Spring has officially sprung, and Bradley’s music and entertainment industry (MEI) students are celebrating the turn of the season in style.
They invite the community to their spring concert, a free event set for Tuesday at the Dingledine Music Center.
As part of the MEI program, students take a Music Industry Practicum course, where they apply classroom knowledge to real-world projects. This concert serves as the culmination of their efforts, showcasing a variety of talents Bradley has to offer.
“We’ve got a lot more talent here than we realize,” Katie Luker, a junior MEI major, said. “It’s insane.”
Luker will perform a cover of Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club,” alongside a lineup featuring original music spanning multiple genres, choreographed dance numbers and a set from Bradley’s a cappella group, Dynamix.
“We’ve got everything from K-pop to heavy metal,” Luker said. “There’s got to be something for everyone; there’s just so much genre versatility.”
The students in charge orchestrated the concert by booking the acts, marketing the event and managing sound, lighting and staging.
“None of us have really done this before, so it’s been great to step out of our comfort zones and figure it out for ourselves … with our professor’s help, of course,” Elias Velazquez, a junior MEI major, said.
Guiding them through the process was Carl Anderson, associate chair of Bradley’s Department of Music, who spoke on the merits of Bradley’s MEI program.
“It prepares students to work in all aspects of the music industry without necessarily having to go through the traditional audition-based approach that a traditional music major would have,” Anderson said. “There are not a lot of schools that have this approach to that degree program.”
Bradley has the oldest music business program of any college in the nation, established in 1948. Anderson says the MEI major was created in 2015 to address a growing need.
“Ten years ago, we decided there was a part of the community that was unserved,” Anderson said.
The upcoming spring concert is a testament to the evolving program, and the students involved look forward to sharing their work with an audience.
“[When] you’ve been working really hard, it’s nice to see that other people have enjoyed it and the work paid off,” Luker said.
Doors at Dingledine open at 7 p.m., and performances begin at 7:30.
