Committee Officer Nominees
- Chair – Alan Litten – Alan Litten is a recording engineer, mixer and Atmos mixer located in Nashville, TN. Over the last 29 years, he has worked in all genres from Pop to Country, Gospel to Rock, Orchestral, television and film projects, and more recently R&B and Jazz. Early in his career, Alan was a first call orchestra assistant. Transitioning to independent engineer, he gained the attention of top producers in Nashville for the ability to craft a phat and punchy low end while retaining great detail and clarity in his recordings and mixes. It is with this same attention to detail that he continues to mix today. Alan has worked in many of Nashville’s classic and historic studios, but since 2008 he has mixed almost exclusively from his private studio, “Room With a View.” From there he’s garnered multiple Grammy nominations and Stellar Awards. Alan has also had a consistent string of high charting hits on Smooth Jazz and Gospel radio with multiple artists, achieving 9 #1’s and many top 10’s. Artists Alan has worked with include: Legends: Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, Patti LaBelle Pop/R&B/Hip-Hop: The Backstreet Boys, Michael McDonald, Oleta Adams, Peabo Bryson, Howard Hewett, Wendy Moten, tiffany Palmer, Jennifer Holliday, Faith Evans. Gospel: Take 6, Shirley Caesar, Rance Allen, Daryl Coley, The Mighty Clouds of Joy, Kirk Franklin, Myron Butler, Kim Burrell, FK&M, Marvin Sapp, Mitchell Jones, Marcus Cole, Keith Staten, The Group Fire, The Anointed Pace Sisters, Joe Pace and Colorado Mass, Sheri Jones- Moffett, Ted Winn, Vickie Yohe, Dedric Jones, William Becton, The Quiet Time Players, Lamar Campbell, Kelli Williams. CCM: Michael W. Smith, Bob Carlisle, FFH. Jazz: Donald Hayes, Marcus Anderson, Julian Vaughn, Kirk Whalum, Marion Meadows, Maysa, Peter White, Adam Hawley, Garrett Body.
- Vice Chair – Michael Hanson – Leader/Producer/Engineer/Educator/Kitten Herder/ Reluctant Scholar/AES Chairman/Tenure Candidate/Published Author/Researcher/Problem Solver/Badass/Snark Master
- Secretary – Tom Edwards – Former Director of Engineering, Paramount, Nashville, 45 years – retired. His team was responsible for design, installation, support of high-speed networks, large file storage systems, audio-video editing systems, graphics design systems, and the CMT Radio and Television studios and the CBS Interactive facilities.
- Treasurer – Barry Cardinael – worked as a touring piano & keyboard tech and equipment & stage manager during the 70’s for groups such as: Chicago, J Tull, Chicago, EWF, Manilow and Cat Stevens. He worked full time, studio and road, from 79-96 for Neil Diamond and became an analog engineer during this time. He wrote an Archiving business plan for Iron Mountain in 1995 and worked there from 1996-2021, including managing a state-of-the-art, million-piece, archive facility in Nashville from 2001-2021.
- Chair Elect – – Kelvin Grimble – has worked for over 30 years as a studio owner, freelance audio engineer, and producer. He has also served as an audio and AV educator in the Nashville Metro schools.
Committee Nominees
- Linda B Albright – Studio Supply Co Sales Manager from 1983-1994. Owner of Engineers Associates & Recording Services (Rental/Sales) from 1984 until today. She has been an AES Member since 1986 and has been an AES Section Committee Member since 2006.
- Nick Allen– Engineer and trained archivist, specializing in preservation, metadata, and asset management. He began his career at Warner Music’s WEA Studio in Burbank, working on digital QC, audio file conversion, and editing. He later joined Universal Music Group and served as VP of Archive Operations, creating initiatives to modernize systems, recover and inventory lost assets, and developed new metadata and preservation strategies. Today in Nashville, he is the founder of Arlochive, which develops client workflows that bridge the gap between physical and digital archives, ensuring recorded music and related assets are preserved for the future.
- Wayne Chomik –Was a console design engineer at Harrison Consoles. He has degrees in Electrical Engineering and has been a live sound engineer for more than 50 years. He worked for 15 years at the municipal theatre in Ottawa. He has been a musician since 1965.
- Andy Freeman – Andy Freeman has been a full-time freelance audio engineer since 2001. He has produced and mixed hundreds of bands around the Atlanta, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Nashville area. He also spent five years running a mobile recording truck based out of San Francisco in which he traveled all over the country recording live shows for artists of every genre. He has lived in Nashville since 2007 and runs Studio Punch-Up! out of his house.
