Gilbert, Ariz., Aug. 14, 2025 – The Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences (CRAS), a leading institution for audio engineering education, continues its series of student inspiration events by hosting its most recent Grad Panel at its Gilbert campus. On July 25, the panel consisted of three CRAS graduates.

“Our Grad Panels allow our current students to hear stories of success from their peers who are out working in the industry that they trained so hard for here at CRAS,” said Kirt Hamm, CRAS administrator. “Learning the skills in our studios and classrooms are necessary to get the technical knowledge for our students’ craft. However, each success story is unique. Hearing from those who have taken a different road to get to where they are now, each with its own series of bumps in the road and how they were overcome, helps shape their transition from student to professional from those that have already done so.”

The Grad Panel included:

1. Thomas Warren; 2012 CRAS graduate; currently a freelance mix engineer in Los Angeles, Warren is an accomplished mixer, engineer, and producer hailing from London. Thomas began his career at Westlake Studios in LA, where he had the privilege of collaborating with renowned producer duo Stargate. Over the past nine years, Thomas solidified his position in the industry as Stargate’s engineer and full time mixer. Thomas’s exceptional engineering skills have contributed to the creation of Grammy-nominated and multi-platinum award-winning records, including working with Rihanna, Dominic Fike, Katy Perry, Sam Smith, Jennifer Lopez, Hailee Steinfeld, Coldplay, Charli XCX, Aloe Blacc, Little Mix, 21 Savage, Pusha T, PARTYNEXTDOOR, and many others.
2. Bretagne Fouliard; 2021 CRAS graduate; currently a stage hand with Clair Global, Fouliard began his career at age 18 who traveled the country building large steel builds and festivals including Lollapalooza and EDC. Since graduating CRAS, he has work for Sound Image (since purchased by Clair Global), and has toured with Megadeth, Imagine Dragons, NCT Dream, Sum 41, Alanis Morissette, and many others. He is currently on tour for Styx.
3. Jonathan Brannen; 2019 CRAS graduate; currently an audio engineer with Bang Zoom! Studios in Burbank, Calif., Brannen started at Bang Zoom! as an intern in 2020 and was hired on after his internship as an assistant engineer. He then trained to be a recording engineer/editor. He began recording his first show in January 2022 and has been recording and editing shows and video games ever since.

“CRAS was life changing,” said Warren. “The knowledge gained and a foot into door of the industry really set me up for where I am today in my career.”

Added, Brannen, “The most important thing that I learned during my time at CRAS was that I still had a lot more to learn. You’re attitude and work ethic mean more than knowing everything.”

CRAS student Rozene Rowland said, “I enjoyed all the insight we received from people who actually attended and graduated from CRAS. One of the best things about the grad panel was the fact that each person there had their own story and each came with its own background.”

 Concluded CRAS student Stephan Tacub, “The grad panel not only proves that success in the industry is possible, it also offers relevant insight on what our journeys may or may not look like after leaving for internship.”

The Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences is composed of two nearby campuses in Gilbert and Tempe, Ariz. A CRAS education includes broadcast audio, live sound, film and TV audio, music, and video game audio, all taught by award-winning instructors who have all excelled in their individual fields, including sound reinforcement, audio recording and production, digital recording, troubleshooting/maintenance, and music business.

CRAS structured programs and highly qualified teaching staff provide a professional and supportive atmosphere, which is complemented by its small class sizes allowing for individual instruction and assistance for students in engineering audio recordings. CRAS has been providing quality vocational training in audio recording for more than three decades. The curriculum and equipment are constantly being updated to keep pace with the rapid advancements in the music and sound recording industries. CRAS’ course offerings and subject matter have always centered around the skills and knowledge necessary for students’ success in the audio recording industries.

The 11-month program is designed to allow every student access to learn and train in all of the Conservatory’s studios which are comprised with state-of-the-art audio recording and mixing gear, the same equipment used in today’s finest studios and remote broadcast facilities, including Pro Tools 12, API Legacy consoles, SSL AWS consoles, Studer Vista consoles, and much more. All students must complete a 280-hour industry internship to graduate from the Master Recording Program II that may ultimately lead to industry employment. 

To stream the event, please visit  www.youtube.com/live/hm9fMX5Wwy0.