The MSLCE cohort was warmly greeted by a six-member team at the Chicago Humanities Festival offices last week. With the sound of hammering and drilling in the air, the Chicago Humanities Festival (CHF) is the definition of a vibrant and expanding arts nonprofit, full of impact and growth—literally! (more…)
From his school band program where he met the trumpet, to prestigious jazz degrees at Depaul University and Northwestern University, there is no question of the power of music over Orbert Davis’ life. He built his career path from a studio musician in the “jobbing” economy, to four successful business ventures, including Discover Music: Discover Life, Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, Chicago Immigrant Stories, and Chicago Jazz Academy. Mr. Davis visited the Revenue Strategies class, led by Professor Karen Gahl-Mills, to discuss the power of combining revenue strategies to create a successful business. (more…)
By Miya Williams Fayne
Unique DaCosta is interacting with music on a multitude of levels. She has a background in singing and is currently participating in the business side of the industry with like-minded people at Pandora. “The culture at Pandora is pretty awesome because everybody loves music and it’s a given,” she said. “It is such an integral part of what we do and how we operate here.” (more…)
by Thomas Wall
Have you ever been watching one of your favorite movies and noticed a kind of hidden message? Something subtle, and requiring knowledge of another film to understand? Perhaps something left just for you or like-minded fans? It can be a simple as an image of R2D2 showing up in Raiders of the Lost Ark or as subtle as the carpet from Toy Story having the same pattern as that from The Shining. These connections between two separate films are called “Easter eggs,” and one MSLCE student is working with one of their former professors to help track them all down. (more…)
By ALYSSA HOLCOMB
‘Tis the season to be applying… As the current MSLCE cohort inches closer and closer to summer internship season, the EPICS team has been hosting a series of events geared towards preparing students for interviews and beyond. A recent session, led by Associate Director of EPICS Jonah Zeiger, covered personal branding. More specifically, it covered branding on the LinkedIn platform and how to maximize its potential and utilize it for both professional and personal growth.
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As MSLCE students, we often have the opportunity to dive deeply into the inner workings of many different arts organizations. We look at them through various lenses and strive to understand how and why they achieve success (or don’t). (more…)
By Miya Williams Fayne
Elizabeth Carner fell in love with theatre when she was eight years old. She attended a performance of Peter Pan and was inspired to work in theatre one day. She recalled, “Peter Pan was the start of realizing that I wanted to inspire an audience, as a way to give back to the community.” (more…)
By Joshua Baggett
Despite it being an especially cold day in Evanston (the wind chill was a biting -7 below), several members of the current MSLCE cohort recently had the opportunity to broaden our entrepreneurial knowledge at Entrepreneurship 101. The MSLCE exclusive workshop was led by David Schonthal, who is a professor of innovation and entrepreneurship in the Kellogg School of Management as well as Senior Portfolio Director at the consultancy firm IDEO. Schonthal shared his wisdom on topics including business model generation, customer acquisition, and how to approach problems that arise when businesses are in the start-up phase. Special focus was given to creating and adapting the Osterwalder Business Model Canvas, which is a common strategy used across lines of business. (more…)
Theater number three in the historic Harper Theater, located off of Harper Avenue in Hyde Park, was filled to capacity a few weeks ago as an audience of community members, students, scholars, artists came together to see a free screening of the Emmy nominated documentary and Sundance Film Festival winner, American Promise. (more…)
by Thomas Wall
As graduate students, we are constantly seeking advice on how to advance our careers. But when that advice comes from an Emmy-winning film producer and CEO/Founder of her own media company, it carries a special weight. Thanks to the MSLCE program, we were granted the opportunity to meet, hear from, and most importantly learn from acclaimed filmmaker, businesswoman, and all-around trailblazer, Gigi Pritzker, on January 17th. (more…)
