College of Music student Jenna Palensky is also a full-time team member at Specdrums, a 麻豆影院 startup that was recently acquired by robot toy company Sphero. Jenna talks about what it鈥檚 like to be a musician working at a music technology company.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lJ1EGc_dnQ&feature=youtu.be]

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In a special partnership for the 2017 edition of CU NOW鈥檚 Composer Fellows鈥� Initiative, CU 麻豆影院鈥檚 Eklund Opera Program teamed up with CU Film Studies students to create short films to accompany student-written and student-performed opera scenes at the ATLAS Black Box Theater. Watch the video below for highlights from this year's workshop.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeJFMB9_lMU]

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Kylie Dale, Elise Campbell and Callan Miller pose with their award after coming in third place at the CU New Venture Challenge finals.

Every really good idea had to have its genesis somewhere.

For Elise Campbell and Callan Miller, it was in a dorm room.

鈥淚t鈥檚 fun to look back on all the progress that we鈥檝e made since then. We鈥檙e so much more confident in our purpose as musicians,鈥� says Campbell.

The recent College of Music graduates will be spending their first summer post-undergrad building on their really good idea. And they won鈥檛 be doing it alone.

After taking the top prize in the performing arts track of the , the two flutists came in third at the campus-wide competition with a pitch for their online platform Gigsicians. That means they have $7,000 in their pockets to turn that idea into reality.

鈥淏ut we also got some help from a venture capitalist in the area,鈥� says Miller. 鈥淥ne of the judges, [former musician and cofounder of the Foundry Group] Jason Mendelson, approached us afterward and offered us an additional $5,000 to get started.鈥�

Gigsicians began as an online gigging platform鈥攚hat the founders describe as Airbnb for musicians. The problem it attempts to address is daunting: Only one percent of college music students go on to have a career in music.

The perception is that there just aren鈥檛 jobs for them. But Miller and Campbell suspected there was something more to it than that.

鈥淥ur mentor inspired us to find the root of the problem,鈥� Campbell explains. 鈥淭he private musical performance business is an $11 billion industry. It鈥檚 not that there isn鈥檛 a market for gigging musicians. There is a market鈥攜oung musicians just aren鈥檛 tapping into it because they鈥檙e being told it鈥檚 not there.鈥�

From that epiphany grew the current Gigsicians platform: an interface that educates music students on how to be professional musicians and connects them with event planners hiring for gigs. Users create profiles with biography information and audio and video clips, which event planners can then browse when they鈥檙e hiring.

The profiles are verified by the students鈥� primary professor. By partnering with music institutions, the Gigsicians team hopes to overcome a barrier to entry that has long plagued young musicians.

鈥淓vent planners tell us it鈥檚 too risky to hire young performers without prior experience. They are often unprofessional and unverified and don鈥檛 know the expectations of playing for an event like a wedding. It鈥檚 just easier to hire from the set vendor list that planners have always worked off of,鈥� Miller says.

鈥淏ut this way, these well-known music programs can vouch for the musicians.鈥�

The platform offers different modules of content that students can use and customize, such as contract generation and information on arranging music for timing at events, doing your taxes as a freelance musician and distinguishing yourself from other performers. Campbell and Miller are working with computer science graduate Kylie Dale鈥攚ho played flute in middle school鈥攖o build the site.

Miller says she and Campbell came to CU four years ago to be orchestral musicians, but they became interested in entrepreneurship early on with the urging of their professors.

鈥淲e couldn鈥檛 have done this without help from Jeff Nytch, Daniel Zacek, Christina Jennings, Yoriko Morita, Joan Braun and others who have mentored us along the way.鈥�

Now, the College of Music and the Entrepreneurship Center for Music will be among Gigsicians鈥� first clients: After spending the summer developing content, the team hopes to launch a beta test with the ECM in the coming months.

鈥淲e also have letters of intent from Lawrence University in Wisconsin and the University of Indiana,鈥� Miller adds, 鈥渟o we鈥檒l be able to get feedback from those schools on how the platform is working.鈥�

Campbell says now is the time for a service like this to enter the music world.

鈥淢usicians want to share their passion and their talents that they worked so hard to perfect. Music schools and their students are hungry for this.鈥�

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Alejandro Cremaschi walks students through the basics of piano playing using custom videos and the tools Piano Marvel and Classroom Maestro.

