Providing a musical complement to Lawrence University’s successful LU-R1 student science research initiative, the president’s office, in conjunction with the conservatory of music, is launching a new summer internship program specifically for conservatory students.
Known as “Conservatory² — Grow Your Music Career Exponentially,” the program will begin this summer with eight internship opportunities designed to encourage student thinking about how a music degree can lead to success in a variety of career fields after graduation.
“This groundbreaking program will provide opportunities that will expand our students’ musical lives, and in some cases, open our students’ minds to completely new career pathways in music,” said Brian Pertl, dean of the conservatory.
Conservatory² is designed to jump start “life after Lawrence NOW!” by providing a summer experience that both complements and accelerates each student’s education while offering substantial career experience and networking opportunities.
Conservatory students participating in the program will be selected though a competitive application process, placed in prearranged internships and awarded a university grant to assist with their expenses.
Inspired by a $25,000 gift from the Olga Herberg Administrative Trust to support arts programming and guided by student concerns raised last year regarding the college’s new 10-year strategic plan, Lawrence President Jill Beck used the gift to create Conservatory².
“Student feedback on the recent Strategic Plan asked that Lawrence expand LU-R1 opportunities into areas beyond the sciences,” said Beck. “Katelin Richter has worked with me this year as presidential intern to do just that: to take the LU-R1 model and replicate it in the conservatory for the benefit of music majors. In future years, I hope that this expansion will include the social sciences and humanities, if student and faculty demand is there. In the meantime, the summer internship opportunities that Katelin has created will add greatly to students’ experience, learning, and ability to bridge from college to career or graduate school.”
The eight available internship positions for the summer of 2012 include an array of prominent employers and alumni at organizations both in the United States and abroad:
• Saxophonist Javier Arau ’98 of the New York Jazz Academy offers a summer-long internship at New York’s fastest growing music school. Arau will integrate the student intern directly into his administration and engage them in strategic planning for his expanding organization. The student will gain exposure to summer jazz workshops and have the possibility of assistant teaching.
• The Deep Listening Institute in Kingston, N.Y., under the supervision of composer Pauline Oliveros and other DLI staff, offers an internship opportunity tailored to the student’s specific interests in deep listening philosophy. The internship could include: assembling a book of Oliveros’ pieces, archiving recordings, managing the website, doing computer programming, writing grants, assisting with the Adaptive Use Musical Instruments Program for people with disabilities, developing a networking system for DLI-certified instructors, as well as gaining exposure to Oliveros’ summer intensive Deep Listening Workshops. DLI’s office has a performance and recording studio, which could provide a venue for the student’s work.
• Olivera Music Entertainment is a full-service entertainment and talent booking agency that provides professional music entertainment production in the Washington D.C. area. The student will work with co-owner Connie Trok Olivera ’82, who has used her music education degree to produce and perform entertainment for prominent guests, including President Obama. The internship will provide start-to-finish production experience, as well as special projects, such as developing a marketing strategy to target younger demographics and selecting and arranging repertoire per client requests.
• Oberlin Conservatory has partnered with Lawrence to offer internships in two of its summer programs: the Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute and Oberlin in Italy. The Baroque Institute internship combines experience in festival administration with full participation in the annual festival. Oberlin in Italy offers two exciting performance opportunities for qualified students in two of three areas: vocal performance, stage direction or rehearsal accompanying in the beautiful city of Arezzo, Italy.
• Beth Snodgrass ’93 will oversee the Carnegie Hall Community Programs internship in New York City. The position will provide general assistance and administrative support for the Community Programs team in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute, the education and community arm of one of the leading music presenters in the world. The intern will work with a dedicated staff to help prepare for the 2012-2013 season which will include more than 100 events across three different programs – the Neighborhood Concert Series, the McGraw-Hill Companies CarnegieKids and Musical Connections. These programs provide free, quality music programming featuring first-class musicians from all over the world. The intern will contribute to a team focused on providing quality community engagement events through exceptional artistic programming, production, artist professional development, strategic marketing and rigorous program assessment.
• Beit Yehuda Guest House Amphitheatre in Israel offers a student internship managing the hotel’s offerings of plays and concerts. Nestled among the foothills of Givat Massuah, the facility is a short drive from Jerusalem’s city center.
“This program is a perfect complement to our course offering in entrepreneurship and our Lawrence Scholars in Arts and Entertainment program, which brings successful alumni back to Lawrence to work with and inspire our students,” said Pertl. “Now Conservatory² will allow our students to leave campus, and through their hard work, inspire our alumni. We are starting with eight fantastic internships, and there is a potential to grow the program substantially. I look forward to watching Conservatory² become a signature program for our conservatory.”
For additional information on eligibility and application requirements, grant allotments and how to apply, visit www.lawrence.edu/conservatory/squared/ or follow Conservatory² on Facebook. Deadline for applications is February 15, 2012.
About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. Ranked among America’s best colleges, it was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,445 students from 44 states and 35 countries. For more information visit www.lawrence.edu or follow us on Facebook.
