Mentor Profile

For my capstone, I would really like to write, record and mix a short album of music. I feel that five songs would be enough to keep me busy the following semester since I will be attending class full time and working. I would also like to design an album cover in photoshop for this album. I really enjoy digital design and as long as time permits, I want to be able to incorporate this aspect of my project.

For this project, I will need a mentor who is very familiar with what quality music sounds like; has a good ear. I want a mentor who is constructively critical with feedback and ideas and pushes me to do my best. I want my mentor to be easy to communicate to and I want a mentor who is going to help motivate me.

Mark Pfaff comes to mind first and foremost for my capstone mentor. He is very well educated about recording and mixing music. He seems to have a good ear for music which will help me produce a better project, and I feel he would be constructively critical.
Ricardo Laranja comes to mind second. I have also previously had him as a professor and am confident in his opinion of how music sounds. I know he has produced music for artists as well as composed and mixed for films. He is easy to communicate with and is in general a positive and encouraging professor.
When doing research, I found Joe Defazio in the list of faculty, a professor with whom I have never had. I read within his profile that he has a bachelors in music performance and has also composed music as well in addition to being a musician. So far with these credentials, he seems to be a good candidate for a mentor.

Mark Pfaff has his masters in Multimedia technology, which would be helpful to me. He also has worked in a recording studio, currently teaches sound design, and has played in a band in the past. I have not contacted him yet because I just recently narrowed my wide range of ideas, but plan to do so to find out his availability next semester, his expectations when mentoring, and whether or not he would be interested in my type of project.
Ricardo Laranja's information has been removed from the informatics website because of his recent switch, and I cannot find his faculty information in the music and technology faculty listings. However, I am very interested in having him as either my primary or secondary mentor. He has a long list of credentials I know would be beneficial to my capstone, especially regarding the recording and mixing element of my project. I have not yet contacted him either, but plan on e-mailing him to find out his availability in the spring and whether or not he would be interested.
Joe Defazio has a background in music, both performance and composition. I want to approach him as well to find out more about him since I am not familiar with his expertise.