Entrepreneurship Center for Music

Meet the 2024 ECM artist assistance grants recipients

Anonymous — Mon, 17 Jun 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Meet the 2024 ECM artist assistance grants recipients Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 06/17/2024 - 00:00

Kathryn Bistodeau

At the ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ Entrepreneurship Center for Music (ECM), students can find the skills and tools they need for their music careers. Most recently, the ECM awarded $5,820 in artist assistance grants to support eight student-led professional development and community engagement projects including:

Josie Arnett

Josie Arnett
“I’m really picky about which pieces I release on streaming platforms because I’m 20 and need to be able to write really bad music … and then release the things that I really love,” says Josie Arnett, an undergraduate composition student.

“Last fall, I got the opportunity to write a saxophone quartet piece for a group that travels all over the United States. I was really happy with the piece and really proud of it, so I reached out to a faculty member who set me up with the ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ graduate saxophone quartet.”

Sanitas Saxophone Quartet

Working with the Sanitas Saxophone Quartet, College of Music Recording Engineer Kevin Harbison and a mixing artist, Arnett recorded the piece for projected release on streaming platforms this summer. The ECM grant helped pay the artists and distribution fee.

Arnett says she learned a lot about how to interact in a professional recording setting and enjoyed collaborating within the College of Music. “It’s been fun to work with people that have a lot of energy, positive attitudes and are just really excited about what they do,” she shares.

Alice Del Simone
At the end of May, DMA student in voice performance and pedagogy Alice Del Simone was part of a workshop presentation at the Voice Foundation Symposium in Philadelphia titled “Legato Then and Now, Vibrato Edition: A Close-Up of What Happens Between the Pitches in the Classical Bel Canto Tradition.”

“The workshop offered a toolbox of exercises for how to teach the type of legato singing that was happening at the end of the 1800s, beginning of the 1900s when we started to have recordings available,” Del Simone says.

“It was my very first time presenting at a conference where there are often hurdles for a young academic to get an invitation to present. I’ve been lucky that I’ve been able to work with a group of people who are more prominent in the community than myself.”

During the symposium, Del Simone stayed at the conference hotel, partially funded by her ECM grant.

Zachary Howarth
Zachary Howarth, a DMA student in jazz studies, will go on the road this summer to record music in studios in Reno and South Lake Tahoe. Howarth also hopes to perform this music live in venues across Colorado and Nevada.

The project will involve a contemporary jazz quartet—trumpet, piano, bass, drums—writing and recording the music. The ECM grant will help the project get off the ground by assisting with studio fees, production costs and travel expenses.

“The opportunity to write, record and play music with such high-level artists is invaluable to my collaborative research in compositional tendencies in contemporary jazz mediums and fully improvised music,” Howarth says.

SeaJun Kwon

SeaJun Kwon
SeaJun Kwon, also a DMA student in jazz studies, likes writing compositions that push the boundaries of jazz music including “Avant Shorts”—10 etudes exploring micro tonalities and rhythmic concepts that aren’t commonly used in jazz compositions.

Kwon plans to compose these etudes and begin recording them over the summer, using a microphone setup funded by an ECM grant.

“I thought I’d write a bunch of super short compositions that focus on different ideas to develop myself and provide my community with these resources,” Kwon says.

By keeping them brief, he hopes to make the compositions more accessible and useful for his community.

“People are really busy, there are so many things that you have to do and also so many distractions,” Kwon says. “I think these short compositions put less pressure on people—they can work on them for 10 minutes and still learn from them.”

Er-Hsuan Li with orchestra

Er-Hsuan Li
Er-Hsuan Li graduated from the College of Music in May with a DMA in piano performance. In April, he held a concert featuring the world premiere of John Clay Allen’s “The Stone Harp” concerto for piano and strings along with Dmitri Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 1.

“It was a very fun event,” Li says. “Even though it was off-campus, it was really CU that made this possible because that’s how we connected.”

