Every year during January interim, music faculty members Dr. Todd Kelly and Carl Anderson '86 take students to sunny California. The music business majors attend the gigantic NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Show in Anaheim, as well as the Slane College of Communications and Fine Arts Gala. In the coming days, students will blog about the Bradley group's experiences at those events, as well their VIP tour of Warner Bros.
Today was our final day of the trip and our second full day at the NAMM show. We had a very busy day with three meetings to attend. The first meeting was with Yamaha district manager Jonathon Breen, who talked to us as though we were one of his dealers. He showed us all of Yamaha’s new products, and we listened to one of Yamaha’s featured artists perform live in the exhibit hall. Mr. Breen then introduced us to Roger Eaton, the director of marketing for the band and orchestral division and also to David Suter, one of Yamaha’s regional managers.
Our next appointment was at the Jupiter booth, where Illinois district manager, Dan McCaffrey, welcomed us. We met several members of Jupiter’s marketing staff were given a tour of their products as well as insight into their methods for setting up and assembling their displays. Each had his own interesting path to making the music business a career choice.
We grabbed a quick bite to eat as we waited for our last meeting of the day. NAMM’s Workforce Development announced Cody Fiedler ‘10 and Carolyn Sauer ‘10 were this year’s Bradley recipients of the Workforce Development Scholarships. The program wrap-up session followed, and we had the opportunity to share our show experiences with the other students.
Our group gained so much from this trip. From our tour of Warner Brothers to meeting proud alums at the CFA Hollywood reception, to our variety of experiences at the NAMM Show, it was truly an educational five days. To wrap up the night and celebrate the end of our journey, we ate at the Jazz Kitchen in Downtown Disney and were joined by Dr. Kelly, Mr. Anderson, Dr. Zarvell, Kim Dunn, and Shawna Von Behren ‘02. Food, friends, and the great memories of our trip will carry us back to the cold Illinois weather.
It’s been fun! And we are very excited to see where our futures may lead.
Special note from Todd Kelly and Carl Anderson:
As our trip comes to an end, we would like to extend our thanks to many people who made this an unforgettable experience: to Doug Frank, Hon ‘06 Darren Higman, Debbie Streeter, Xavier Ramos, and all of the people at Warner Brothers who gave generously of their time to inform and enlighten our students. Many thanks go to Evan Beigel ‘95 for his hospitality and his wonderful presentation to our students at his recording studio. And a special thanks to Dr. Jeff Huberman, Dean of the Slane College of Communications and Fine Arts, without whom our Hollywood experience would not have been possible. We are exhausted, but thrilled about the past few days and looking forward to next January! We hope that you have enjoyed following our experiences on this blog, and we thank Shelley Epstein, Assistant Vice President of Communications, for the opportunity to share them with you.
This morning we headed to the NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Show at the Anaheim Convention Center. After receiving our badges, we went to the Hilton to meet the Director of Artist Relations for Yamaha, John Wittmann, who gave a presentation to the Workforce Development students who attend the show because of their school’s NAMM affiliation. We learned valuable life lessons and tips for future interviews. John gave us his top ten list, entitled “Things I Wish I Knew Before I Went to My First NAMM Show.”
After the presentation, we went our separate ways. Cody Fiedler ‘10, Dr. Kelly, and Mr. Anderson met Mike Vax, a Getzen artist and clinician who is the former lead trumpet player with the Stan Kenton Orchestra. We were in awe of the massive number of guitars, drums, woodwinds, brass, strings, and music publishing companies and their elaborate displays. We collected free SWAG (Stuff We All Get) from the booths on the four floors, which are the length of six football fields.
One of our classmates, Will Surdynski ‘10, had the amazing opportunity to job shadow at the Conn-Selmer booth. He had a wonderful experience and was able to meet the president and other executives. Julie met up with many people she worked with this summer at Yamaha, and even grabbed coffee with John Wittmann to “catch up on life”.
During the show, Katherine and Lauren were able to acquire tickets for our group to attend the Sennheiser concert Friday night at the House of Blues, where we heard the Tower of Power horns among others.
