Professional Training Programs for Audio Engineers

Overview 

The Audio Recording Engineer program is intended as a continuing education experience for emerging recording engineers with mature artistic insight, advanced practical skills, and significant professional experience or a high level of professional training.

Audio Recording Engineer learning objectives have been integrated into artistic residency programs, inviting exciting opportunities for collaboration and connection in applied-learning programs.

Through mentoring, class sessions, and professional practice, participants will learn about new equipment, software, and recording techniques while supporting the diverse recording needs of Banff Centre's music programs. 

New for Summer 2026, the Audio Engineering Professional training program offers the opportunity to combine multiple programs, increasing breadth of experience and exposure to musical genres, select program dates that run across a combination of Chamber Music, Summer Opera, Jazz & Sonic Arts or BISQFest (Quartet & Chamber).

Description

Engineers from around the world participate in our program to expand their technical proficiency, nurture creativity, and elevate their recording abilities in diverse genres of music.

Successful applicants will benefit from: 

• mentoring from international faculty, producers, engineers, and technologists
• gain experience recording live concerts in jazz and related genres
• develop communication and interactive strategies to engage with musicians for an optimal recording experience
• gain experience in studio recording sessions with diverse repertoire
• deepened knowledge of industry trends and best practices
• networking opportunities with other audio engineers, professional musicians, artists in other disciplines, and invited guests
• access to professionally equipped studio spaces

Dates

2026 Program dates are available within the ranges listed below. As part of the application process, you’ll be asked to indicate your preferred date range(s).

• Option 1: July 9 - July 29 (Chamber Music & Summer Opera)
• Option 2: July 9 - August 26 (Chamber Music, Summer Opera & Jazz)
• Option 3: July 9 - September 9 (Chamber Music, Summer Opera, Jazz & Sonic Arts & BISQFest)
• Option 4: July 30 - August 26 (Jazz & Sonic Arts)
• Option 5: July 30 - September 9 (Jazz & BISQFest)

Participants should plan to arrive the day before their selected start date and depart the day after their selected end date.

The cost to the participant varies depending on the length of the residency. Please see the Fees & Financial Assistance section. 

Founded in 1902, Byrdcliffe is one of the earliest utopian art communities in the United States. Located approximately 2 hours north of New York City in the unique community of Woodstock, NY, Byrdcliffe has welcomed artists, intellectuals and creative practitioners in a range of fields to and live and work surrounded by the serene beauty of the Catskill Mountains on a 250-acre property. Our storied legacy of past participants includes Eva Hesse, Bob Dylan, Philip Guston, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Milton Avery and Thorstein Veblen.

The primary criteria for acceptance to Byrdcliffe’s Residency program is artistic excellence and demonstrated commitment to one’s field of endeavor. Artists in multiple disciplines are encouraged to apply in three general categories: Visual Arts, Literary Arts and Performing Arts. We understand and support that your practice may transverse multiple areas. 

All resident artists also have the opportunity to participate in an exhibition, performance, or presentation at Byrdcliffe’s Kleinert James gallery in downtown Woodstock during the year following their residency.

While we welcome creative practices in all areas, our Spring Individual Residencies especially provide solace and privacy for writers and scholars. We have limited residencies available for Visual Artists.

For more information visit: https://www.woodstockguild.org/artists-in-residence/

The Trinacria Festival Residency is a 3-week, community-centered program designed for professional artists whose work directly engages the Pezzolo community. The dates of the program are July 24 - August 13, 2026.

We will select five to six artists or small collectives (no more than 3 collaborators) whose practices engage with Pezzolo in thoughtful and meaningful ways—through collaboration, cultural exchange, site-responsive work, or processes shaped by dialogue with the village and its landscape.

Selected artists will develop individual projects (new or evolving) that culminate in a public presentation at the annual Trinacria Arts Festival. Community engagement and participation is at the core of this Festival. 

Artists will receive:

• A structured residency environment
• Regular group sharings and workshops
• Accommodation and meals
• Local transportation support
• Workspace
• A small materials budget
• Support in developing a public presentation for the festival

The experience offers artists the opportunity to create in a dynamic environment while fostering meaningful connections with the local community.  It is ideal for artists excited by community connection, interdisciplinary exchange, and the challenge of shaping a new or evolving work toward a shared public moment.