Many ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ musicians participated including conductor and Associate Director of Orchestras Renee Gilliland, composition alumnus John Clay Allen, Anna Kallinikos—who’s majoring in trumpet performance and minoring in business—and the majority of the 18-member orchestra. The ECM grant assisted Li with compensating the performers and renting the venue.

“I had performed in front of an orchestra only once before when I was a high schooler,” Li recalls. “So it was really special for me that—after 13 years—I got to do this again professionally. And I would like to think that I am a better musician now compared to then!”

Ethan Stahl

Ethan Stahl
When Ethan Stahl discovered Nkeiru Okoye’s music, he knew he’d found something special. “I loved her music so much that I began working on it for one of my degree recitals,” he says. “Eventually, it became evident that I had enough material to create a lecture recital.”

To prepare, Stahl—who’s pursuing a DMA in piano performance—interviewed Okoye about her music. “We talked on the phone for a few hours and in that conversation, she proposed the idea of writing a piece for me to add to one of the sets of piano pieces that I was studying.” The ECM grant helped fund Okoye’s contribution.

Okoye’s music is already part of the American Music Research Center’s Helen Walker-Hill Collection; her upcoming composition will be added to the collection.

“Okoye is extremely novel in the world of piano composition,” Stahl adds. “I’ve never heard piano music that is similar stylistically to hers.”

Natalie Trejo
Artist Diploma student Natalie Trejo competed in the finals for the Austin Flute Society’s Young Artist Competition in April—and the ECM grant helped her get there.

“I submitted the preliminary recordings back in January. From there, they selected three finalists to perform in the live final round in Austin, Texas,” Trejo says. “It went really well. I ended up getting third but I was very happy with how I played and I was not nervous at all.”

Trejo performed Chen Yi’s “Memory” for solo flute and Frank Martin’s “Ballade” for flute and piano.

“I love doing competitions because I get to learn new repertoire, meet new flutists, make connections and get to know the other finalists—it’s very important and humbling, but still encouraging,” Trejo says.

Jonathon Winter
Another spring 2024 graduate, Jonathon Winter—who earned a DMA in violin performance—recorded four pieces to be compiled into an album titled “Origin: Music by Women of the Americas.” The pieces are “ko’u inoa” by Leilehua Lanzilotti, “Scratch the Surface” by Dana Kaufman, “String Poetic” by Jennifer Higdon and “Sueños de Chambi” by Gabriel Lena Frank.

“I picked some fiendishly difficult music to play but it was so worth it,” Winter says. “I learned so much about preparing for recordings and what that actually entails.”

Winter worked with pianist and Postdoctoral Lecturer Barbara Noyes, as well as Kevin Harbison to record all four pieces over the course of seven months. Winter will continue the project over the summer with the goal of finding a label to disseminate the recordings.

Congratulations to all grant recipients and our thanks to this year’s adjudicators: College of Music staff member Kathryn Bistodeau, Music Advisory Board member Laurie Hathorn and University of Denver entrepreneurship faculty member Neil Pollard.

At the ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ Entrepreneurship Center for Music, students can find the skills and tools they need for their music careers. This spring, the ECM awarded $5,820 in grants to support eight student-led professional development and community engagement projects.

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Graduating senior spotlight: Madison Tallman

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Graduating senior spotlight: Madison Tallman Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 04/11/2024 - 00:00

Kathryn Bistodeau

When Madison Tallman graduates next month, she’ll take away more than a degree—she’ll take a community with her.

Tallman moved to Boulder from Colorado Springs, struck by how tight-knit the College of Music is. “I just love the community here,” she says. “I have really enjoyed getting to work with fellow students and build strong relationships with other people.

“I think it makes us much better musicians when we know people on a personal level because music is such a personal thing.”

Alongside performing, Tallman leveraged the College of Music’s business offerings: She’ll graduate with a Bachelor of Music in flute performance as well as a Music Entrepreneurship certificate and business minor. “I like having a balance of tangible results—like working in the nonprofit world—and very subjective results, like playing music. I like having both. I think it’s a nice balance.”

