Faculty Profile - Graham Brewer

Graham Brewer, Producer, Mixer and Digidesign Certified Instructor, has been teaching at Metalworks Institute since the school opened, in 2005. 

Brewer says, “Being an instructor and finding new ways to pass down information and make learning for the students enjoyable, so they want to continue on with their education, has been both, challenging and rewarding. Once students finish learning the basics, there is so much more to learn out in the field.”

And Brewer knows a thing or two about going beyond the basics. He is one of a handful of people in the world to achieve all levels of Expert Certification in Pro Tools. From 2006 to 2009 he underwent extensive training and received the highest Digidesign certifications in Music, Post Production, Mixing, Live Sound and Certified Pro Tools Instructor.

“Knowing the ins and outs of Pro Tools allows me to answer most questions that students have. Having real world experience lets me show students more than one way to accomplish the task at hand and provide insight into various workflows,” said Brewer.

Brewer first heard about Metalworks through a friend doing a co-op placement at Metalworks Studios. Brewer interned at the studio in 1989, before going back to school. In 1993 he was hired as part-time Assistant Engineer. In a year he went from that position to Assistant Studio Manager and held that position from 1994-97. He transitioned into a fulltime Engineer at the studio in 2007, and stayed with the studio until 2001, before he went freelance.

In addition to teaching at MWI Brewer still produces, engineers and mixes for a wide variety of domestic and international artists. His credits include Jet, Sam Roberts, Tea Party, Nelly Furtado, White Mouth Mason, Auto-Pilot Off, Sean Desmond, Great Big Sea, Kim Mitchell, Limp Bizkit, DMX, Sisqo, Snow, Steven Segal and Jamie Fox. He just returned from the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London, England, where he worked with Mastering Engineer Geoff Pesche (Radiohead, Cold Play, Gorillaz). He put the finishing touches on Soul Nidus’ upcoming record Looking Back, Facing Forward.

The right mix of technology and creative understanding has always been Brewer’s philosophy. “Your ears and your imagination are the best tools you have- always use them,” Brewer advices. And in advice to his students, he says: “To all you students out there work hard, keep your head up and hopefully I will have the privilege of working with you one day.”