The Audio Engineering Society’s 146th International Pro Audio Convention in Dublin, Ireland drew to a close on March 23, wrapping up four days of audio science and education that drew attendees from 47 countries to Europe’s premier annual professional audio event. “It was a pleasure to bring the AES convention to Dublin for the very first time,” commented Convention Co-Chair and Dublin resident Enda Bates, “and an excellent way to kick off the formation of the new AES Ireland regional section in style. It was also great to see a more diverse range of presenters and topics, something which was specifically highlighted by many attendees as a welcome development.”
The Convention content was packed with options, notes Co-Chair Ben Kok, with 200 individual Workshops, Tutorials, Paper and Poster presentations and Special Events held in parallel across the four days of AES Dublin in seven auditoriums in the Dublin Convention Centre. Hosting top minds in audio from around the world, this year’s convention featured the AES Heyser Memorial lecture “Learning to Listen” by industry innovator and digital reverb pioneer David Griesinger and the keynote address – arranged by AES Dublin’s third co-chair, Mariana Lopez – “Inclusive Sonic Interactions” presented by Aalborg University Copenhagen Professor Stefania Serafin.
“For topics like cathedral acoustics and spatial electroacoustic music and education, there was a link between the technical program, off-site and special events,” Kok elaborates, “Overall, immersive/3D sound and spatial audio had a strong presence at the convention, covering both sonic capture as well as reproduction through loudspeakers or headphones.”
Playing a key role in the Convention’s immersive content, Co-Chair Lopez was actively involved in the program including having the “true honor” of chairing the panel “The Present and Future of Audio for Film and Television,” which brought together industry notables Howard Bargroff, Anna Bertmark, Emma Butt and Fiona Cruickshank.
The immersive audio emphasis was continued into AES Dublin’s innovative hands-on sessions, part of the Convention’s dedicated student programing including the bustling Education and Career fair and the student recording and design competitions. Student attendance was typically strong for AES Dublin, a harbinger of future Society leadership as evidenced by former Student Members who attended AES Dublin as professional Members and participated in paper presentations and workshops, along with AES Dublin planning.
The theme of diversity and inclusion was brought to the forefront of the Convention with Co-Chair Lopez’s AES Dublin Opening Ceremonies challenge for support and participation of the Society’s initiatives, and in the AES Diversity & Inclusion Committee’s Town Hall dialog, which she moderated. Questions about how the Society moves forward towards equality, noted Lopez, “are ultimately about who we are, and who we hope to be.”
As AES Dublin concluded, the site selection of Vienna, Austria, was announced for AES Europe in 2020 (May 25 – 28). Next on the AES Convention calendar is the upcoming AES New York International Pro Audio Convention (October 16 – 19, 2019).
Research Papers and Engineering Briefs presented at AES Dublin are available in the AES E-Library (a free benefit for AES members).
AES Dublin Papers: http://www.aes.org/e-lib/online/search.cfm?type=preprint&title=&convnum=146
AES Dublin Engineering Briefs: http://www.aes.org/e-lib/online/search.cfm?type=ebrief&title=&convnum=146