Business courses empowered Tallman to build practical skills for potential future entrepreneurial ventures. “For the music entrepreneurship capstone, I’m working on studio materials for when I want to start a private studio,” she says. “I think that’s really important.

“There are so many aspects of that, like setting up an LLC and payments and all these nitty-gritty things—I’m really glad that I have the tools and resources to learn those kinds of things now.”

Tallman’s future goals also include playing chamber music and working in the nonprofit sector. She explains, “I want to work for a nonprofit that does outreach to make arts more accessible in schools. I actually had a personal experience with that—in fifth grade through middle school, the arts were not funded by my school. I think it’s important that kids have arts experience.”

Next year, Tallman will continue her journey in both performance and management—she’s starting a master’s program in music and arts management at Colorado State University. “I’m super excited!”

Congratulations to Madison and all of our winter 2023 and spring 2024 graduates!

Madison Tallman graduates in May with a Bachelor of Music in flute performance along with a Music Entrepreneurship certificate and business minor. She shares highlights of her College of Music experience … and her plans for the future!

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Musical Dialogues offers networking opportunity

Anonymous — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Musical Dialogues offers networking opportunity Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 04/03/2024 - 00:00

Kathryn Bistodeau

In working with College of Music students, Marilyn Brock—interim director of our Entrepreneurship Center (ECM)—realized there is one aspect of business that makes many students uncomfortable: networking.

“A lot of students shared with me that they hadn’t participated in many networking events and that networking seems stressful,” Brock says. “I got a lot of feedback that it felt like it might be overly transactional or anxiety-inducing to go up to people and introduce yourself.”

Those conversations were the inspiration behind Musical Dialogues, a networking event hosted by the ECM that aims to connect students with each other and with musicians from across the Front Range. Among others, participating music professionals include Colorado Symphony members Nicholas Tisherman and Carolyn Kunicki.

Musical Dialogues follows the framework of a formal networking event, down to the dress code: business formal. “This is a really unique opportunity for students to experience what some of these more formal events are like and for them to engage with musicians from a variety of spheres,” Brock says.

Musical Dialogues exemplifies the ECM’s mission to equip today’s music students with the skills and tools they need to create sustainable careers in the arts. Brock explains, “By attending an event like this, students are developing some of the networking skills that they will very likely be using in their careers.

“Also, so many career opportunities come as a direct result of the relationships that have been built over the years and the more that students can get the opportunity to connect with one another and musicians from outside of the university, the more they’ll be able to then build on those relationships and develop those opportunities for one another later on.”

The event is partially funded by the Dr. C.W. Bixler Family Foundation. “I am extremely grateful that the ECM has been given this opportunity through the generosity of the Bixler fund,” Brock says. Bixler Foundation funds support faculty projects that elevate and enrich the College of Music experience.

To the potential attendees, Brock says to come with an open mind. “There’s really space for everyone in terms of musical interests and in terms of career goals. Oftentimes, networking can feel like this prescribed, formulaic thing and really it’s just about leaning into who you are, bringing your own authentic self and developing connections with other musicians.”

Musical Dialogues will be held on April 10, 2024 from 5-8 p.m. at Chautauqua Dining Hall. RSVP here.

Photo: A recent ECM networking event in Grusin Lobby (credit: Marilyn Brock).

On April 10, our Entrepreneurship Center for Music will host a networking event that connects students and area music professionals.

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Student spotlight: Erika Gossett

Anonymous — Mon, 10 Apr 2023 06:00:00 +0000

Student spotlight: Erika Gossett Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 04/10/2023 - 00:00

Sabine Kortals Stein , Kathryn Bistodeau

When Erika Gossett enrolled at ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ, she never imagined she’d win funding for a business pitch.

“I thought I was going to come in, get a music degree and leave,” says the senior who—four years later—will graduate next month with a BM in flute performance, as well as a BA in media studies, a minor in business and a Music Entrepreneurship Certificate, exemplifying the College of Music’s universal musician vision.

“��ý�Ļ��Ʒ has given me a lot of different opportunities and a lot of space to grow as a musician, and as a student and a professional,” she adds.

