Frank Stearns did his first remote recordings of cathedral pipe organs
before he was licensed to drive (this did pose a transportation problem).
He did his first studio recordings at 17, and then over the next decade spent
a “double-time” career in studio recording, accruing some 40,000 engineering
hours at studios in Spokane, Seattle, and Los Angeles.Live sound mixing, for public address and theatrical sound-reinforcement, proved to be an ideal complement to studio work. Live demands, including mixing up to ten shows per day during extended festival events, rapidly honed logistic skills and unveiled how to put artists at ease in high-pressure situations.
In later years Mr. Stearns built a successful specialty software company with a customer base spanning the globe. But recording was a passion never far away, and he produced and engineered the occasional project while running the software enterprise.
In recent years Mr. Stearns has returned to recording full-time taking on a number of new projects. He has also included the challenge of small-room acoustics, designing and building the main post room at the MARS offices, and also the MARS location system.
Dr. Stearns has an unusual blend of aesthetic and technical knowledge.
Not only has Dr. Stearns recorded several live and session events throughout
Germany (including the Stuttgart Symphony Orchestra and the inaugural CD of
the new Johannes Rohlf pipe organ in Altensteig, Germany), he has also taught
classical guitar and lute, and performed on both instruments throughout Europe.
Dr. Stearns has also written a series of readily-accessible musical text books.After earning his Ph.D. in music, Dr. Stearns moved to Europe to further his academic and performance interests. At the same time, his interest in high-end recording dove-tailed with an ongoing need for such recordings and thus propelled him into a parallel career path.
In the German Tonmeister tradition, Dr. Stearns brings broad technical and practical experience to recording, along with a deep knowledge of music and music performance. His breadth of understanding of music in many historical contexts helps him achieve recordings that are not only technical tours de force, but also highly engaging because of the musical aliveness that Dr. Stearns is innately able to capture.
MARS is committed to the highest level of sonic excellence and customer service that has earned praise and repeat work from its diverse customers.