The show provided all of us many different experiences and networking opportunities. There are only about 18 Workforce Development Institutes, and as Bradley students, we are fortunate to attend one of them.
Tomorrow we will be at the show again, so look for our next entry soon.
From Julie Hill ‘09 and Cody Fiedler ‘10, Music Business majors…
We left our hotel for Burbank at 8:15 a.m., and of course it was sunny; we are in Southern California. The drive was shorter than predicted, and we were able to walk around Hollywood, see the sign in the mountains, walk the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and get a glimpse of the Chinese Theater. Our prime destination was Warner Bros. Studios where we would get on the lot and meet with the President of Operations for the Film Music Division, Doug Frank.
Frank, who received an honorary doctorate from Bradley in 2006, arranged an impressive conference-room meeting with his staff. Included were Darren Higman, the Senior Vice President of Music, and Debbie Streeter, the Director of Music Administration. Darren described to us the process of incorporating movie music into a production and the time commitment required to get music to the screen. He showed us examples of movie sound clips from Win A Date With Tad Hamilton, Shark Tale, and Happy Feet. Darren’s intuitive senses give him a knack for incorporating music that will best enhance the scene. After a quick lunch break during which we discussed current demographic trends and their effect on the music business, we met with Debbie Streeter. She breaks down scripts, analyzes the cost of music for a film, and meets with composers, lawyers, creative executives, and musicians. One of her most memorable quotes was: “I learned my job by doing my job.” Doug Frank told us that in order to do well at Warner Bros., you have to be a “fan” of music and films.
We took a trip down the lot to the Eastwood Scoring Stage for Post Production. While there, we were able to sit in on a live recording for an upcoming video game. It was AWESOME!!!!!!
Doug Frank then led us over to the Warner Bros. Record Label. There we met Xavier Ramos, one of 10 marketing directors for the label. He said that since the Music Industry is in a period of transition, people are always looking for new ideas that help to restructure their business model. He noted that people of our age and education are the new blood of the industry. Ramos took us to their Merchandise Department, which specializes in Artist Merchandise for their signed artists. They do a great job at marketing bands and using high-quality products. Some people in our group are very interested in those programs.
After our day at Warner Bros., we went to the Skirball Cultural Center in Burbank for the Slane College of Communication and Fine Arts Alumni Banquet. We were greeted by BU Alumni in the Los Angeles area, as well as seniors from Fullerton High School who are interested in attending Bradley. As a treat, Carl Anderson, Todd Kelly, and Ed, Janet and Laraine Kaizer performed several selections. President Joanne Glasser gave a speech through a video message. It was so great to have her there in spirit! We missed her.
As we head to bed, we can’t help but think how surreal it was to have spent the day on the WB lot. What an experience! Tomorrow will be our first of two days at the NAMM Show. It will be another great experience!
From Julie Hill ‘09 and Cody Fiedler ‘10, Music Business majors…
From the arctic tundra of Peoria and Chicago, we bundled up and said goodbye as we headed out to sunny Southern California for the 2009 NAMM show. Despite a wintery Midwest sendoff, our whole group arrived at the John Wayne Airport in beautiful, warm Southern California around the same time, piled into rental vans, and headed to our hotel at Disneyland. Lucky for us, we were welcomed by Goofy as we waited in line to check into our rooms. Goofy even played Dr. Kelly’s trumpet for us; it was a very musical moment.
We grabbed a late lunch at Tortilla Joe’s in Downtown Disney with the group and headed back to the hotel for a pre-dinner sand volleyball game. After getting cleaned up, we hopped in the cars for a quick (1.5 hour!) drive to North Hollywood to meet with the versatile recording engineer/producer and composer Evan Beigel, who also is a 1995 Bradley Music Alumnus. Waiting to welcome us there were Dean Jeff Huberman, Kim Dunn, the CFA career adviser, and Janet and Ed Kaizer, and their daughter, Laraine.