When the COVID pandemic hit, Gossett took it as an opportunity to expand her horizons—she started exploring other programs offered at ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ and the College of Music. Subsequently, in taking courses for her business minor and pursuing the Music Entrepreneurship Certificate, she brainstormed a new business venture that led to her compete in ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ’s New Venture Challenge (NVC) run out of the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative, also known as ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ’s entrepreneurial “flight simulator.”

The NVC connects the ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ campus with the Boulder community to develop and fund innovative ideas. Participants attend year-round events, network and collaborate with mentors to refine their ideas and form startup teams to pitch for funding at the NVC Finals.

“My venture is called Piña Designs,” explains Gossett. “We’re trying to make a completely biodegradable and a more sustainable option for hair care accessories.” Specifically, luxury, biodegradable and sustainable hair ties made from pineapple silk and natural rubber designed for the everyday person who wants to make a positive green footprint and a difference in the ongoing fight against climate change.

“I created the idea for the business minor and my team was formed through the business capstone class. We worked on that throughout the semester and then we were like, let’s do the NVC!”

That turned out to be a good call: Gossett and her teammates placed second in the NVC Climate Change Competition. “The NVC is extremely competitive and this is a major victory,” says Jeffrey Nytch, director of the Entrepreneurship Center for Music. “I’ve been coaching the team through each round of the NVC and I’m so proud of them. Just getting to this stage is a huge achievement!”

Having reached the NVC Finals, the Piña Designs team—which also includes Sage Dobby (Neuroscience, Business), Sydney Kobak (Integrated Design Engineering, Business), Kelley Levaggi (Psychology, Business, '22) and Aly Nelson (Political Science, '22)—will compete for the grand prize on April 12 at the Boulder Theater.

That’s when ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ’s top student and faculty startups will pitch their business ideas to a panel of esteemed judges and a live audience.

“It’s been surreal,” says Gossett, whose music and entrepreneurial interests have intersected in many ways, facilitating her success in both areas. “The New Venture Challenge is intense, but being a music student is intense, too. I feel like it prepared me to take on the challenge.

“If I had to narrow it down to one sentence, it would be creative solutions to everyday problems. This is something that I do a lot in the practice room—if I’m not getting something, I’m like, ‘how am I going to help myself get that?’ I feel like that’s also an entrepreneurial mindset.”

Erika Gossett will graduate next month with a BM in flute performance, as well as a BA in media studies, a minor in business and a Music Entrepreneurship Certificate, exemplifying the College of Music’s universal musician vision. Additionally, her climate change-focused venture, Piña Designs, is a finalist in the New Venture Challenge. Finals are April 12: Join us!

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Innovation + inclusivity

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Nov 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Innovation + inclusivity Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 11/18/2021 - 00:00

John Davis

[Photo: In our newly expanded Imig Music Building, Associate Professor of Collaborative Piano Alexandra Nguyen and Dean John Davis converse.]

At the College of Music, we’re working to ignite innovation in our programs and activities to attract and retain the next generation of artists and audiences. But for such innovation to thrive, we must also create a culture that’s inclusive and welcoming of diverse influences, perspectives and experiences.

I’m proud of the college’s heartfelt commitment and intentional focus on Diversity, Equity + Inclusion (DEI), including an endowed fund for immediate, flexible support of DEI initiatives at the College of Music and a newly established endowed fund to foster DEI specifically through our American Music Research Center (AMRC). Additionally, we recently established a DEI scholarship funding program that directly benefits diverse students for the duration of their time at CU. Such supports are often the deciding factor for diverse applicants in choosing ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ’s Silver + Gold over other top music programs across the country.

As Thanksgiving approaches, we have so much to be grateful for—a new, award-winning home and progress toward developing universal musicians through enhanced education. But without a deeply embedded culture of belonging that encourages dialogue and reflective listening, and that inspires our students, faculty, staff and greater community beyond our comfort zones, there’s little hope of sustaining our momentum toward shaping the future of artistry.

