Darcy Proper is a

mastering engineer A mastering engineer is a person skilled in the practice of taking audio (typically musical content) that has been previously mixed in either the analog or digital domain as mono, stereo, or multichannel formats and preparing it for use in dist ...

based at Valhalla Studios NY in Auburn NY. In 2008, she became the first woman engineer to win a Grammy for the Best Surround Sound Album. To date, she has won four Grammy Awards and been nominated for eleven. She has mastered historical reissues for artists such as

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American Country music, country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later s ...

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop s ...

, Louis Armstrong, and Frank Sinatra, and stereo releases for artists such as Steely Dan,

The Eagles The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles and six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s ...

Donald Fagen Donald Jay Fagen (born January 10, 1948) is an American musician best known as the co-founder, lead singer, co-songwriter, and keyboardist of the band Steely Dan, formed in the early 1970s with musical partner Walter Becker. In addition to his ...

, and

Porcupine Tree Porcupine Tree are an English rock band formed by musician Steven Wilson in 1987. During an initial career spanning more than twenty years, they earned critical acclaim from critics and fellow musicians, developed a cult following, and became ...

Early life and education

Proper grew up in

Upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long ...

performing in choir, jazz ensemble, and school band. She was initially uncomfortable as a performer, preferring to listen to and analyze her parents' music collection. In addition to music, she excelled in math and science. These interests came to an intersection at age 14 when she attended a school event featuring student rock bands. She became interested in the mixing board used to run the sound system, introducing her to audio engineering. At age seventeen, Proper attended

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, ...

and was one of only three women in a class of 150 students admitted to NYU's Music Technology program. While studying in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, she had several internships and worked in a dance remix studio as an assistant studio technician. She graduated in 1990 with a Bachelor of Music in Music Technology.

Career

After university, Proper first began working as an Assistant Studio Maintenance Technician for SoundWorks in Manhattan. In a few years, Proper took a job with Sony Classics as a Quality Control Engineer because of her ability to quickly learn the digital audio workstation Sonic Solutions. She eventually rose to a mastering position where she worked with clients on remastering historic pop standards and Broadway recordings. Seven years later, she became the Senior Mastering Engineer at

Sony Music Studios Sony Music Studios was an American music recording and mastering facility in New York City. The five-story building was a music and broadcasting complex located at 460 W. 54th Street, at 10th Avenue, in the Hell's Kitchen section of Manhattan. ...

and expanded her discography to include front-line releases and high-resolution surround sound mastering. In 2005, Proper joined Galaxy Studios in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

as a Senior Mastering Engineer. There she met her future husband, Dutch recording and mixing engineer, Ronald Prent. Five years later, Proper and Prent moved to the Netherlands and worked to rebuild Wisseloord Studios where Proper became Director of Mastering. In 2015, Proper and Prent founded Proper Prent Sound, and Proper became Mastering Engineer of Darcy Proper Mastering. Her most recent projects involve mastering in immersive audio formats. In 2019, she moved to U.S. and joined Valhalla Studios NY along with husband Ronald Prent. Valhalla Studios installed the first analog immersive console in the world, which Prent mixes on and Proper masters from.

Grammy Awards

Proper has won four

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

s from eleven nominations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Proper, Darcy Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Mastering engineers Grammy Award winners