SOM offers music business camp

By Deborah Lilly

For years Anderson University’s School of Music has been training college students for careers in the music business. This summer they opened their doors to high school students looking ahead to careers as recording artists or studio technicians.

According to Dr. Becky Chappell, professor of music, the music business faculty had been talking about a summer camp for quite some time, but they had difficulty putting all of the pieces in place to pull it off, especially the financial pieces. “We couldn’t figure out how to fund it,” says Chappell. But thanks to the Falls Grant for New Initiatives, the final pieces came into place, and the first camp was held in July 2008.

The idea of a music business camp is fairly rare, especially in terms of what AU offers. “It’s getting to the point where high schools are becoming interested in teaching music business,” says Chappell, as more teenagers are recording in their basements and marketing themselves on the Internet. “You’re getting high school students who are savvy about the music business industry already, and they want a way to get more education about what they do.”

The camp was limited to students ages 14 to 18. Thirty-eight campers studied one of three tracks — songwriting, recording technology, or artist management. They were taught not only by AU faculty but also professionals in the industry who have worked with such groups as Switchfoot, Mercy Me, and Hillsong United. Students worked at their own stations with professional equipment, including Pro Tools. “I don’t know of any other place where you can get that kind of training while you’re still in high school,” says Chappell.

Songwriters learned how to craft a song, make a demo, and promote their work to get signed with a publisher. Recording technicians learned Pro Tools technology and recorded projects by other campers at ProDigital Studios in downtown Anderson. In the artist management workshops, campers learned how to put together a press kit, make a demo, and market an artist on the Web. In the evenings, the students either performed themselves or enjoyed other bands.

Sammy Pancol of Anderson came to the camp because she loves to sing but knows little about the music business. “My dream is to be on Broadway,” she explains. Of particular interest to her was the discussion on agents and attorneys, but none of it was a waste of time. She refers to her idol, Idina Menzel, the original Elphaba in Wicked, who has not only performed on stage but is releasing an album. “If she can do both, I can do both,” says Pancol, and what she learned at AU’s music business camp is going to come in handy when she does.

Allan Smith came to campus from Peoria, Ill. He found out about the camp because he was actually considering AU as a college choice. During the week, he focused on the artist track, but says, “I love music and would be happy doing anything that relates to music.”

Before the camp, Smith was set on attending a small Christian school in his home state. But now that he’s been to Anderson and been immersed in what the AU School of Music has to offer, he’s not so sure. “There’s more of a possibility now that I will come to AU than there was before I came to camp,” he explains.

Teenagers wishing to participate in the camp do not have to be able to read music or pass an audition. There are no theory, piano, or aural composition classes. For more information about next year’s camp, scheduled for July 6-11, 2009, contact Dr. Rebecca Chappell, director of music business studies, at (765) 641-4461.