The good news is that we have a strong foundation for DEI work and we’re seeing progress in programs like our Diverse Musicians’ Alliance where our students and staff are working together to empower underrepresented artists. Our faculty are stepping up, too. I’m stunned by how much has changed within our curriculum and repertoire, representing many more diverse composers and arrangers. There is so much repertoire to explore that we’ve never heard before on campus, but we’re hearing it now—in our solo repertoire, our chamber music repertoire, and our ensembles of all sizes and genres. Almost every College of Music concert, symposium and presentation emphasizes diverse music, and our theory and ear training curricula now include the different tonalities and rhythms of musics from all parts of the globe.

This week, the CU Philharmonia Orchestra performed Jessica Mays’ “Anthem for Go,” and earlier this month, our Roser Piano + Keyboard Program hosted a master class and two guest lectures as part of a doctoral seminar on diverse piano literature. In October, our Entrepreneurship Center for Music hosted an evening with the Boston Public Quartet that included a student-led discussion of DEI in the chamber music world, followed by a concert of works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and other People of Color) composers Jessie Montgomery, Florence Beatrice Price and Jeraldine Herbison. Additionally, the AMRC recently brought together leading scholars in American music studies to explore how borders—whether geographic, political, social, sonic, performative or temporal—impact music making. Another recent AMRC event—a public talk by Dr. Xóchitl C. Chávez—highlighted the social and cultural realities of migrant community-based brass bands from Oaxaca, Mexico. Meanwhile, among many other College of Music DEI happenings, including our upcoming Annual Distinguished Lectureship in Diversity, the AMRC’s Soundscapes Project continues its work to document, preserve and engage diverse musical and cultural influences in and around Pueblo, Colorado.

Yet we recognize that there’s more work—more positive disruption—ahead of us before we can claim ubiquitous inclusivity in our college’s culture, classrooms and curricula. Achieving DEI isn’t a fast fix or a quick win. It’s an ongoing effort that requires both big and small steps over time. It’s work that my colleagues and I have dedicated ourselves to. And it’s a transformative movement for greater student success that I’m incredibly thankful to be a part of.

Enjoy Fall break!

“We have a strong foundation for DEI work and we’re seeing progress [...] but there’s more work—more positive disruption—ahead of us before we can claim ubiquitous inclusivity in our college’s culture, classrooms and curricula.”

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Enhanced education through interdisciplinary micro credentialing

Anonymous — Wed, 27 Oct 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Enhanced education through interdisciplinary micro credentialing Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 10/27/2021 - 00:00

John Davis

[Photo: Dean John Davis gets a tour of our new, state-of-the-art recording studio from Recording Engineer and Music Technology Instructor Kevin Harbison.]

Having celebrated the dedication of our expanded Imig Music Building just last month, the spirit of Homecoming 2021 is particularly meaningful to current College of Music students, faculty and staff, as well as our family of Forever Buffs, supporters and friends.

Key to sustaining a sense of home for our students and our greater community is creating and nurturing a culture that embraces and elevates Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), as well as actively tending to a shared belief that everything we do is in our students' best interests.

Specifically, the overarching goals of my administration are to offer our students the space, skills and tools they need for both personal growth and professional exploration; and the guidance and opportunities they need to excel as universal musicians—that is, artists who are equally at home onstage as performers as they are as teachers, researchers, recording engineers, composers, entrepreneurs, administrators, caregivers and more.

At the College of Music, enhanced educational offerings already include our Musicians’ Wellness Program and Entrepreneurship Center for Music; as well as undergraduate certificates in Music Technology, Music Theory and Singing Health, plus career-focused Artist Diplomas and an Arts Administration certificate for graduate students. But we need to go further.

The way I see it, the College of Music is an innovation lab with endless potential for defining and redefining what it means to be an artist in a dynamic global environment. By developing an interdisciplinary micro credentialing program, my vision is to model an educational experience in which recognized mastery of varied competencies—from performance to wellness, digital media, business, engineering, copyright law, the sciences, you name it—prepares our students for flexible, individualized careers. Bringing together current and former Music Buffs to exchange ideas, aspirations and real world experiences, we'll write the script for micro credentials that extend our graduates' success and impact across a range of new, nuanced occupations.

