BIOGRAPHY
Daniel Louis Valente, born 1984, is currently a Ph.D. candidate, and HASS fellow in the Architectural Acoustics program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. His research goals are to improve the perceptual understanding of musicians in auditory visual environments as well as develop a systematic exploration of auditory-visual interactions. In addition, he is a classically trained violinist, and music engineer/composer. He has played in solo, small and large ensemble performances both domestically and internationally, and has composed music for film, television and radio. In 2005, Daniel received his Master's of Science in Architectural Acoustics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. His thesis focused on auditory virtual environments, where he developed a high-resolution Wave Field Synthesis system using Virtual Microphone Control (ViMiC). In 2004, Daniel was awarded his Bachelor of Music in Sound Recording Technology from Ithaca College. He has presented his work at national conferences including AES, ASA, SIGGRAPH, ICAD, and the JMP User's Conference.
CURRICULUM VITAE
WORK EXPERIENCE
Acoustical Engineer, Electronic Music Foundation: Troy, NY – 2006- Present
Acoustical design for newly renovated space in Albany, NY. Facility will feature numerous recording studios, a multimedia studio, live room, and offices. Also deal with database design, website design, and multimedia production needs for EMF.
Research Assistant, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: Troy, NY — 2005-2006
Manage NYSTAR Experimental Media Lab and Recording Studio. Coordinate research projects that occur in the lab at Master’s and Ph.D. level. Aided professors of Architectural Acoustics program in variety of tasks including workplace setup, experimentation, research and design.
Engineer, Assistant Manager, Ithaca College Recording Services: Ithaca, NY — 2002-2005
Responsible for aiding the manager of recording services for the successful operation of the Ithaca College Recording Services. Oversee the three hundred events held in the Whalen Center for Music at Ithaca College (2004-2005). Recording, mixing and mastering live and studio sessions, two track and multi-track (2002-2005).
Assistant Engineer/Intern, Cello Studios: Hollywood, California— 2004
Major commercial hosting clients such as Mick Jagger and other well know artists. Responsible for the successful operation of the studio. Setup of sessions, inventory, office work, clerical work, customer relations, client relations, staff relations.
EDUCATION
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY – Ph.D., Architectural Acoustics, A.B.D
GPA: 4.0
Awarded HASS Fellowship
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY - M.S, Architectural Acoustics, 2006
GPA: 4.0
Awarded Teacher’s Assistant position, HASS Fellowship
Thesis submitted 28 April 2006
Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY - B.M. Sound Recording Technology, 2005
GPA: 3.75
Major instrument: Violin
Awarded: Kielocker Scholarship for Musical Excellence, Dean’s Scholarship for Academics
MEMBERSHIP IN PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES
Acoustical Society of America (ASA)
Audio Engineering Society (AES)
SKILLS
Worked with a wide variety of studio and audio / visual equipment.
Software Knowledge: Matlab 7.1, Pure Data, Max/MSP, Photoshop, Go Live, Dreamweaver, MS Office, JMP, C++, Canvas, AutoCAD, High Design, EASE, EASERA, CATT Acoustic, Daylite, Final Cut Pro/Express, Shake, and SketchUp.
PUBLICATIONS
J. Braasch, D. Valente (2008) Perceptual adjustment of direct-to-reverberant ratio and reverberation time to match visual environmental cues of a musical performance, J. Acustica Special Issue on Virtual Acoustics (submitted, currently under review).
J. Braasch, D. Valente, N. Peters (2007) A loudspeaker-based projection technique for spatial applications using Virtual Microphone Control (ViMiC), J. Computer Music (to be published 5/2008).
D. L. Valente, J. Braasch (2007) A model-based technique for the perceptual optimization of multi-modal musical performances, Convention of the Audio Eng. Soc., October 5-8, 2007, New York
J. Braasch, D. Valente, N. Peters (2007) Sharing Acoustic Spaces over Telepresence using Virtual Microphone Control, Convention of the Audio Eng. Soc., October 5-8, 2007, New York (in print)
D. Valente, J. Braasch, B. Woodstrup (2007) Improving perceptual understanding of the musician in a multi-modal virtual environment using a multivariate optimization, Convention of JMP Users June, 2007, Cary.
D. Valente, J. Braasch (2006) A hybrid approach to rendering multichannel audio, using wave-field synthesis and stereophonic techniques with virtual microphone control, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 119, 3281.
D. Valente, J. Braasch (2006) Virtual microphone control: A comparison of measured to created impulse responses of various microphone techniques, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 120, 3263.
D. Valente, J. Braasch (2006) Improving a system to render multi-channel audio with Virtual Microphone Control (ViMiC) using a multivariate optimization, Convention of the JMP Users June, 2006, Cary.
RESEARCH
“A Hybrid Approach to Rendering Multi-Channel Audio, Using Wave Field Synthesis and Stereophonic techniques, with Virtual Microphone Control (ViMiC)” 2006
In the evolution of multi-channel audio presentation, a number of formats have emerged. Among the two most popular are 5.1 surround and wave-field synthesis (WFS). Due to the complexity and number of components required to realize an immersive WFS system, the use in a home theatre environment is currently impractical. This thesis aims to investigate the perceptual advantages of integrating the two systems into a hybrid array capable or providing immersive sound for a number of listeners, at a scale that is attainable for the consumer in terms of budget and complexity. Using WFS techniques, a coherent wave front will be presented, while a surround array will provide spatial information. The sonic rendering will be created using Virtual Microphone Control (ViMiC), which allows dynamic source movement, speaker positioning and scalability. The hybrid system is superior to a standard surround system in the fact that it exploits the advantages of WFS without the component complexity. Subjective reactions will be presented, as well as measured objective data. The new hybrid system creates a three-dimensional, immersive environment that is capable of providing satisfying virtual audio for numerous listeners at the same time.
“A Study of Violin Acoustics” 2005
In violin making, there are a wide variety of instruments in both sound quality and playability. This study investigated what is the primary difference in timbre between three violins at contrasting price points. In addition, a multivariate designed experiment was carried out to determine what the player can do to alter the timbre of his or her instrument by varying the shoulder and chin rests the he users. These factors are easy to change on the instrument, and a variety of options are available. Acoustic results are presented as well as suggestions to how the player can actively “tune” the timbre of his instrument to provide the best sound for a given situation, be it symphonic, solo, or small ensemble performance.