- Randy Gardner – Randy Gardner is an award winning concert sound and recording engineer. Started in high school theatre in the mid 70s. Since 1980 he has served as Front of House engineer for Debby Boone and Pat Boone (3 years), Ronnie Milsap (11 years) and Steve Wariner (28 years). In the past 47 years he has successfully worked in the concert sound and recording worlds. This experience lead him to tour with the North Carolina Symphony and concerts with the Nashville Symphony as well as recording small orchestra for the short film Arrival. Randy has recorded over 100 + custom CD projects for various artists, Phil Keaggy, Chet Atkins, BJ Thomas, Dolly Parton, Pam Gadd, Tommy Emmanuel, and John Knowles, to name a few, including Canadian artists Tia McGraff and John Jed. He has worked on nine albums with Ronnie Milsap, recorded and mixed Jerry Reed’s last two CDs, and the last 10 CDs for Steve Wariner. Recorded and mixed Steve’s 1998 CMA single and song of the year, “Holes In the Floor of Heaven” and in 2009 Randy received a Grammy Award as engineer for Steve Wariner’s Best Country Instrumental performance on his Tribute To Chet Atkins CD. Served as audio engineer for many Franklin Classical Players Productions. Wait Until Dark, You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown, Something About Shakespeare, and many more. Currently serving as Technical Director for Expression City, a small theatre in Brentwood, TN. Audio engineer for Urine Town, Adam’s Family, Little Shop of Horrors, Matilda, Something Rotten, Grease, and worked with the younger age cast shows of 101 Dalmatians, Seussical, Finding Nemo and Shrek Jr. Franklin Theatre Fellowship for their production of Twelve Angry Jurors and Good Night Oscar.
- Jim Gilmore – started at Harris Corp for 4 years, then worked 32 years at The Nashville Network (TNN, MTV-CMT), and co-owned Audio Productions Studio for 25 years. Currently he works in building/consulting/studio construction, taught recording technology at Middle Tennessee State University, and teaches at Belmont University in the Audio Engineering Technology program.
- Gil Griffith – Musician/Producer/Pro Audio Gear Distributor/Brand Builder/Music Lover/AES Member since 1986.Wave Distribution was established in 1996 by Gil Griffith after spending ten years as VP of Sales for Eventide, which included the ultra-successful launch of the H3000 Ultra-Harmonizer®. Gil’s desire to provide artists, music stores, pro audio resellers, and international audio distributors with only the finest and most interesting audio products available has resulted in Wave Distro shepherding some of the most accomplished brands in the industry – Empirical Labs, Burl Audio, Dangerous Music, Focal Studio Monitors, Kush Audio, MiLab Microphones, and Thermionic Culture, to name a few. Continuing in that tradition, in addition to celebrating 30 years with Empirical Labs, Wave is proud to represent new pro audio stalwarts Serpent Audio, Useful Arts Audio, Quagliardi Pro Audio, Strauss Elektroakustik, and Whitestone Audio Instruments.
- John Jaszcz – 8-time Grammy winning Recording/Mixing Engineer and Producer, who has worked with a wide variety of artists in the music industry from George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, John Michael Montgomery, Billy Ray Cyrus, Kirk Franklin, Israel & New Breed, Fred Hammond, Commissioned, Ledisi, Roberta Flack, CeCe Winans and many more.
- Anderson Hall –
- Jim Jordan – is an audio tech / engineer who has worked in NYC and Nashville. He attended Indiana University and the Institute of Audio Research and has extensive experience in recording studios (Electric Lady, Starstruck), manufacturing (Otari Console Product Group), and broadcasting (Live From Lincoln Center). He has served on standards committees for IEEE, SMPTE, and AES, where he’s a Lifetime member.
- Jim Kaiser – Teaches at Belmont University in the Audio Engineering Technology program. Formerly the Director of Technology at MasterMix, he is also experienced in studio/location recording, technical design/installation of production, and presentation facilities. Jim has also been broadly involved in AES.
- Kerry Kopp – has 40+ years of experience in the Nashville music industry as a staff/Chief Technical Engineer at Quadrafonic, Woodland, Masterfonics, and Emerald Sound Studios.
- Russ Long – Russ has been engineering and mixing music since graduating from Belmont University in 1988. In addition to working on albums by Wilco, Amy Grant, Steven Curtis Chapman, Sandra McCracken, Miley Cyrus, and Dolly Parton, he has worked on the soundtracks of multiple films including The Sapphires, Girl Interrupted, Here On Earth, Jonah, and She’s All That. Russ has been part of the audio team for numerous broadcast events including the Grammy Awards (2017, 2018), the CMA Awards (2012-2018, 2020, 2021), and ABC’s “CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock” TV Special (2012-2018). Russ has been an active Recording Academy member for over 30 years and is currently serving his final year as a Nashville Chapter governor. A Leadership Music alumni and 25+ year AES member, Russ spent 12 years as an adjunct faculty member at Belmont University and 4 years at Lipscomb University. In addition to engineering and mixing, Russ has authored over 150 articles and equipment reviews for Pro Audio Review, Pro Sound News, Audio Media, Mix Magazine, and Radio World. Russ joined Yamaha as an R&D manager in 2018 and currently works with Yamaha’s Field Marketing and R&D teams where he focuses on large format consoles. When not working with Yamaha, Russ spends most of his time mixing at Dangerland, his private studio.
