Morten Lindberg Recording Masterclass & Sound Forum x AES Special Event in Beijing – A Week of Immersive Sound!

From 3–9 November 2025, the School of Sound and the Graduate School of the Beijing Film Academy hosted the fourth edition of the Sound Forum, co-organised with Genelec China and supported by the UNESCO Chair on Film and Cultural Diversity. This year’s Forum also served as a special event of the AES Beijing Section.

This edition focused on “Immersive 3D Sound: Acoustics, Recording, and Reproduction.”

Across one full week, more than 300 participants – including audio professionals, educators, and students from across the country – joined a programme combining a recording masterclass and expert forum sessions. Together, the events created a meaningful space connecting academic depth with the latest developments in the audio industry.

Part I · Morten Lindberg Recording Masterclass

In the field of immersive music recording, Norwegian recording engineer and producer Morten Lindberg is widely regarded as a pioneer. Since beginning his career in 1992 and founding his label 2l in 2001, he has produced more than a hundred high-resolution surround and 3D immersive albums. His work has earned 50 Grammy nominations, and he won the Grammy Award for Best Immersive Audio Album for LUX – at the 62nd Grammy Awards.

From 3–7 November, Morten led a five-day masterclass at the BFA Sound Creation & Engineering Center.

The opening lecture – “Introduction to My Recording Aesthetic, Methods, and Processes” – immediately filled the main venue and all overflow rooms. Through a mix of in-depth explanation and music playback, participants stayed fully engaged, often responding to the recording demonstrations with warm applause.

Morten’s work draws heavily from classical and Nordic folk music. His recordings are built on the natural balance of ensembles and choirs, supported by early reflections and reverberation from church acoustics – elements that shape his ideal sonic stage. By rethinking ensemble placement and microphone positioning, he seeks to redefine the relationship between source and listener. Traditional seating layouts can be completely reimagined if it helps the listener experience “a new kind of reality.”

For Morten, every recording is a form of creative collaboration – between the engineer, composer, performers and the acoustic space itself. Immersive recording, in his view, invites listeners to enter the musical environment and step into a higher-dimensional emotional space.

A key highlight of the masterclass was the use of Morten’s signature 2L Cube microphone array. After the first lecture and Q&A session, Morten and the participants assembled the 2L Cube together in preparation for the hands-on recording sessions to follow.

Over the next three days, the class completed six recording projects, covering piano solo, Chinese traditional ensemble, string quartet, jazz band, cello sonata, and piano quintet. Thirty participants took turns recording with Morten in the studio, while over a hundred people watched the sessions live from satellite rooms. Multiple Genelec immersive monitoring setups delivered real-time monitoring of the recording feed, allowing all attendees to experience the sessions with clarity and precision.

Project 1: Piano Solo
Franz Liszt: Liebeslied

Project 2: Chinese Traditional Ensemble
Send Me a Rose
Galloping Horses (Chamber Ensemble Version)

Project 3: Cello Sonata
Rachmaninov: Cello Sonata in G Minor, Op.19

Project 4: Jazz Ensemble
Tutti Italiani
Martha’s Dance

Project 5: String Quartet
String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor, Op.13（Felix Mendelssohn）

Project 6: Piano Quintet
Dvořák: Piano Quintet No.2 in A Major, Op.81

On the final day of the masterclass, Morten worked with the students to complete the mix for the jazz ensemble project. Afterwards, the six student groups shared their reflections on the six recording projects. The discussions were lively and thoughtful, and everyone walked away with something valuable.

Toward the end of the event, Morten said,“This is the most amazing, most efficient, and most well-thought event I’ve ever had.” He then offered his heartfelt message to all students and guests, “Have no fear. Go out there and create.” The hall erupted in long, warm applause.

Part II ·Expert Forum

From 8–9 November, the Expert Forum took place at the Lecture Hall of the Beijing Film Academy Library. Nearly ten scholars and experts from China and abroad delivered inspiring talks around immersive audio.

Wang Jue, Dean of the Graduate School of the Beijing Film Academy, opened the forum. She reviewed the achievements of previous editions and noted that this year’s forum broadened its scope even further, placing equal emphasis on technological innovation and artistic sensibility, bringing both closer together.

