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Pedro Sá-Chaves (RIT ’99)
Audio Engineering.
January 2009

For Pedro Sa-Chaves, moving from Portugal to attend RIT was the perfect way to boost his career to a new level. Pedro relates his story as follows:

“After being a professional musician for twelve years I decided to take a further step in my career and I went to L.A. to study the art of sound. What a good decision–.LA is definitely the center of the universe for the music business and the gate for those who have the drive to be the best.
“At Musicians Institute, I had the chance to meet fabulous musicians. One of them was Rafael Moreira [GIT grad, guitarist for Christina Aguilera, Pink, MAGNETICO etc. – ed.] who invited me to mix his bands in gigs all around town. At RIT I had the best grades in my class and due to my performance I was invited to be assistant engineer for [GIT grad/instructor] Scott Henderson’s album, Tore Down House.
“After finishing RIT, I had the chance to meet Roger Gibbons, who was the lighting engineer for Whitesnake, Bon Jovi etc. After analyzing my resume, he hired me at A-1 Audio, one of the most important audio rental companies in the world. At A-1, I helped prepare sound systems for such artists and events as VAN HALEN III World tour, Liza Minnelli, Fiona Apple, KD Lang, Motley Crue, Luis Miguel, Eric Clapton, movie premiers for The Game, Godzilla and Mulan, Barbra Streisand..s wedding party, Frank Sinatra..s funeral!!! (crazy I know but I can say I worked for Mr. Frank Sinatra,and You...?(he,he) ! A-1 Audio was nominated for a TEC Award for AEROSMITH..s Nine Lives tour sound system, and I participated in the building of that system from scratch.
“Due to the expiration of my internship visa I had to return to Portugal where I immediately started to mix live for several artists as Lucia Moniz (produced by Nuno Bettencourt),Entre Aspas(BMG), Rita Guerra, Santos e Pecadores,Império dos Sentados, Anjos, Menito Ramos, SeBenta, kLEPHT(Universal Music), Viviane, Luka, Dr.Estranho Amor, Adelaide Ferreira (Universal)and Paulo Gonzo, a Sony/BMG Music artist with eight platinum albums. Paulo has a song in the 2002 World Cup of Soccer album featuring Anastasia and others. Right now, I’m a freelance FOH engineer, own a Bands Merchandising business , and continue to tour with some of the best bands and artists in Portugal. All the luck for everybody at MI and peace to the world!”

As his story illustrates, luck is only part of it–when skill, drive and opportunity meet, great things result. Congratulations, Pedro! Keith Wyatt. Musicians Institute.

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