New York - Mar 11 2008 - The Audio Engineering Society celebrated its diamond anniversary in the city where it was founded on March 11, 1948. The small group of professional engineers that gathered then has grown into an organization with more than 14,000 members and 169 sections in 48 countries worldwide. To mark the occasion, the AES New York Section hosted a standing-room-only celebratory gathering at NYC's New School for Social Research. The event was highlighted by a screening of excerpts from the forthcoming AES Oral History Project.

The film featured anecdotes by Columbia Records engineer Frank Liaco; Louis Goodfriend, first editor of the AES Journal; Norman Pickering, inventor and AES officer; and Les Paul, the godfather of multi-track recording, provided the audience with insights, revelations and thanks to Les Paul, occasional laughs. Comprised of more than 120 exclusive, hour-long interviews, the anthology was shot by Irv Joel and edited by Harry Hirsch, members of the AES Historical Committee. The AES will begin making interviews from the Oral History Project available on DVD later this year.

Following the introductions, revered audio professional and former AES president Floyd Toole discussed the trailblazing work of Harry F. Olson. A pivotal force in technology development, Olson presented the first technical paper at the initial AES meeting. Toole's address illustrated how far the art and science of audio has evolved since 1948.