Zheng Jiaqing, Dean of the Sound School of the Beijing Film Academy, remarked that the forum aims to build an open and forward-thinking platform for deep exchange in sound art and technology. He expressed the hope that guests would gain fresh ideas through discussion and practice.

Gary Gottlieb, President of the Audio Engineering Society (AES), thanked the Beijing Film Academy and the Genelec China team for their professionalism and dedication in making this event possible, and expressed appreciation to everyone involved.

Henry Feng, Managing Director of Genelec China, shared that, as a professional audio brand, Genelec is honoured to help build bridges between international and domestic academic communities, supporting an ongoing exchange of ideas and technologies and contributing to the industry’s progress.

The forum covered a wide range of topics, from acoustics and recording production to sonic aesthetics, urban soundscape practices, binaural rendering, and more.

Keynote Speech: My Way of Making Recording
Morten Lindberg
Recording Engineer, Music Producer, Founder of 2L, Grammy Award Winner

Flexibility of Immersive Techniques in Recording the National Anthem and Sound of the Forbidden City
Prof. Li Dakang
Professor at the School of Music and Recording Arts, Communication University of China;National Class-One Recording Engineer

Auditory Envelopment and Slow Listening
Thomas Lund
Senior Technologist at Genelec

How Does It Sound Now? The Evolution of Audio
Gary Gottlieb
President of AES (Audio Engineering Society)

Application of Immersive Audio and Video Technology in the Practice of Soundscape Research
Huang Yilun
Faculty, China Conservatory of Music

Morten and His Students：Morten Lindberg Recording Master Class Review

After the students’ presentations, Morten Lindberg awarded certificates to every participant of the master class.

Timbre, Imaging and Auditory Envelopment in Headphones Used for Monitoring
Thomas Lund
Senior Technologist at Genelec

Sound Aesthetics:What Makes Sound Beautiful – and Why
Prof. Li XiaoPei (right)
Chief Recording Engineer of China Media Group (CMG), National Class-One Recording Engineer
Feng Hanying (left)
Managing Director, Genelec China

Masters’ Dialogue: What Matters Most in Recording?
Morten Lindberg (second from left), Li Dakang (second from right), Li Xiaopei (far right)
Host: Feng Hanying (far left)

Transferring Spatial Sound in Concert Halls to the Laboratory for AB Comparisons
Prof. Tapio Lokki
Aalto University

Monitoring Standards and Headphone Listening
Thomas Lund and Prof. Tapio Lokki

During the two-day forum, multiple spaces inside Building S at the Beijing Film Academy were opened for immersive audio listening sessions. Visitors experienced Morten Lindberg and Prof. Li Dakang’s immersive recordings, works created by the master class students, and demonstrations comparing different concert-hall acoustics in a controlled laboratory environment.

All sessions were presented through Genelec’s immersive monitoring systems for accurate and reliable reproduction.

Genelec 8380A Main Monitor China Debut

The forum also marked the first appearance of the newly released Genelec 8380A SAM™ Main Monitor in China. As the newest member of the SAM family, it joins the flagship 8381A as part of ‘The Main Ones’ Series, delivering precise, neutral reproduction for medium-sized control rooms and applications requiring high SPL.

In addition, the Genelec UNIO Personal Reference Monitoring (PRM) System and Aural ID 2.0 were available for hands-on experience, offering visitors a clear impression of what accurate headphone monitoring can achieve.

A Thoughtful Finale – and Continuing Inspiration

Over seven days of in-depth academic exchanges, practical training, and open industry dialogue, the event came to a meaningful close. From Morten Lindberg’s reflections on the essence of recording, to a series of forward-looking discussions on immersive audio, every session left participants with new insights and renewed inspiration.

Looking ahead, Genelec will continue to join hands with creators, academia and industry partners – advancing the exploration and evolution of the sonic world through ever more precise tools and pioneering technologies.

Front row (from left to right): Rosy Yu, Qu Lu.
Second row (from left to right): Shure Wang, Alina Xu, Nancy Zhao, Jasmine Feng.
Third row (from left to right): Garret Fu, Joshua Shu, Jack Wu, Chloe Chang, Cynthia Fan, Loy Zhang, Morten Lindberg, Feng Hanying.