The Pezzolo Retreat Residency is a self-directed creative retreat designed for artists seeking uninterrupted time and space to explore, rest, and experiment. 

The residency is designed to provide time, space, and freedom, allowing each participant to set their own goals and rhythms.

Open to individual artists or small groups of up to three collaborators, across any discipline—visual arts, performing arts, writing, music, dance, or interdisciplinary practices. 

We encourage applicants who:

• Value self-directed, reflective, and experimental work.
• Are curious, open, and respectful of a shared residency environment.
• Appreciate slowing down and engaging deeply with their process, rather than focusing on a finished product.
• May wish to share their work informally with fellow residents or the local community, though this is entirely optional.
• Are inspired by natural surroundings and a remote village setting, and who might draw creatively from this unique context.

There are no strict requirements for public presentations or collaborative outcomes, besides a final reflection practice. Participants may choose to take part in a small, informal sharing if they so wish.  

The Provincetown Community Compact announces 2026 dune shack residency applications are now open for C-Scape and Fowler Dune Shacks in the Cape Cod National Seashore, available April through November. Applications are due January 15, 2026. thecompact.org/dune-shacks.html

This artist retreat is an experience of solitude, reflection and experimentation. Artist residencies take place in the C-Scape Dune shack, which does not have running water or electricity. There is a kitchen equipped with a gas stove and refrigerator, and kerosene lamps and portable solar lights for lighting. Phone service is inconsistent and there is no Wi-Fi.

We offer three 3-week visual artist residencies, one for an emerging artist of color* that includes a $500 fellowship, named for the late David Bethuel Jamieson, a Black artist who spent time in Provincetown and died of AIDS in 1992. Another top juried artist will receive a $500 fellowship with their residency. 

The Compact also offers 1-week residencies for artists and the general public, and two 1-week funded residencies for writers.

*An emerging artist of color is defined as one who has yet to receive a major exhibition or showcasing opportunities and has not had extensive media coverage for their work. Artists of all ages may apply.

We also invite applicants to donate a voluntary "Honor Tax", which will be donated to the Native Land Conservancy, providing an opportunity to move beyond land acknowledgement.

The Proyecto Proyecta residency program, in collaboration with #Ey!Studio, takes place in the Madrid district of Carabanchel, one of the city’s most active hubs for contemporary creation. Since 2017, this artist-run space has hosted over 65 artists, establishing itself as a center for experimentation, cultural exchange, and critical thinking.

The residency offers a working environment that combines research, artistic practice, and professional support through mentorships, critical sessions, and continuous curatorial guidance. Projects developed during the residency gain visibility through interviews, website and social-media publications, and potential future participation in screenings, exhibitions, or collaborations with independent spaces both nationally and internationally. There is also the opportunity to sell works produced through an online gallery.

The program is open to artists, curators, and researchers of any nationality and discipline, with a particular focus on the visual arts. Residencies last between 1 and 4 months, hosting 1 to 8 residents per period. Although a final public presentation is not required, the curatorial team may select works based on quality and relevance for inclusion in a collective exhibition scheduled between November 2026 and February 2027.

What do we offer?

Guidance and professional development

• Weekly critical sessions with peers and mentors (mandatory attendance).
• Special visit from a renowned curator based in Madrid, subject to availability and schedule.
• Artist assistant, depending on the organization’s availability.
• Small specialized library on art, aesthetics, and critical thought, as well as art catalogues (in Spanish).

Production and Resources

• Basic materials and shared tools.
• Shared workspace in a common area.
• Accommodation (see specific conditions).
• Shared kitchen area.
• General cleaning service for the studios.

Visibility and Promotion

• Promotion and visibility of the resident artist through social media.
• Presence on the #Ey!Studio website featuring the developed project.
• Promotional video interview about the artist’s work.
• Inclusion in the residency’s artist archive.

Collective Exhibition

• Participation in a group exhibition, with a work selected by the curatorial team.
• Curatorial text for the exhibition.
• Graphic design for posters, exhibition signage, vinyls, etc.
• Professional photo and video documentation of the group exhibition.
• Exhibition installation and deinstallation.
• Artwork packaging (shipping costs not included).

Other Services

• Orientation guide including places of interest, art supply stores, restaurants, and other local resources.