New music minor gives students best of both worlds

Semester in Nashville will offer first-hand look at music, entertainment industries

Mount Vernon Nazarene University is adding a new minor that could help you become the next Hannah Montana! Well, sort of.

The music minor will send students to Nashville, Tenn., to study the music and entertainment industry first-hand. The experience is part of a program offered by The Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.

Starting next year, students will have the opportunity to spend a semester in Music City at the Contemporary Music Center learning the ins-and-outs of the entertainment industry. Students can complete the Nashville experience during their junior or senior year.

While there, students will take two three-credit hour courses: Inside the Music Industry and Faith, Music and Culture.

They also will take nine credit hours of courses specific to the track they choose: artist, business or technical. On top of all that, they will be required to complete an internship.

With the artist track, students will learn first-hand everything they need to know about being a performer in the music industry and will take courses including Performance, Studio Recording and the Essentials of Songwriting.

The business track will focus on Strategic Management, Music Business Survey and Advanced Media Marketing. Students completing the technical program will explore Advanced Studio Recording, Audio Engineering and Concert Production.

Joe Rinehart, department chair and assistant professor of communication, said the program “is going to be a great option for people who want to do this at the highest professional level possible.”

Sophomore journalism and media production major Kelsey Bryte is the first student to show interest in the program.

Bryte said she looks at the semester in Nashville as an opportunity to “live out my dream.”

“Not only will I be in the biggest music city there is, but I will be surrounded by people who want to help me achieve my dream just as much I want to help them,” Bryte said.

Bryte hopes to one day work behind the scenes in the music industry promoting and managing bands.

She is considering the business track, where she will spend the semester managing two to three student artists, planning a week-long tour for each artist and taking charge of at least one major aspect of a live concert.

Even though it will be the most hectic and challenging semester of her college career, Bryte is focused on the experience and rewards this program will bring.

For more information on the program, talk to your adviser or visit bestsemester.com.