TEC TICKETS

TEC Awards tickets will be available at the TEC Foundation Booth (#172) in the lobby of the Anaheim Convention Center on Thursday from 11 a.m.-1p.m. and Friday from 11 a.m.-1p.m.

NAMM BADGES ARE NO LONGER AVAILABLE WITH YOUR TICKET PURCHASE.

AUDIO AND TECHNOLOGY LEADERS TO SPONSOR
27TH ANNUAL TEC AWARDS

  Les Paul Foundation Joins Harman Pro, NAMM, Sennheiser/Neumann and Others to Support Event Honoring Steve Vai and Top Audio Professionals

Walnut Creek, CA—January 2, 2012—The TEC Foundation for Excellence in Audio has announced that 34 companies in the professional audio and technology industries are lending their support as sponsors of the 27th Annual TEC Awards. The awards honor outstanding achievement in professional audio production and product innovation and are co-presented by the TEC Foundation and NAMM, the largest trade association of the international music products industry.

The TEC Awards will be held at the 2012 NAMM Show on Friday, January 20, in the Pacific Ballroom of the Hilton Anaheim. A highlight of the evening will be the presentation of the Les Paul Award to famed musician, composer and producer Steve Vai.

FOH and Platinum Sponsors include Sustaining Sponsor Harman Professional, encompassing many of the professional audio industry’s most respected brands; The Les Paul Foundation (LPF), created by Les Paul to foster artistic excellence and innovation through the funding of music programs and scholarships; and Sennheiser/Neumann, leading manufacturers of microphones, headphones and wireless transmission systems.

Gold Sponsors include Avid, producer of award-winning digital audio and video solutions; Broadjam, the social media website focused on indie music and musicians; Hal Leonard Corporation, the world’s largest print music publisher, and leading software and music technology products distributor; and Shure Incorporated, one of the world's largest manufacturers of microphones and audio electronics.

Completing this year's lineup are Silver Sponsors Meyer Sound, Solid State Logic, Sony and Yamaha; and Bronze Sponsors, DPA Microphones, Eventide, Focusrite | Novation, GANG, Genelec, House Research Institute, Intel, JoeCo, Line 6, Martin Audio, Producers and Engineers Wing of the Recording Academy, PreSonus, QSC Audio, Royer Labs, TASCAM, TC Electronic, Toft Audio Design | Tonelux, Universal Audio and Wave Distribution.

For more information on TEC Awards Sponsors, visit: http://www.tecfoundation.com/tec/11sponsorresources.html

Ticket and Event Information: http://27thannualtecawards.eventbrite.com

The TEC Awards is presented by the TEC Foundation for Excellence in Audio, a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to promoting and recognizing excellence in the audio and music arts and sciences. In pursuing this mission, the Foundation has endowed scholarships at leading colleges and universities around the United States. For more information visit www.tecfoundation.com.

 Media Contact: Jane Byer / 510.528.2014 / jane@tecfoundation.com

Steve Vai to Receive Les Paul Award

The Guitar virtuoso, composer and producer Steve Vai will be presented with the prestigious Les Paul Award at the 27th Annual Technical Excellence & Creativity Awards, to be held Friday, January 20, in the Pacific Ballroom of the Hilton Anaheim during the 2012 NAMM Show. Co-presented by the TEC Foundation for Excellence in Audio and NAMM, the TEC Awards recognizes outstanding achievement in professional audio production and product design. The Les Paul Award was established in 1991 to honor musical artists who have had distinguished careers as innovators in the creative application of audio technology. Past recipients include Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Brian Wilson, Peter Gabriel, Lindsey Buckingham, Herbie Hancock, Al Kooper, Steve Miller, Robbie Robertson and others.

A student of Joe Satriani at age twelve, Steve Vai began his professional music career working with Frank Zappa, with whom he toured and recorded before launching his solo career. Since his groundbreaking album Passion and Warfare, released in 1990, the brilliance of his musicianship has awed more than just rock fans and has stunned concertgoers worldwide, producing sales of over 15 million records and earning multiple Grammys.

Vai has recorded and toured with Public Image Ltd., Alcatrazz, David Lee Roth and Whitesnake, and has worked with a variety of musicians including Joe Satriani, Joe Jackson, Janice Ian, Steve Lukather, Alice Cooper, Gerry Rafferty, The Yardbirds and Mary J. Blige. He has composed for and/or performed on original soundtracks for films including Crossroads, Encino Man, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, PCU and Crazy, and video games including Halo 2 and Guitar Hero 3. His latest live album and DVD, Where the Wild Things Are is a major achievement from a musical alchemist of the highest order.

Steve Vai has received honorary doctorates from Berklee College of Music and Musician's Institute, and is also involved with many worthwhile organizations. He founded the record label Favored Nations, for musicians, who in Vai’s words, “have attained the highest performance level on their chosen instruments.” He has also served as a Trustee for the Recording Academy, is on the board of Hollywood Arts, and works closely with his own Make a Noise Foundation, raising money for music education.