ISU Music Practicum Students

This summer, I worked a non-pay internship with Seth Gorden at Very Professional Studios in Bloomington-Normal, IL. I obtained this internship through a friend of mine, Danielle Fisher. She is good friends with Seth and helps him by writing music for his movies. Making movie music has always intrigued me, so I contacted Seth and after several hours and 1 meeting he decided to take me on as his first intern. The beginning of the summer involved me reading up on the constuctions of small recording studios and working on my sound design programs to improve my skills. Seth instructed me that I was to make a list of all the producers and engineers that made my favorite albums possible and work on finding artists that are looking for cheap and professional sounding studios in the area. These artists are on a list I have made in order to contact them when the studio is complete. Any single artists we have found have played for, or recorded with Seth already with the space he had availab...

This summer, I had the privilege of working at Victory Gardens Theater. There I worked in the administrative office and the box office and got first hand knowledge of how a successive theater works. Last semester I decided to look for an internship and started by looking online at different theater companies in Chicago. I applied at 5 or 6 companies (and continued to call and contact them to make sure that they got my application, etc.) and ended up getting contacted by 2. Victory Gardens offered me the internship and I was able to work for them every Wednesday and Friday from 11-5 for 2 months. Over the summer I worked on different projects including: single ticket and subscription sales, contracts for Actors who belong to Actors Equity and are hired by VG, calling ticket buyers to remind them about the tickets they purchased, and I worked with the ticket sales program called ProVenue. I learned a lot from the General Manager of VG and the Box Office Coorordinator. I know that I exper...

Interns for Waiting Room Records will have a number of responsibilities to help them gain direct experience in music retailing operations, including but not limited to: Restoring CDs and records to improve resale value. Managing online listings and auctions to ensure listing accuracy and stock availability; assisting with invoicing and shipping as necessary. Direct marketing including managing online presences on social networking sites, maintaining the store’s email contact list and distributing email updates, and distributing coupons and fliers to students and passersby. Developing and maintaining relationships with vendors including distributors and record labels to obtain promotional support and identify promotional opportunities for new releases. Planning and arranging in-store promotional displays for new releases. Assisting with inventory management, including data entry, verifying stock availability and restocking as necessary. Alphabetiza...

Mr. Horine has given me the fine opportunity to understand the internal processes of his music business. During an unpaid servitude of hours, which could be otherwise spent working a job I already understood, David taught me subtle lessons of true business practice. This practice, absorbed by the 'gut', has undoubtedly evolved over the three decades Horine has stood one of the finest piano technicians in central Illinois. Nevertheless, I knew my place entering this internship...I also knew that there is only so much I can absorb by a fine working person; in the midst of the pedagogical knowledge absorbed by fine professors. Time management, the initial hurdle, has become one of the most important factors which I continue to weave into my own way of doing things. Patience, hand in hand, managed my time and when possible was situated to value David's time (not my own). Respect for the knowledge, imparted unobtrusively, from Mr. Horine continually impacts how customers feel an...

Reprinted from email this past semester (congrats Kailey and thanks for possibly opening a route for more internship opportunities for fellow ISU students!) Rose, Kailey Parks has just finished her internsip here at The Music Shoppe. She has done a marvelous job. She has been very cooperative and capable and has actually made my job easier. If you have any more students that could benefit from an internship with us, feel free to send them our way. Thank you, and Happy Holidays! Bill Anderson Print Music Manager The Music Shoppe, Inc. 800-322-5019...