This summer, Alejandro Cremaschi will teach a class of 15-20 students the finer points of beginner piano playing. They'll go through a sequence of fun piano pieces and learn about rhythm, reading music, hand placement and chords鈥攁nd they'll do it entirely online.

鈥淚t presents a lot of opportunities and a lot of challenges,鈥� Cremaschi says. 鈥淪tudents can work at their own pace, and the course is open ended so they have the opportunity to do more than what鈥檚 required. But I鈥檓 also not there to see their technique in person, and unlike a regular class, they鈥檙e not in the same room learning together with their classmates.鈥�

The associate professor of piano pedagogy first started teaching the online course three years ago to accommodate students outside the College of Music who may be interested in composition or music technology.

鈥淧iano is really the most accessible instrument. You can create harmonies, you don鈥檛 have to worry about intonation, you don鈥檛 need to spend six months learning how to make a sound from it. So a lot of people learn how to play the piano as a gateway to music.鈥�

Though the class consists of more than a dozen students, Cremaschi says the online format means it works more like a one-on-one lesson. Students complete several assignments each week, progressing to more difficult pieces as the course goes on. The class culminates with a project that requires students to accompany a hit song song by Coldplay.

The coursework is facilitated by an electronic keyboard and an online tool called Piano Marvel, which work together to give students real-time feedback on their playing. Cremaschi also has students record videos of themselves playing so he can keep an eye on their positioning and coach them each week.

Videos from Cremaschi himself early on in the course lay the foundation for proper technique, showing multiple angles and thoroughly explaining the correct physical approach to playing the instrument.

To combat the loss of social support present in a classroom, Cremaschi has integrated group discussion into the course.

鈥淏eing around other people who are playing can be motivating and encouraging. So I have students share their videos with each other and comment on the other students鈥� playing.鈥�

New for this semester, Cremaschi hopes to unveil a new technological solution to distance learning challenges: During his sabbatical, he鈥檚 been working with a group of computer science students to develop a tool that allows students to store and share video and MIDI files and do live conferencing all in one place.

He says he hopes to continue improving the app to meet a growing need in music in higher education.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of interest in developing this course model, especially for faculty teaching non-music majors in group settings. We鈥檙e one of only a few colleges offering this kind of online introductory course, and I think there鈥檚 a future in this.鈥�

The online piano course is open to non-music majors and takes place during Summer Session B, July 11 through Aug. 11. Look for Piano Class 1, MUEL 1115, Section 200 in the .

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Alumnus Sam Estes works the audio booth.

When you鈥檝e helped prolific composers such as Hans Zimmer and Danny Elfman write film music, it鈥檚 probably safe to say you know a thing or two about what it takes to create a memorable and fitting score in Hollywood.

You also know how challenging it is.

Sam Estes (MM 鈥�05) is hoping that expertise鈥攁long with a healthy knowledge of composition technology鈥攚ill help him and his colleagues find success with .

鈥淢y co-founders and I had been working in LA for quite some time, and we decided to create a tool for music and media professionals who were having a hard time getting music put together for videos.鈥�

Two years ago, Estes, Michael Hobe and Drew Silverstein started working on an algorithm-based program that creates a unique score based on musical attributes selected by the user.

Essentially, it would make the process of scoring music for a video more seamless and precise.

Sam Estes (MM '05) helped found Amper Music.

鈥淩ight now, music editors have to go to music license clearance sites and sort through hundreds of thousands of songs to find one that might suit their video,鈥� Estes explains. 鈥淓ven then, it probably won鈥檛 work out just right.鈥�

Estes brings his expertise in music technology, recording and acoustics to use in his position. While he was in 麻豆影院, he worked under College of Music Recording Engineer Kevin Harbison hooking up microphones and recording different kinds of instruments in different settings.

鈥淢y specialty is in the performance of the instruments and recording in a way that makes the music sound more realistic when we play it back.鈥�

As Estes and his team started to flesh out the idea, they knew they needed more help from musicians who knew their way around SuperCollider, the coding language they were using to build the program. Estes reached out to Associate Professor of Composition Michael Theodore.

