilitate that. Sometimes I think I should be paying [the musicians] for the experience.”

She joined Skywalker Sound in 1997, racking up nine Grammy nominations and seven wins. She also is in the National Association of Music Merchants Technical Excellence and Creativity Hall of Fame.

“Spread the wealth and get the best sound”

With her vast knowledge—and ever-present humor—琼斯 led students through the process of recording and mixing a song during her visit to the 斯托克顿校区.

The week began with students getting hands-on practice setting up microphones to record the Pacific Jazz Ensemble. 

“It was really cool seeing her thought process,23岁的夏洛特·汉说, a violin performance major and music management minor. “她会展示给我们看, 我喜欢这样给钢琴装麦克风, but let’s swap out these microphones because I think this one would be better. And because we have a limited number of microphones, let's see how we can spread the wealth and get the best sound possible.’”

After capturing the concert later in the week, students spent a full day in the studio with 琼斯 mixing one of the songs.

“Students would ask questions and she would explain what she's doing and then ask, ‘what do you think we should add more of? 或者我们应该这样做?’ It was a really great interactive conversation about her mixing process,贝诺姆·普拉姆说, associate professor and program director for music industry studies and music management.

A mastering session by Grammy-nominated mastering and restoration engineer Jessica Thompson provided the finishing touches. The final recording was presented during a master class with 琼斯 at the end of the week.

现身并提出问题

除了她的技术技能, students soaked up 琼斯’ stories from decades in the industry, including the time she was removed from a project with a famous R&B singer because his wife didn’t want a woman on the team.

琼斯没有让这件事影响她.

”她说, “你知道, 我本可以大闹一场的, 但是我刚才说, 好吧, 然后我去做下一件事,’”普拉姆分享道. 她说做她自己, handling things with grace and having a good sense of humor always tended to work out for her. 这对我们的学生来说是很好的一课.”

Her advice to students—show up and show initiative. “Raise your hand, ask questions and say yes to everything within reason,” 琼斯 said.

弗格森接受了这个建议，并付诸行动. “We formed a special relationship,” he said. “I have already reached out to her several times.”

Pacific’s music industry and music management programs will add more hands-on experiences in the 2023-24 academic year. The university is making a substantial investment in state-of the-art recording equipment for an innovative professional practice initiative.