Evan explained to us his path in the music industry after graduating from Bradley. He has lived in Illinois, California, and Brazil. He started at Bradley as a Music Performance major, but after some encouragement from Dr. Steve Heinemann chose to switch to Composition. This led him not only to composing, but also recording and producing. He runs his own independent recording studio in North Hollywood and showcased the studio that he built with the help of friends and family.
If there is one thing we learned from Evan, it is that nothing is impossible. If you have the determination, passion, and drive you can achieve all that you dream.
Tomorrow looks like it will be 80 degrees again and we will be heading out to Warner Bros. Studios to meet with Doug Frank, the President of Music Operations for Warner Bros. Pictures. Check out more tomorrow!
The NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Show in Anaheim is a wonderful opportunity for our students to rub elbows with the most important people in the music industry. The floor of the show is the size of six football fields. Although restricted to only music industry professionals and closed to the general public, more than 80,000 people attend each year. Bradley’s unique professional affiliation with NAMM allows our students to connect to the industry and develop career and internship opportunities.
This year, the students will also have the opportunity to tour Warner Bros. with Doug Frank, HON ‘06, the president of music operations for Warner Bros. Pictures. For a young person aspiring to a career in the music industry, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! We will also be attending Bradley’s College of Fine Arts Hollywood reception at the Skirball Center in Los Angeles, where we will be joined by Jeff Huberman, the Dean of the Slane College of Communications and Fine Arts, and many Bradley alums (more on this later!). The reception will feature a jazz performance by Carl Anderson, myself, and Ed, Janet, and Laraine Kaizer ‘98. We will also be visiting the recording studio of another Bradley alumnus, Evan Beigel ‘95, in North Hollywood.
Carl Andersonand I are excited about the advantages our students gain from this annual trip. Carl teaches the music business courses at Bradley. He is the general manager of Kidder Music Service in Peoria. I am an associate professor of music and have been at Bradley since 1998. I teach trumpet and direct the Jazz Ensembles, and I also enjoy serving as the adviser for the music business program. I’m looking forward to blogging about our 2009 trip. Stay tuned!
In the meantime, listen to our more popular Jazz Ensemble tracks:
Today was our final day of the trip and our second full day at the NAMM show. We had a very busy day with three meetings to attend. The first meeting was with Yamaha district manager Jonathon Breen, who talked to us as though we were one of his dealers. He showed us all of Yamaha’s new products, and we listened to one of Yamaha’s featured artists perform live in the exhibit hall. Mr. Breen then introduced us to Roger Eaton, the director of marketing for the band and orchestral division and also to David Suter, one of Yamaha’s regional managers.
Our next appointment was at the Jupiter booth, where Illinois district manager, Dan McCaffrey, welcomed us. We met several members of Jupiter’s marketing staff were given a tour of their products as well as insight into their methods for setting up and assembling their displays. Each had his own interesting path to making the music business a career choice.
Our group gained so much from this trip. From our tour of Warner Brothers to meeting proud alums at the CFA Hollywood reception, to our variety of experiences at the NAMM Show, it was truly an educational five days. To wrap up the night and celebrate the end of our journey, we ate at the Jazz Kitchen in Downtown Disney and were joined by Dr. Kelly, Mr. Anderson, Dr. Zarvell, Kim Dunn, and Shawna Von Behren ‘02. Food, friends, and the great memories of our trip will carry us back to the cold Illinois weather.
The NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Show in Anaheim is a wonderful opportunity for our students to rub elbows with the most important people in the music industry. The floor of the show is the size of six football fields. Although restricted to only music industry professionals and closed to the general public, more than 80,000 people attend each year. Bradley’s unique professional affiliation with NAMM allows our students to connect to the industry and develop career and internship opportunities.
Carl Anderson and I are excited about the advantages our students gain from this annual trip. Carl teaches the music business courses at Bradley. He is the general manager of Kidder Music Service in Peoria. I am an associate professor of music and have been at Bradley since 1998. I teach trumpet and direct the Jazz Ensembles, and I also enjoy serving as the adviser for the music business program. I’m looking forward to blogging about our 2009 trip. Stay tuned!