Cole Ingraham (DMA '13) works as a developer at Amper Music.

鈥淚 asked if he knew anyone who was a pro and he suggested Cole.鈥�

The suggestion led to a Skype call to the other side of the world. Cole Ingraham (DMA 鈥�13) was living in China, teaching music composition and theory at a private music school in Shanghai.

Ingraham says he knew this was an opportunity he couldn鈥檛 pass up. 鈥淚 enjoyed what I was doing, but I wanted a chance to do something else. This combined my passions for music and technology, so I took the job.鈥�

Ingraham was an ATLAS fellow as he earned his composition degree from CU 麻豆影院. Focused on music technology, he says he was always encouraged to explore new outlets for his music. 鈥淚 had immense freedom and ability to try things and be self-directed. I never felt like it was out of place,鈥� he says.

With Ingraham on board leading a group of composer-developers, the Amper Music team has grown to nine employees and six interns. The biggest requirement for everyone working on the project is a background in music.

鈥淚鈥檓 a composer first,鈥� says Ingraham. 鈥淎nd that goes for all of the programmers here. Everyone is a composer or a high-level musician.鈥�

鈥淭hat鈥檚 why we will never set out to replace the composer or the musician,鈥� Estes adds. 鈥淭here鈥檚 always going to be a human component to composing that鈥檚 more intelligent that the computer, and our users will be able to manipulate the sounds to make them work.鈥�

The innate understanding of the technological and musical side of their industry has been a benefit to both Estes and Ingraham.

鈥淢y music background gives me a different perspective on things,鈥� Ingraham says. 鈥淎s I become a better programmer, I become a better musician and vice versa.鈥�

鈥淚n the movie music industry you have to be a jack of all trades,鈥� says Estes. 鈥淵ou have to do sound design, be an orchestrator, a copyist, a music editor. That鈥檚 really where the value of dabbling comes into play.鈥�

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And read more in the online edition of Colorado Music Magazine >>

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Students give presentations during a music technology class in the CAML lab at Imig Music Building.

When the College of Music was founded nearly 100 years ago, students composed exclusively on paper, listened to music on gramophones and used the library's card catalog to learn more about its history. Needless to say, things have changed a bit since then, and those changes have been ushered in by rapidly improving technology. 

To that end, the College of Music next fall will unveil a new Media and Technology emphasis within its existing Bachelor of Arts in Music degree.

First conceived as part of the strategic planning process and approved last month by the faculty, the new emphasis combines already-offered courses at the college and departments across campus into an interdisciplinary degree that organizers say will go a long way toward preparing students for a changing musical landscape.

鈥淪tudents are growing up with technology in a way that鈥檚 unprecedented,鈥� says Daniel Kellogg, associate professor of composition. 鈥淲e hope this will open the door to lot of artistically minded, creative applicants who have a love of music but are also heavily interested in technology.鈥�

The new emphasis starts with the classes already required for the college鈥檚 certificate in music technology, then partners with the College of Media, Communication and Information, the ATLAS Institute and the College of Arts and Sciences to allow students to tailor their studies.

鈥淭here will be a lot of flexibility in what courses they can take to fulfill the emphasis. Twelve credits will be from computer science or design or engineering or filmmaking, with most of the credits coming from the College of Music.鈥�

It鈥檚 an idea that's already piqued the interest of students. John Buford, a sophomore pursuing the BA in music, has always wanted to learn more about the synergy between music and technology.

鈥淭echnology is being updated from day to day and will keep progressing. Music is doing the same and I would love to join in and learn as much as I can about music that is not just instrumental.鈥�

Lukas Moldawsky agrees. The sophomore composition major is already taking classes to earn a certificate in music technology, and he鈥檚 considering the new emphasis once it becomes available.

鈥淢y goal in the music world is to become a producer and work in studios, and this seems like a perfect fit for that agenda,鈥� Moldawsky explains.

Kellogg says Buford and Moldawsky are not alone鈥攚hich speaks to the potential for this program to have a big impact on the college.

鈥淚鈥檇 say a goal of the emphasis is that in a few years, we鈥檝e attracted new and interesting students who add to our already vibrant and creative community at the college,鈥� he explains.