- Bob Olhsson – At the age of 16, with the help of a new driver’s license, I arrived on the doorstep of United Sound in Detroit. United was not only the largest independent studio in Detroit, it was also the only one open on Saturdays. Having gained my experience from five years in a high school radio drama program, I was eager to learn more. I visited three recording studios, the “machine room,” the duplicating room, the optical transfer room, and the shop. Then I was taken to the basement, where the owner was running a drill press. Like most major recording studios in 1962, United had constructed almost everything themselves, except the tape machines, microphones, and Pultecs. Because I was passionate about the studio, I was invited to return any Saturday I wished. They even treated me to a burger! After a hundred Saturdays (and burgers) I secured a job in another studio. The core my knowledge came from the engineers at United Sound and observing artists like George Clinton, Johnny Taylor, and Barbara Lewis record hit songs. This experience was enriched by working with some of the very best engineers and artists in the world at Motown between 1965 and 1972.
- Matt Pogorelc – a nearly 20-year industry vet and a bass-playing Vice President at Quest Marketing, an independent Manufacturers Rep Firm representing top-of-class AV gear. He’s running all over the country connecting people, facilitating good times, and having a blast making things loud.
- Ken Porter – founded Spectrum Sound Inc. in 1979, which designed, installed, and sold sound systems. Ken is also a leader in the concert industry as Spectrum provides sound systems worldwide for live production to many artists.
- Ryan Shelton – Ryan Shelton has been involved in live sound since the age of 11. He decided to pursue a degree in Recording Technology from the University of Memphis. While still in college, he recognized his passion for technical education. He found his way into the Live Sound Industry and when joining Group One (the US distributor for DiGiCo), he was able to create and launch the DiGiCo Masters Series technical training course which travels across the US teaching engineers hands-on how to use DiGiCo consoles. Ryan is currently the US National Sales Manager for DiGiCo & KLANG.
- Erik Thompson – I’ve been working in audio for over 20 years and began my career in the studio as a producer/engineer, mostly at Reel Recording. I played a pivotal role in the creation of Reel Audiobooks, the largest audiobook post-production firm in the region and Audible’s go-to studio for high-end celebrity and author-read titles. I founded Walter Audio, a sonic branding agency that helps brands leverage sound to strengthen their identity, influence consumer behavior, and increase productivity. I am a sort of audio evangelist and will regale you with facts about the power of sound, so you should do your best to avoid getting me started on that if you know what’s good for you.
- Travis Turk – has been active as an engineer in all facets of audio including Studio, Remote, Television, Film, Radio, and Live since 1968. He has also served on the boards of CMA and NARAS.
- Gerry Valenti – After a 36-year career as a roving geologist in international petroleum exploration, I moved to Nashville in 2016 to learn audio and to set down roots … and joined AES almost immediately. After completing Blackbird’s studio engineering and live sound programs, I worked at Blackbird’s Live school and went through Berklee College of Music’s online master’s degree program. Now, as an independent mix engineer, I produce, record, and mix a Nashville-born Neo Soul vocalist and mix and master for Nashville’s first Afrobeat band as my primary projects. I feel that AES membership is the best way to stay informed about trends, developments, and events in audio and as a way to be active in the wider audio world. This past year has been my first as a member of the AES-Nashville Section committee, and I would like to continue as a member to serve the organization and the Nashville audio community.
- Terry Watson – Terry Watson is a seasoned music industry professional with deep roots in music production, audio engineering, and studio operations. His experience spans major label master projects, Nashville’s vibrant publishing scene, and independent artist development. Over the years, he’s worn just about every hat in the studio—from creative to technical to administrative—always with a focus on serving the music and the people behind it. Projects he’s contributed to have earned more than 20 Grammy Awards, 50+ Dove Awards, 90+ chart-topping singles and albums, and hundreds of RIAA Gold, Platinum, and Multi-Platinum certifications. Whether he’s leading a full-scale production or fine-tuning the details behind the scenes, Terry brings a thoughtful, collaborative spirit and a trusted ear for quality. He values the process as much as the outcome and is driven by a love for helping artists and teams bring their vision to life. Terry also serves as Chair of the AES Nashville Section (2023–2025), where he supports the local audio community through education, events, and advocacy for excellence in sound.
- Frank Wells – is veteran audio industry technologist, journalist, and marketing communications specialist. He has worked as a radio broadcast engineer and for a decade as head of technical services for Glenn Meadows’ Masterfonics Studios. He transitioned into pro audio trade journalism for 20 years including 15 as the Editor of Pro Sound News, He is a Past President of the Audio Engineering Society along with having held elective and committee titles for the parent AES and for AES Nashville. He is an AES Fellow and Distinguished Service Medal winner. He is also founding board member of the Nashville Engineer Relief Fund. He currently works in content creation with PR firm Clyne Media for clients that include the AES.