Sonic Union Adds Head of Client Relations Mary Kate Valentino

NYC-based audio studio Sonic Union announces the addition of head of client relations Mary Kate Valentino. Working across Sonic Union’s Union Square and Bryant Park locations, Valentino will serve as a liaison between the studios’ slate of talent and its clients across advertising, entertainment and experiential. No stranger to wearing multiple hats, she holds a deep understanding of the audio post process and a natural affinity toward creative problem-solving, having previously served as head of production at NYC-based audio post-production shop HOBO.

“We have a large and loyal community of friends, industry colleagues and clients. Mary Kate has a natural tendency to get to know and look after everyone, so we are just really pleased that she has chosen bring to all that she is to Sonic,” says managing director/co-founder Adam Barone.

“Sonic Union is clearly focused on growing in a sustainable, yet experimental and forward-facing way,” says Mary Kate. “It’s a really inspiring environment to be in and it shows their dedication to not remaining stagnant, and the mentality of the company as a whole is a direction of creativity and innovation.”

New Jersey-born Mary Kate spent her formative years in South Carolina before heading to New York City to follow her passion for entertainment. Armed with a degree in Psychology, she was more than prepared to take on the intricacies and character nuances of both the Big Apple and the creative world of advertising and entertainment. She joined HOBO as an intern and quickly took to the fast-paced industry, snagging a promotion as an assistant producer role after only two months. In her five-year tenure with the audio shop, she developed a holistic perspective on the business, steadily building her Swiss army knife suite of skills, learned hands-on while balancing multiple roles. 

As head of production, she split her time between creative production and business development roles, working as a centralised link between the talent, clients and daily operations of the studio. Projects highlights included working as the supervising audio post producer on the feature documentary Susanne Bartsch:On Top, the A&E feature documentary Jonestown: The Women Behind the Massacre and the VR film 'Anatomy of Ski' as well as supervising the original music composition for “Anatomy of Surf,” both for the Samsung 837 space. Expanding her expertise into the creative production space in this position, Mary also took opportunities to lead casting for on and off camera talent, oversee music supervision and composition as well as stepping in to direct recording sessions.

When she’s not in the studio or attending industry functions, Mary Kate spends her time getting her creative fix with painting and mixed media art, giving some pet TLC through animal fosters and perfecting her ruthless Backgammon and Pinochle approach.