Another goal is to encourage collaboration between the College of Music and other departments on campus鈥攁 key component of the College of Music Advantage.

鈥淭he College of Music's strategic plan calls for it to develop several new programs that connect music to other fields,鈥� says College of Music Dean Robert Shay. 鈥淢usic is unparalleled in allowing for interdisciplinary connections with a variety of other fields, and many of the pathways students are now pursuing lie to some extent in the spaces between the disciplines.

鈥淲hile we will continue to pursue excellence in all of our traditional offerings, it's important now that we not limit music within the boundaries of the past.鈥�

It鈥檚 a change that鈥檚 not lost on students like Buford.

鈥淢usic is something that is growing and developing every day, so to be a college that offers music technology is fantastic.鈥�

Adds Moldawsky, 鈥淚 think it will draw more people into the college. Students who have an interest in music technology now have an option that fits that route.鈥�

Kellogg says as the college acknowledges that the same, singular molds of the past century of music study may not serve students forever, this degree will allow students to form new molds.

鈥淚t gives students a lot of different options for their future,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 have to walk out of here and feel like there鈥檚 only one track forward for them. They can apply their creativity to even more careers than before.鈥�

The BA in Music with an Emphasis in Media and Technology Studies will be officially available in Fall 2017; to view the degree plan, visit the Undergraduate Advising section.

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Dean Shay addresses alumni before the April 2016 Boettcher Showcase Concert.

The College of Music continues its push toward a bigger, bolder and brighter future for music at the 麻豆影院.

And it鈥檚 a journey the college鈥檚 many stakeholders are embarking on together.

Dubbed the 鈥�College of Music Advantage,鈥� the college鈥檚 10-year strategic plan was unanimously approved by faculty and subsequently endorsed by staff and the Music Advisory Board in early 2016.

In his third year at the helm of the college, Dean Robert Shay says the support the plan has received can be largely attributed to the way it was drawn up.

鈥淚t was important that this was a homegrown plan,鈥� Shay explains. 鈥淓arly on, we developed a sense of it being our collaborative effort with everyone having a stake in it. The priorities flowed organically from a series of conversations among many constituents.鈥�

Those priorities鈥攚hich will be presented publicly before the CU Symphony Orchestra concert this Friday, Sept. 23鈥攊nclude everything from increasing student and curricular diversity to expanding the College of Music鈥檚 footprint with newly renovated spaces on campus.

Shay says the college is poised to get off to a great start.   

鈥淎 critical time in the strategic planning process is between approval and the beginning of implementation. We have now developed action plans for each year, determined who will be in the driver鈥檚 seat for each initiative and decided on necessary resources and deliverables so we can measure our progress effectively.鈥�

In the first year of the plan鈥檚 implementation, the College of Music will see several of its top students and ensembles travel to New York鈥檚 famed Carnegie Hall for a showcase concert in Weill Recital Hall this November.

The appearance, along with the April 2016 Boettcher Showcase Concert in Denver, represent a major goal of the plan: to connect student success to professional achievement.

鈥淭hese opportunities not only give students a chance to perform in some of the nation鈥檚 greatest venues but also grow our presence in major urban centers,鈥� Shay says.

Other projects on tap over the next few years鈥攕uch as the creation of a bachelor鈥檚 degree in music with a media and technology emphasis and the expansion of the Musicians鈥� Wellness Program鈥攁re part of the college鈥檚 goal to provide more than performance opportunities for students.

鈥淲e want to deliver a well-rounded education for all our students, whether they are earning performance or academic-based degrees such as music education,鈥� Shay explains, 鈥渢hough for all students we need to be sure we鈥檙e including value-adding experiences that position them for professional success.鈥�

Also coming down the pike are enhanced alumni resources, an annual distinguished lectureship on diversity and inclusion in music and the establishment of a student professional development travel initiative.

As the college looks toward its 2020 centennial, Shay says it鈥檚 crucial that administration, faculty and staff not rest on their laurels. 鈥淎ny successful organization must always be thinking ahead several years and anticipating changes.鈥�

That rings especially true for music in higher education.

