Four Delta State University summer interns and a student singer-songwriter in the Delta Music Institute Entertainment Industry Studies program will be the featured guests for DMI All Access, a series of informal Q&A sessions featuring music and entertainment industry professionals.
The program is free and open to the public and begins at 6 p.m. Sept. 8 in DMI Studio B on the campus of Delta State.
Amber Foster, Horace Willis, Ben Murray, Harrison Downs Wood and Jessica Wishard all completed required internship hours at various locations during the summer of 2014. The internship experience is required of students seeking the Bachelor of Science degree in Entertainment Industry Studies at Delta State.
Murray of Sikeston, Mo. and Horace Willis of Arcola, Miss. both completed audio engineering hours at Walker Brothers recording studio in Missouri and Ardent Studios in Memphis, respectively.
Wood of Huntsville, Ala. worked as an intern at the Paradigm Agency in Nashville, Tenn., and Foster of Belzoni, Miss. worked as the primary intern for the Memphis Chapter of the Recording Academy under executive director Jon Hornyak.
All of these students gained valuable real-world experience under the supervision of professionals in the industry.
“This internship taught me all aspects of booking and prepared me to excel in my career field after,” said Wood. “I was honored to represent the DMI this summer at Paradigm.”
Foster agreed that summer interning was a highlight of her educational experience.
“Interning for the Recording Academy was a dream come true,” said Foster. “Being able to get a true insight of what the music industry is like was all I could ask for, and I’m even more in love with it than I have ever been.
“Performing and having to make hard, fast decisions made this the most advantageous internship. It was too cool, and I hope to work with this organization sometime in the future.”
Also featured will be Jessica Faith Wishard, one of three national winners in last year’s GRAMMY Amplifier Center Stage contest, who claimed her prize by going to Nashville to participate in a professional video production of her original song, “Without A Fight.” The video was produced by Deaton/Flanigan Productions and will premiere in October.
“Winning the GRAMMY Amplifier contest has given me so many great opportunities,” said Wishard, a sophomore from Monticello, Ark. “I’m so lucky to be able to say that I’m already living the dream.”
The public is invited to come and hear the experiences of these students firsthand at DMI All Access on Sept. 8.
The DMI is an independent center under the College of Arts and Sciences at Delta State University. Its mission is to provide students with a broad and thorough education in the technological, creative, and business areas of the music and entertainment industries.
For more information about the program, contact the DMI office at 662-846-4579 or visit http://dmi.deltastate.edu.
