Eastman-SAE-Downbeat Mixing Contest 2026

All entries must be received by Noon on October 19.

Eligibility

  1. Contest open to any currently enrolled undergraduate or graduate student at the University of Rochester or Eastman School of Music.

File Information

  1. All Files are in 96kHz, 24-bit WAV format.

  2. Make sure your interface/DAW settings are correct when importing. Otherwise you might have pitch/resolution issues and you will be automatically disqualified.

  3. You have been given a Zip of a PT Session as well as Raw Audio Files. The PT Session already contains the Raw Audio.

  4. The Raw Audio is there if you wish to mix on Logic/Reaper, or another DAW.

  5. The Raw audio files contain multiple songs. It is your job to separate them.

  6. The PT Session has markers for each song, but clips are not separated.

Downloadable Mixing Files

Mixing Guidelines

  1. The total length of all mixes must be more than 20 minutes.

    • You do not need to mix all 7 songs (but you can!).

  2. If you don’t mix all 7 songs, choose an amount that adds up to +20 minutes. Anything shorter will be disqualified.

  3. This was recorded live, so embrace the liveness of it. Do not try to isolate everything artificially.

  4. You cannot remove/mute any instruments/parts, but you can choose between mic (or DI) signals if there are more than one on an instrument.

  5. There are a lot of vocal mics. Feel free to mute those that are not in use for each song to cut down on room tone.

  6. Remove any speaking/introductions to the song. They are not needed.

  7. When fading out each song, make sure to keep some applause in. This is of variable length. It does not need to be all of the applause, but some of it.

  8. You do not need to master the files, but make sure they are mixed loud enough without limiting on your master fader. I won’t give you target numbers if you ask. Just use your ears as to what you deem “loud enough”.

  9. Make sure you check your mixes by listening to them on multiple sources before submitting (headphones, mix rooms, control rooms, laptops, etc).

Submission Guidelines

  1. Your mixes should be submitted in the following two formats:

    • 24-bit, 96kHz

    • 320kbps MP3

  2. The naming convention for each song should be: Lastname_Firstname_SongTitle.wav

  3. You must export all songs as individual mixes, not one long mix.

  4. Each final mix should have fade in and fade outs applied. They can be short!

  5. Then, put all your mixes into one folder, name it Lastname_Firstname_MixContest2026 and zip it.

  6. Lastly, upload it to the link below.

Judging and Winner Announcement

Judging will take place the week of October 19-25. Winner will be announced on October 26.

The judges are Sara Gazarek (ESM) and Stephen Roessner (SAE).

SUBMIT YOUR MIXES HERE