Even as we forge our own unique path, I'm also encouraged by opportunities for synergistic learning and knowledge sharing. As one example, the University of Florida's online Arts in Medicine program—started by a team of hospital-based artists and caregivers—prepares students for a diverse field of creative programs supporting health. That kind of enterprising mindset—that also led to the Colorado Lullaby Project, soon to be expanded in partnership with Boulder Community Health—is what I hope to harness and encourage more of, here at home.

From double majors to micro credentials and skills-specific certificates, the College of Music's curricula, programming and activities must anticipate and advance the creative careers of tomorrow.

Stay tuned!

"The way I see it, the College of Music is an innovation lab with endless potential for defining and redefining what it means to be an artist in a dynamic global environment. By developing an interdisciplinary micro credentialing program, my vision is to model an educational experience in which recognized mastery of varied competencies prepares our students for flexible, individualized careers."

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Recent alum launches career with Boulder Phil

Anonymous — Wed, 23 Jun 2021 20:30:32 +0000

Recent alum launches career with Boulder Phil Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 06/23/2021 - 14:30

Eric Hansen

Editor's update: Since interviewing Luis Granda for this story, we were pleased to learn that his career has carried him to Massachusetts where he currently serves as development manager at Williams College Museum of Art.

“I wouldn't have been able to get this job without the arts administration certificate from the University of Colorado Boulder,” says Luis Granda (MM ’20), recently named assistant director of donor and patron relations for the Boulder Philharmonic. In addition to a master’s degree in double bass performance from the College of Music, Granda earned a Certificate in Arts Administration here to position himself for a career building funding support for the arts.

“I believe strongly in the arts,” continues Granda, who’s originally from Massachusetts where he earned his undergraduate degree and a Professional Performance Certificate at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. “Both of my parents were artists, and my wife is a professional ceramicist. This is our life, and it’s important for me to talk about the arts and why they deserve funding—either from donors or through grants.”

He adds, “I’ve been a recording engineer, I’ve played in folk and rock bands, and I have a classical master’s degree and an undergraduate degree in jazz and African American music. Working in development is a way for me to take this combined knowledge and experience to talk to others about why it’s important to fund the arts.”

Granda attributes Joan McLean Braun’s Introduction to Arts Administration class—part of the Certificate in Arts Administration curriculum—as pivotal preparation for his new career. Braun serves as entrepreneurial lecturer, as well as executive director of CU Presents and assistant dean for concerts and communications.

“Joan’s class was a way for me to get an overview of the entire world of arts administration. She introduced me to development, donor relations, patron relations, working with venues, management, contracts and artists,” explains Granda. “Joan has also been a big influence for me in where my career is headed. She is my mentor, she’s so exciting to talk to, she’s got great energy...and she inspires me.”

Granda further credits Dean John Davis’ Management and Leadership in the Arts class as a significant focal point during his academic experience, shaping who he aspires to be as a manager, a role he will assume in his new position with the Boulder Phil. Learning grantwriting during his development internship with Colorado Symphony was also critical in setting his career direction.

Says Granda about joining the team at the Boulder Philharmonic, “This is a very interesting and community-driven orchestra. They’re committed to diversity and reaching new audiences to enrich lives and to serve as a positive voice in the community.

“Like all arts organizations, the Phil is re-emerging in the community post-COVID. A lot has changed culturally, and new conversations are happening around racial equity and the LGBTQ+ community.

“The orchestra has a great opportunity to really represent the community. I’m excited to see so many interesting and diverse voices in our upcoming season, and for this opportunity to work with the Phil’s new executive director, Sarah Parkinson.”

For the college’s Entrepreneurship Center for Music, Granda also remains active as teaching artist facilitator for the Colorado Lullaby Project.

"Working in development is a way for me to take my combined knowledge and experience to talk to others about why it’s important to fund the arts."

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