Ray Benson to Receive Les Paul Award at 24th Annual Tec Awards, October 3 in San Francisco
9/18/2008
NEW YORK (September 18, 2008) - The Mix Foundation for Excellence in Audio has announced that musician, producer and composer Ray Benson, the founder and leader of the Western swing group Asleep at the Wheel, will receive the prestigious Les Paul Award at the 24th Annual Technical Excellence & Creativity Awards. Sponsored by the Gibson Foundation, the award will be presented on Friday, October 3 at San Francisco's Westin St. Francis, on the second night of the annual Audio Engineering Society (AES) Convention.
Named for the legendary musician, inventor and pioneer of multitrack recording, the Les Paul Award was established in 1991 to honor the lifetime achievements of musical artists and others whose work has exemplified the creative use of recording technology. Benson joins illustrious past honorees Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Sting, Steely Dan, Peter Gabriel, Bruce Springsteen, Brian Wilson and other innovative artists and producers.
"Ray Benson and Asleep at the Wheel have been delighting audiences since the early 70s with their high-voltage Western swing repertoire," says Mix Foundation president Hillel Resner. "But what the average listener doesn't know is that Ray is not only a consummate artist, but he also has the technical knowledge and expertise of a veteran engineer and producer."
"The Gibson Foundation is honored to present this year's Les Paul Award to our friend Ray Benson," says Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar. "Ray is a gifted musician and producer whose contributions to the world of music are unprecedented. We celebrate and applaud him for his years of entertaining legions of fans. It is so fitting to bestow upon him this special award."
The TEC Awards, founded in 985, is the world's most prominent forum honoring outstanding achievement in professional audio production and product innovation. The ceremony is expected to draw more than 700 top sound and music professionals from around the world. Funds derived from the banquet and ceremony are donated to organizations working to promote safe listening practices including House Ear Institute's outreach campaign to teenagers and numerous audio education scholarships.
The Mix Foundation for Excellence in Audio is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization headquartered in Walnut Creek, California. The TEC Awards is sponsored by Mix magazine, the professional audio industry's leading international monthly, published by Penton Media. In addition to the Gibson Foundation, top-tier sponsors include Harman Pro Group, American Music and Sound, Guitar Center Professional, Meyer Sound, RODE Microphones, Sennheiser Electronics and Universal Audio. For complete list of sponsors, visit www.mixfoundation.org/tec/08sponsors.html.
For TEC Awards tickets and other information, visit www.mixfoundation.org, or contact Executive Director Karen Dunn at Karen@tecwards.org.
Penton Media, Inc. is the largest independent business-to-business media company in the U.S., serving more than six million business professionals every month. The company's market-leading brands are focused on 30 industries and include 113 trade magazines, 145 Web sites, 150 industry trade shows and conferences, and more than 500 information data products. Headquartered in New York City, the privately held company is owned by MidOcean Partners and U.S. Equity Partners II, an investment fund sponsored by Wasserstein & Co., LP, and its co-investors. For additional information on the company and its businesses, visit www.penton.com.
CONTACT:
Bethany Weaver
Corporate Communications Manager, Penton Media
Phone: (216) 931-9551
E-mail: bethany.weaver@penton.com