When One Door Closes, Another Opens
Erika Koski, CRAS Graduate and Current Foley Mixer, Went from Aspiring Competitive Gymnast to an Audio Professional with a Host of Impressive Credits to Her Name
Gilbert, Ariz., August 21, 2023 – Born in Venezuela and raised in Minnesota, Erika Koski’s dream of being a competitive gymnast unfortunately ended due to multiple injuries throughout her childhood.
However, besides being a gifted athlete, Koski was also a musician. Her love of music allowed her to pivot to a career in professional audio production.
“Music and sound has been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember,” explained Koski, who grew up taking guitar and piano lessons, who then eventually started playing the alto saxophone. “After experimenting with music production, I fell in love with recording and mixing.”
Koski received her high school diploma from the Perpich Center of Arts Education music program, where she had the opportunity to run live sound for performances and record compositions in the studio.
“Those experiences led me to pursue a career in audio,” Koski said. “After researching many different audio engineering programs, I chose The Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences (CRAS) because of its well rounded audio courses and internship program.”
In the beginning during her time at CRAS, Koski was most interested in recording and mixing music. But as soon as she started studying Post Production and Game Audio at CRAS, she instantly knew that’s what she wanted to do.
“I graduated from CRAS in June 2019, and it was the perfect starting point for my career,” Koski explained. “I graduated with a well rounded knowledge of audio and some awesome connections.”
Koski completed her mandatory internship at Monkeyland Audio in Glendale, Calf. and eventually got hired on there. After some time at Monkeyland, she took an opportunity at Reel Foley Sound in Costa Mesa, Calif., which is where she currently works as a Foley Mixer with some outstanding credits to her name.
“After my CRAS internship hours were completed, there wasn’t a job opening for me, but I continued with my intern duties whenever I had time away from my freelance job at Formosa Interactive,” Koski explained. “Although I was most interested in sound design, I shadowed people in all areas of post. During that time, I found foley, which I ended up falling in love with. Staying open minded to other positions and being dedicated to getting more experience was the key in being ready when a position opened up.”
Some of Koski’s credits include Only Murders In the Building (Foley Mixer), Batwoman (Foley Mixer), Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me (Foley Mixer), Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (Foley Mixer), Riverdale (Foley Mixer), Die Hart (Foley Mixer), Call of Duty: Vanguard (VO Recording Engineer), and Ghost of Tsushima (Assistant VO Recording Engineer).
Koski concluded saying that an education based in core fundamentals and industry expectations is necessary to succeed in this business.
“CRAS will give you all the tools you need to thrive in your audio career, but it’s up to you to take advantage of those tools and learn everything you can during your time there,” she advised.
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About The Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences
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.
For more information on the Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences, please visit www.cras.edu, contact Kirt Hamm, administrator, at 1-800-562-6383, or email to info@cras.edu.
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