Overview

Hello world! My name is Sophie Barterian, and I'm an aspiring audio engineer here in the beautiful city of Boston, MA.

Ever since I was a kid, music has been a central part of my life. I grew up obsessively learning about my favorite musicians, teaching myself to play piano, guitar, and banjo. As a high schooler, I could be found volunteering at music venues and writing music reviews for my school paper. Despite my dedication, I never felt like music was something I was allowed to pursue as a career. I studied physics in college, and it wasn’t until the end of my degree that I realized that nothing was stopping me from turning my love of music into a livelihood. Now I’ve found a program that has accepted me regardless of my lack of experience and because of my enthusiasm. Plaid Dog’s Audio Bootcamp is the opportunity for me to finally delve into a community I’ve always dreamed of joining.

This Plaid Dog campaign is the final step toward gaining the skills I need to pursue my dream career -- and with your help, I know I can make this a reality.

This campaign is raising funds for my Audio Bootcamp at Plaid Dog Recording, where I would be learning from and working with Bryan Fennelly, a Boston-based producer and engineer with experience working with both established and up-and-coming musicians.

One of the things I'm most excited about is how hands-on this program would be, which is the quickest, best way to learn this trade. So many schools make students wait for years to touch any equipment or make their own recordings, but Plaid Dog cuts right to the chase. This bootcamp would include the following components to help me enter the working world as an audio professional:

1. One-on-one training workshops: Plaid Dog's training program consists of 20 comprehensive lessons taught in one-on-one workshops, which keeps this personal, tailored to me, and hands-on. This is where I get to work with Bryan and his knowledgeable engineering staff and really hone my skills on a variety of important topics.

2. Assisting on real recording sessions: I might be most excited about this part! Perhaps the coolest thing about this apprenticeship is that Plaid Dog puts me to work straight away when I start the program -- and, I GET PAID for my time assisting on sessions, which means from day 1, I get to put "Plaid Dog Assistant Engineer" on my resume. How cool is that? This is exactly what I need to start my career.

3. Hands-on recording labs: This is where I get hands-on opportunities with Plaid Dog's awesome gear, and I’ll work with actual bands to practice my recording skills. I can't stress how huge this is -- with audio, things don't really click until you can apply this stuff with your own hands in a real setting.

And what will you get for your generosity and support? So many awesome things!

I'm so appreciative and grateful for any support you can lend to this campaign. In exchange for your generosity, I've put together some really exciting gifts that are available exclusively through your participation in this campaign.

Check out some examples below and a full list to the right!

It's hard to express how much this program would change my life.

Music has always been a way for me to connect with people. While I excelled in physics, I really struggled with studying a subject that felt so disconnected from others. Music felt like a way to reach people, and it has always been my dream to make a living through music. I finally have the confidence, determination, and opportunity to make this happen. Music has given me so much, and now I have the chance to give it back. 

With this opportunity, I’ll have the newfound skills to make high quality recordings regularly and assist artists in making their music come to life. Not only that, it gives me the key to laying the groundwork of starting my own studio someday and future collaboration with a whole world of musicians and recording spaces. Lastly, gaining an understanding of how to run studio sessions will allow me to contribute to the songwriting and performances of fellow artists and to play as a session musician myself. 

This will be the first major undertaking in advancing my career in music. I’m so grateful for the experiences I’ve had, from working in an engineering lab, to carrying out projects in social physics, to guiding planetarium shows, and studying Artificial Intelligence at an art center in Seoul. Yet, I am even happier looking forward to turning my full attention to making music in my day-to-day life, bringing all of my widely varied experience together into something sustainable that my friends and family can be a part of.

If you're ready to contribute, just click the "Back This Project" button on the top right of this page! Every little bit counts, and I’m so grateful for all your support.

If you have folks in your network that would be interested in supporting me, please feel free to share this page with them.

Thank you so much for checking out my campaign page. I can't wait to share this music with you.