鈥淚n music, it鈥檚 a critical time. So many of the previous conceptions of music education and music careers have been changing rapidly, and this plan allows us to position ourselves as being on the forefront of preparing musicians who will be the leaders of tomorrow.鈥�

The public is invited to learn more about the 鈥淐ollege of Music Advantage鈥� this Friday at 8 p.m. at Macky Auditorium before the first CU Symphony Orchestra concert of the year. You can also find more information on the and read more in the 2016 edition of Colorado Music Magazine, coming in October.

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Renowned opera professionals Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer brought their working opera "It's a Wonderful Life" to the 麻豆影院's CU NOW workshop in June 2016. They will premiere the piece during the 2016 holiday season at Houston Grand Opera.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2vN_11y2lk]

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Students of Rebecca Maloy pose at the International Congress on Medieval Studies in May.

Music can often provide a window into worlds long past. A particular Schubert song could transport you right back to an ornate parlor in 19th-century Austria. It鈥檚 hard not to picture Mozart at the podium in front of a hall full of white-wigged aristocrats when listening to The Magic Flute.

But instead of just invoking certain periods of history, what if music could shed light on the comings and goings of a forgotten culture?

Associate Professor of Musicology Rebecca Maloy and a group of PhD students are beginning to have just that revelation as they study a type of chant found in medieval Spain around the same time as Gregorian chant.

鈥淥ld Hispanic has been a neglected area for a long time in chant scholarship,鈥� Maloy explains. 鈥淲hile there are some similarities to Gregorian, all that remains of Old Hispanic is the notation.

鈥淎nd we don鈥檛 know what the notes sounded like in the seventh century.鈥�

Maloy and graduate students Mason Brown, Ben Cefkin, Ruth Opara, Megan Quilliam and Melanie Shaffer recently presented their research on Old Hispanic chant at in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

鈥淲e basically looked through huge databases of chants to find all the text matches we could, then looked at the notation of the Gregorian and Old Hispanic melodies to see whether they were connected,鈥� Maloy says.

From there, the team looked for similarities that could offer clues about what inspired the chant, what it sounded like and the interaction between the two cultures.

Although the Old Hispanic chant is mostly independent from Gregorian chant, Maloy and the students discovered that the two traditions share more repertory than previously thought.

鈥淚f there were chants based off the same scripture, for example, that could be a signal that there was some crossover in the traditions,鈥� explains Melanie Shaffer, a PhD candidate in musicology.

鈥淎nd because we know what the pitches sound like in Gregorian chant, we can compare how the notes moved up and down to guess what they sounded like in Old Hispanic.鈥�

What they found was surprising鈥攁nd potentially game-changing.

鈥淭here were so many connections,鈥� ethnomusicology PhD candidate Megan Quilliam adds. 鈥淚t was impossible to say they were coincidence.

鈥淭he big question is鈥攚hat does it mean?鈥�

Each student took a different approach to a different quandary, bringing their expertise in musicology and ethnomusicology to the table in different ways.

鈥淲e were seeing [that], while there might not be musical correlation, the chants highlighted certain words in the same way,鈥� says Quilliam. 鈥淚n one of my chants, I was looking at 'lux,鈥� which means light, and both traditions assigned the same note shapes to each syllable in similar chants.

鈥淭hat means the two melodies could have come from the same place.鈥�

As researchers, the students say they learned a lot about how to improve their methods by observing and taking cues from their peers.

鈥淚鈥檝e never understood why there鈥檚 not more collaboration in musicology and ethnomusicology,鈥� says Quilliam. 鈥淏y grouping your knowledge together, you see how other people approach their different goals and you make changes to what you鈥檙e doing based on what you learn from them.鈥�

鈥淚t helps with the workload,鈥� Shaffer adds. 鈥淚n order to make meaningful observations during a tight timeline, you have to divide up the work to get it finished faster.鈥�

Shaffer says the fact that Maloy has been focused on this subject for the better part of six years helped the seminar class as well.

鈥淭here鈥檚 something comforting about not feeling you鈥檙e trying to reinvent the wheel on a project. We really benefited from Dr. Maloy鈥檚 methodology as a launching pad.鈥�

Maloy says the paper was well-received at the interdisciplinary conference. What she and her students found could inform not only music history but also general history about medieval trade, communication and collaboration.

