The Delta Music Institute at Delta State continued its All Access Series virtually this year with 12 guests.CLEVELAND, Miss.— The Delta Music Institute (DMI) at Delta State University has been keeping students engaged this academic year with virtual visits from several artists and entertainment industry professionals.
Twelve guest speakers were hosted as part of DMI’s All Access Program, a series of afterhours events for Entertainment Industry Studies students at DSU. While presenters could not visit in-person due to restrictions necessitated by COVID-19 pandemic, the conversations continued virtually via Zoom.
“Having entertainment industry professionals join the DMI All Access event series allows Entertainment Industry Studies students to learn first-hand about the careers they are preparing for in the classroom and helps them to establish a network with experienced professionals,” said Richard Tremmel, director of DMI.
This year’s All-Access series included the following industry guests:
Chelsea Kent, a DMI publisher/manager-in-residence and founder of Worktape Junkie Management, LLC, in Nashville who assisted students with song pitching.
Ian Galdy, senior director of marketing at Nice Life Recording Company in Los Angeles, whose artists include Lizzo, John-Robert, Junior Mesa, Nate Mercereau and St.Panther.
Kim Smith Dockery, A&R executive, talent manager and production manager from Atlanta who has worked with Michael Jackson, Black Street, Rich Homie Quan, Patti Labelle, Rolling Stones, Leona Lewis, Fantasia and TLC.
Chris Cline, A&R manager for Canvasback Music and Atlantic Records from New York.
The Songfluencer Team, based in Nashville, who works with recording artists and record labels to market their songs on the TikTok app. Record Labels such as Atlantic, Columbia, Epic, Interscope, Island, RCA, Sony Music and Warner utilize Songfluencer’s services to publicize their artists.
Dave Maclauglin, director of educational services at Genelec, Inc., a prominent loudspeaker systems company based in Finland. Maclauglin discussed topics such as proper setup of monitors, tuning and mixing on headphones vs. speakers.
Larry Williams, a studio and touring bassist and Cleveland native who has performed with Christina Aguilera, The Temptations and The Jacksons. He is also an alumni student of DMI Assistant Professor of Practice Barry Bays.
Nicole Ehrlich, of Santa Barbara, is an award-winning music video producer for Lady Gaga, Geffen Records, and Universal Music Group. Nicole is a GRAMMY® winner, Emmy winner, MTV Video Musia Award (VMA) winner and Oscar-nominated.
Dez Dickerson, former lead guitarist with Prince & The Revolution, vice president of Starsong Communications and founder of Absolute Records. Dickerson currently manages record label and branding companies Pavilion Entertainment and Pavilion Synergies in Nashville.
Matt Fitzgerald, a Nashville-based freelance monitor engineer who has worked with Peter Frampton, B-52’s, Ringo Starr and Blue Man Group.
David Labruyere, a musician, songwriter, producer and longtime bass guitarist for John Mayer.
Jim Yakabuski, a Nashville-based front of house sound engineer who has worked with Van Halen, Van Halen, Avril Lavigne, Matchbox Twenty, and Peter Frampton. He is also the author of Professional Sound Reinforcement Techniques.
The DMI is an independent center under the College of Arts & 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 entertainment industries.
The DMI offers a Bachelor of Science degree in Entertainment Industry Studies. This innovative program is intended to develop a broad range of skills in audio engineering technology, entertainment industry entrepreneurship, and multimedia technology that will give students a foundational base of knowledge for working in various entertainment industry careers.
DMI alumni are well prepared for the technical, business, and legal issues that confront the practicing entertainment industry professional today and in the future.
To learn more about Delta State’s DMI Entertainment Industry Studies program, visit dmi.deltastate.edu or call (662) 846-4579.
