Saskatchewan-based recording and mixing engineer Walt Jeworski is nominated for the Audio Engineering Award at the Western Canadian Music Awards. His journey in pursuing music is a unique one and is a testament to the importance of following your path even when it is risky.
In an industry where music is being created to trend on social media, Walt’s nomination is a milestone. His goal is maintaining the raw essence of a song at all costs. It’s this dedication that cuts through the noise of the 100,000 songs released on streaming every day. Walt recognizes that listeners connect with music that makes you feel something. Capturing these raw emotions in music is a vulnerable and personal process but Walt creates a safe space for creativity to flow.
Ella Forrest is an artist who worked with Walt on her sophomore album Retrograde. His technical knowledge and easy going nature made her feel seen and heard.
“Beyond his technical expertise, Walt’s ability to build trust and connection truly sets him apart,” said Forrest.
Growing up, Walt was told that pursuing music is risky and unstable. It was a skill to be successful at but not a viable career. His mother Dorothy is Cantonese, and in the seventies she immigrated to Canada from Hong Kong due to difficult conditions. She was fourteen when she left. Dorothy is a watercolour artist who also worked three jobs and went to university. She wanted Walt to pursue a more steady path as she understood how unstable a career in the arts can be. Yet her discipline and creativity helped shape Jeworski’s relationship with music. She supported Walt in his audition for Berklee College of Music, letting him attend with the condition that he study business as a back-up plan.
“Over time, I’ve come to see resistance as formative. It forced me to develop resilience and clarity in my path,” said Walt. “A career in music requires a certain level of emotional endurance, and I may not have built that virtue otherwise.”
Walt’s passion for music blossomed at an early age. When he was only four, he sat in on his brother’s piano lessons listening to him learn to play the piece “Hot Cross Buns.” After that same lesson, Walt stood at the piano and played it perfectly by ear. As a result, he was put into piano lessons that week.
“I immediately took to music. It was even before I could write words or learn language,” said Walt.
Originally Walt wanted to pursue classical piano as a career. He continued lessons until he got his ARCT diploma from The Royal Conservatory Of Music in 2010. This diploma recognizes the highest academic standing performers who completed the RCM course. During his lessons he learned both technical precision and how to listen and feel the music, which are valuable skills in production sessions.
Ron Loos is another artist who Walt worked with. He co-produced, mixed, and mastered Loos’s album Ordinary Shine. For Loos, Jeworski’s attention to detail is one of the things that make him stand out.
“From relentless precision when placing microphones, through the hundreds of listens and adjustments to arrive at the final master, Walt’s dedication to the song is astounding. I openly refer to him as the ‘Sensei of Sound,’” said Loos.
Walt realized he wanted to become a recording engineer in high school. At that time, he was part of a band with two of his friends. One of the members, Justin Sheppard, brought the group to Touchwood Studios to record three demos. Hearing the mix of one of these tracks became a lightbulb moment for Walt, helping him realize that he wanted to pursue this craft. He was fascinated by the process of transforming the initial demo into the final mix.
“It just was witchcraft for me at the time, I didn’t understand it. I just knew that I had to do it,” he said.
From 2010 to 2013, Walt studied music at Berklee College of Music in Boston but before that, he also got his marketing degree at the University Of Regina. It was at Berklee that he made long-lasting connections, forming a band with his friends called GHSTWRLD. GHSTWRLD gained international recognition through success on music streaming platforms. For Walt, Berklee was a place where he felt welcomed.
“From the very get-go I knew I was in the right place. Energetically I felt that I was with the people I wanted to be around,” he said.
After graduating from Berklee, Walt assisted on production sessions at the renowned MSR Studios in Manhattan, New York City. Working alongside Grammy Award-winning artists and engineers, this is where Walt learned the art and science of making music, as well as how to curate a welcoming and creative studio environment.
“One of the things I learned early on is the energy that you bring into a session is the thing that will get you invited back,” said Walt.
When his time was up in New York, he eventually went home to Regina. He was still figuring out his next steps in music but took a marketing job at a commercial building. This building holds many businesses including Blue Door Recording, the studio where he currently works. One day, he was stacking boxes for a marketing promotion when Brian Manz, the owner of Blue Door Recording, walked by and heard Walt mention to a colleague that he went to Berklee. Manz gave him a studio tour and offered him a position right there, saying that he could start within a week. Blue Door Recordings is currently the only commercial recording studio in Regina. Walt recognizes that this comes with a lot of responsibility producing high quality work, while also fostering that sense of community for artists.
Today, Walt has surpassed over 600 credits in many genres, including R&B, Afrobeats, blues/country, and pop. Other artists he works with include, Merv XX Gotti, Zochi, and Rooky Kamiz.
His dedication for music has made a major impact on both artists and listeners. He has both the technical skills but also know-how to curate a safe space for creativity, where all ideas and feedback are welcome.
“I put love and care into developing this craft every day, so to be recognized amongst other highly respected peers means the world to me.”
For Walt, being nominated for a WCMA is a huge milestone. The awards ceremony will take place in Victoria, British Columbia as part of the BreakOut West Festival, running from September 30th to October 4th.