鈥淗istorians have studied different forms of prayer and noted these connections, but musicologists haven鈥檛. This is the first time anyone鈥檚 looked in depth at parallel chants.

鈥淭hese chants are tokens of cultural contact that we don鈥檛 have any other record of. Trying to discover when and how that exchange happened is fascinating.鈥�

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Michael Mann, a 2016 ecology and evolutionary biology graduate, and Hugh Lobel, a 2015 DMA graduate in composition, work on Music_SDP in the ATLAS Institute lobby.

As music and technology evolve, it only makes sense that they should evolve together, the principles of one informing and helping better the other.

This idea鈥攖hat music making happens more efficiently with the help of technology鈥攊s behind the unique invention of one College of Music graduate.

鈥淚鈥檇 been writing music using every instrument I could for years. But I started to realize that in order to really do what I wanted, I needed a new platform for my music.鈥�

Hugh Lobel, who graduated in 2015 with a DMA in composition, is using the benefits of technological innovation to make it easier for anyone to compose his or her own music. His weapon in the fight is The Music and Sound Design Platform, or.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a totally open-source and free music creation platform designed around live performance,鈥� Lobel explains. 鈥淚t facilitates exploration and experimentation in a performance setting.鈥�

The trained programmer is building the platform from the ground up. He first got the coding bug at the University of Texas at Austin while earning his master鈥檚 degree in composition.

鈥淎t first I didn鈥檛 expect to take it very far. I didn鈥檛 think I needed programming to make the sounds I wanted to make. But I immediately found that I could never do this without programming.鈥�

Using a coding language called , Lobel began developing his platform six years ago. At that time, most options for digital music creation were based on a digital audio workstation, or , system.

鈥淚t allows people to record music into tracks and create compositions by combining different tracks in different orders,鈥� he explains.

Over time, Lobel strayed from the DAW model, landing on his own concept as he pursued his doctoral degree in 麻豆影院.

鈥淎 lot of artists were creating electronic music live. I started to think about how I could do that in Max.鈥�

But to allow for live improvisation, Lobel knew he鈥檇 need to do a complete redesign of his product.

鈥淚t has lot of the same functions, like the ability to generate sound with synthesizers and record and manipulate audio, but the tools and functions are based on guitar pedal boards. They鈥檙e customizable based on the piece you鈥檙e writing.鈥�

The pedals鈥攃alled modules on Music_SDP鈥攃an be instruments, sound effects or recordings. Their adaptability allows for on-the-fly decisions in the middle of a performance.

The program can also be controlled by any number of different kinds of hardware. 鈥淵ou could use a keyboard, for example, to control the system,鈥� Lobel explains. 鈥淵ou can set the modules so that the F key plays back a certain audio file or the E key plays a certain chord.鈥�

Since a soft launch of the product last May as part of his dissertation, Lobel has continued to tweak the product, bringing what he鈥檚 learned as a teacher at the college and as a student of composition professors Michael Theodore and John Drumheller into the design.

鈥淚鈥檝e taught Max at CU, and of course every time you teach something you learn so much. That sparked an interest to continue making revisions.鈥�

He鈥檚 also been getting help from other students. Chandler Spoon, who graduated this May with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in horn performance, and recent ecology and evolutionary biology grad Michael Mann, make up his team on campus.

鈥淎nd BLOrk [student ensemble the 麻豆影院 Laptop Orchestra] has been using the software in its current and previous forms during performances, acting as bug testers for me.鈥�

The ultimate goal of the project, Lobel says, is to make it a community-driven platform that鈥檚 free and easy for anyone to use.

鈥淭he most important thing is that the platform has value, and that happens when it鈥檚 at everyone鈥檚 disposal. You don鈥檛 need $10 to download it, and you don鈥檛 need to know anything about programming to use it.

鈥淏y making Music_SDP free, I hope to enable people who can鈥檛 invest in other tools to unlock their creativity and explore their potential.鈥�

Lobel says he鈥檒l keep the platform free by getting help where he can from other Max developers. 鈥淚 already have way more ideas than I can execute myself. They know the language so well that they can introduce concepts and expand the functionality.鈥�

If you鈥檇 like to help Lobel improve Music_SDP, visit the product鈥檚 or and pages to try it out, make a donation or spread the word.

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