Sound design is the secret ingredient that makes all our favorite records come together. For Ryan Freeland, the recently appointed director of Sound Recording Technology at the School of Music, the field is a perfect harmony of creativity and technology.

Freeland’s expertise has shaped Grammy Award-winning work, including the acoustic hits of Bonnie Raitt and Ray LaMontagne, the blues stylings of Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, and hits on the big screen like music for “Moulin Rouge.” Coming from 25-plus years in the industry, he’s ready to share his knowledge with the next generation of sound engineers.

In this Q&A, learn how Freeland’s journey led him to DePaul.

Where did your passion for music and sound engineering come from?

Music was in me from the very beginning. I started listening to records, and I either loved the way they sounded or I didn't. From a very young age, there were artists I thought were great, but if their records didn't sound good, I didn't listen to them. A lot of great albums I loved had pictures of people working in studios on the inside. My thought was — whatever that is, that looks like a fun place to be. And engineering is technical. It’s creative, and it's musical. 

What technology or trends in the field do students need to be trained for today?

Music engineering is a technology-based field, so whatever new thing is happening, we need to be on it. What we have now is more immersive audio, which is important and fun to work with. That's the biggest new trend. Of course, the buzzword of AI is everywhere. I've heard a lot of people using it for songwriting and liking it, but every time I use it in engineering, I don't like its choices. I don't know why it's making certain choices, so I don’t use it. I do think it's worth our attention. That’ll be a subject we'll all have to learn as we go.

What brought you to DePaul and the School of Music?

I actually applied to DePaul for my undergraduate degree — I toured it, and I loved it. It didn’t work out then, but I reached out to the previous director of the sound recording technology program, Tom Miller, a few years ago. I got to know him and the program, and taught master classes. There was never really any other place I wanted to work. This was always kind of my dream scenario: It's a great program, in a great city, with great facilities, great students and great professors. What's not to love?

How do you envision growing the Sound Recording Technology program?

A lot of the field is based on equipment: trying to update equipment, get new equipment in and stay on the current trends. I want to bring all that to DePaul and keep us at the forefront of technology and trends and make sure we're all aware of everything that's happening in the world of audio engineering.

What kind of lasting impression would you like to leave on your students?

I hope I can lead by example. I hope I can be inspiring. It doesn't feel that long ago that I was right where they are, in a school learning how to do the basics of a job that I love. It's the only thing I ever wanted to do in this world. I hope that comes across, and that they get inspired and know that it takes a lot of effort, but most people who work really hard at it can find a place in audio in this world. I'm hoping that they have that same sort of optimism about what the future holds for people who love this weird field.

You can learn more about Ryan Freeland’s experience, including his first time winning a Grammy, on DePaul’s Instagram page.