This paper examines the alternative pedagogy of the Audio Recording Engineer Practicum of the Banff Centre in Alberta, Canada that hosted up to nine participants per semester until the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Developed by Theresa Leonard for over two decades, this program is known to have achieved gender parity in its international recruitment and is recognized as a world leader in music production vocational training. We detail the background of 13 out of the 29 participants who attended the practicum in 20182020, under the leadership of James Clemens-Seely. Also, we elicit the teaching strategies of the program based on feedback gathered from 24 participants in five focus group sessions at the end of their residency, along with semi-directed interviews of the main program leaders. Our findings highlight the effectiveness of teamwork assignments that bring sound practitioners who represent different gender identities and a range of nationalities to learning by doing in commercial recording studio settings. Finally, we discuss how the strengths of the Banff Practicum could inspire mentors and educators to reinvent the internship model and enhance the curriculum of formal audio programs.
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