Recording Connection Success Story – Peter Orfitelli, Changing it Up and Getting Right On Track

Change might be called the buzzword of the decade with so many of today’s politicians, pundits, and everyday people talking about that very thing. But when it comes to the academic and educational institutions across the nation, change byway of top-down reform for better, more practical programs seems to be something no one in the driver’s seat is interested in changing. Nevertheless, a growing number of young college graduates, like Peter Orfitelli of Waterford, Connecticut, are taking that old maxim about “being the change” to heart. When the conventional way just isn’t working for them, they’re choosing to find their way towards getting on the right track on their own.
 
Just months ago, Orfitelli was facing the dilemma so common to many recent college graduates all across the nation. “I finished getting my degree but didn’t really have a grasp for where I wanted to be or what I wanted to do.” He had started college with the idea of becoming a professional musician but that plan wasn’t working out. Orfitelli describes his predicament saying:

“The problem was that I didn’t have the natural talent to be really good and I didn’t have the patience and motivation needed to practice to be good. So I didn’t have the talent and I like playing but I, as horrible as it sounds, I didn’t have a drive to become better. I wanted to perform, I didn’t want to work to get there though. [It was] kind of like I was a rock star in high school because in high school you only know a handful of kids who are good at their instruments anyway. Then you get to college and you find out if you’re the best in your school, you go to college and everybody’s that good. So I really kind of lost the drive behind it.”
 
But just before graduation, fate stepped in when one of Orfitelli’s favorite professors asked him to sign up for his new recording class. The professor was trying to get the class underway and felt he could use his help. In speaking of his experience learning recording while helping the professor, he says:

“I understood a lot of it and enjoyed it, so that professor allowed me to work with him because he did all of the schools recording for the University of Connecticut. He recorded all the bands and orchestras and what have you. So I worked with him as kind of an opportunity to learn what it was to do recording and a little bit of engineering and after that, I kind of decided that engineering was kind of more where I wanted to be…”
 
This led Orfitelli to take an internship doing audio visual work with an off-Broadway theatre company in New York. The experience sealed the deal for him by allowing him to hone in on exactly what he wanted to do. Upon finishing his internship, he says, “I knew I wanted to go into the studio production and engineering.”

The only problem was that he first needed to build up his technical skillset. This led him to Recording Connection, a low-cost school which specializes in the mentor-guided approach and matches apprentices up with professional audio engineers for one-on-one training in professional recording studios. Because of their on-site approach, the school has locations in cities all across the United States, making it possible for people like Orfitelli to get trained in audio engineering without having to relocate. In speaking of his experience in Recording Connection’s six-month mentored program, Orfitelli says:

“I would have to say that it worked out very well. … Being in an actual studio made a huge difference. It’s not like being at a university where your peers are professionals in their own right, but there’s still a difference between a professional and the actual professionals. Whereas when you’re working in a studio that has real clients and has real bills to pay it’s better because you meet people and you will learn very quickly how to cope with people because if you don’t get these people back in to your studio you’re not having that studio for very long. Being in the studio was really good because I met all of these professionals, I met all of these musicians who have connections and people who know people. It definitely made a big difference. …”

“It’s always a fun experience, being able to sit in an actual session but it’s a much, much larger story when you’re all sitting around during a session and the head engineer stretches his back. And he’s like ‘I can’t stand this chair anymore’ and points for you and lets you take over. So that was definitely a big event for me, the first time he said, ‘Alright, alright, you’re pressing the record button.’ That was actually one of the first, major times I had worked in a recording session, so that was intense.”

Now that he has completed his training with Recording Connection, Orfitelli has the demeanor of someone who knows where he is headed. When asked about his plans, he says:

“I’m thinking about the Miami scene, about what’s happening out in LA. In 10 years I hope to be filthy, stinking rich ha ha ha ha. I would not mind bouncing around, working on tracks. I’m doing the engineer thing and I feel like I am slowly moving towards the producing side, producer/engineer. That would be a lot of fun, traveling to studios, make things for people and to do my own mixing on the road. I don’t feel the need to settle down yet. It’s great to work in one studio but I want to see everything. I want to hear everything, I want to meet everybody and the only way to do that is to get everywhere and the only way to get everywhere is by being dynamic. That’s the progression I’m going through.”
 
Orfitelli’s upbeat attitude suggests he feels pretty darn good about the path he’s making for himself. Maybe one day soon, those at the top of the academic food chain will take note and start making change a part of their curriculum. To find out more about Recording Connection’s licensed, accredited recording arts programs, visit www.recordingconnection.com.

Contact Information

Brian Kraft

C.O.O.

Recording Connection Audio Institute

(1) (800) 755-7597

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