This marks the second in the series of The
Lookout’s online profiles.
This week, Associate Editor Rich
Tupica sat down with
César
Potes to
talk about how to become a musical success with a degree from
LCC.
What do
most students study in the music program? What career are
they working towards?
We offer Associate
of Applied Arts degrees in Music, Commercial Music, and
Music Management.
The Music degree is geared towards students whose goal is to
transfer to a four-year college or university. LCC graduates
have chosen a career in disciplines such as Music Education,
Music Therapy, Jazz Studies, Performance, History, Theory,
and Composition.
Students in the Commercial
Music degree typically pursue a career in the pop music
industry, transferring to places such as the Berkeley College of
Music in Boston. It is important to note that LCC is the only
college in the state of Michigan that offers a degree in
Commercial Music.
Finally, the Music Management
degree is very popular among students who are interested in
music production, band management, and the music retail
industry.
Currently, students pursuing
any of the three associates degrees are able to earn a
certificate of Achievement in Musicianship Studies or Music
Technologies after completing the first year of their course
requirements. This is really a wonderful opportunity to earn a
credential that can be of great help in the job market, and that
we encourage students to grab.
How many
students are in the program?
This is a very good
question, because it is directly related to the work we do in
the Music Program addressing the needs of the different types of
students we have. As you already know, our courses are part of a
transfer, commercial and music management curricula pursued by
students who want to major in music. However, for the campus
community, we offer courses that satisfy MACRAO transferring
requirements and CORE (MUSC 199, 240 and 241). Community members
also benefit from a great variety of classes dealing with
instrumental instruction including piano, voice, guitar, and
music technologies (MUSC 144, 155, 182, 188, 197, 298 & 270).
Also, any student interested in performing in one of our six
ensembles can do so by following an audition process and paying
only for 1 credit through the LCC Extension and Community
Education program. Then, to answer your question, we currently
have 51 music majors taking applied and private instrumental
lessons as part of their course requirements, and about 300
students in total.
How much
musical equipment and instruments does the program have, or
offer for use of the students?
We have eight
practice rooms equipped with a variety of instruments including
pianos, drum sets and other percussion instruments. We have a
digital piano Lab with 16 Yamaha instruments, where the class
piano courses are taught and where students can also practice.
We also have a state of the art electronic music Lab with 13
stations consisting of MIDI keyboards and computers running
professional MIDI/audio software, and our students have access
to the main recording Lab facilities of the MTEC program held in
the TLC building. Students are also allowed to use the
instruments available in our main classrooms located in the Dart
and Gannon buildings.
Where have some
of the past LCC Music students been employed after they
graduate?
A good percentage
of our music students transfer to another institution. Recent
LCC graduates are currently pursuing Bachelor degrees in places
such as Columbia College in Chicago, the University of
Minnesota, Western, Central, and Eastern Michigan University,
Wayne State and Michigan State University, and Olivet College.
Among the jobs held by some of our Music Management majors we
can mention the Sweetwater and Marshall Music retail music
stores, and independent recording studios.
What is the
best part about working in the music department?
Working in the
music department has several advantages, for me having mainly to
do with my colleagues? Professional level and the talent found
among the students. These two attributes make possible the
continued development and growth of the music program at large,
area by area.
How long have
you been working at LCC
I have been working
at LCC since 2001.
How has the
music dept. changed in the past 10 years?
I
have only been witness of the changes experienced during half of
that time, and I can mention the growth in facilities including
practice and class rooms, rehearsal spaces, and the new enlarged
computer music lab. Academically, we have been working on
strengthening the relationship between courses in different
areas of our curriculum, taking the performance aspect as the
point of convergence for the musicianship skills that form the
core of our degrees requirements. We are also developing
collaborations with other programs and divisions, particularly
in the domain of music and media technologies.
What are some
of the major happenings in the music department? Any shows etc.?
Each of our vocal
and instrumental groups, the Concert Choir, LanSwingers, Lansing
Concert Band, Percussion, Guitar, and Jazz Ensembles, gets to
play two concerts every semester, towards the middle and the end
of each term. In the Fall semester, the first music show is the
Soundscapes concert, in which we feature all our ensembles
collectively, as well as individual talent including students
and faculty alike. On top of that, we have a Music Theater
performance every Spring semester done by students of the Music
Scenes class, and a jazz concert every semester by the LCC
Faculty Jazz Combo. Other extemporaneous events featuring
faculty and students, including work done in the Electronic and
Computer Music area of the Music program, contribute to the
vibrant musical life of our community.
What is some
advice you would give a student who wants to enroll in the music
department?
Check out the
concerts offered each semester to become familiar with the
quality of the musical work done in our program, look into the
different classes offered that satisfy MACRAO and CORE
requirements or that would address your interest in a particular
instrument, and most importantly, contact me without hesitation
at 483-1469 or
potesc@lcc.edu.
What is your
favorite kind of music?
As a music instructor I have learned
to appreciate and like all the types of music that the students
get to work on, as it is through that music that I become
familiar with the students? progress. However, in my own leisure
time my inclination is to listen to new music created by
composers currently alive.
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