NSU’s music program takes a commercial focus

PHOTO BY MARLEE CARD
Bill Withem, assistant professor of commercial music, lectures on Logic Pro in his Intro to Music Production class.

NSU’s Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts has changed its Bachelor of Arts in Music degree to a Bachelor of Arts in Commercial Music, so students can work on building their careers.

Bill Adams, music and theatre program director and professor in DCMA, said the change reflects the need for students to understand how to market their skills and adapt to the modern music industry.

“They both make great music, but Beyoncé is a lot more popular than Itzhak Perlman,” Adams said of the violinist. “Whether you’re playing an instrument or writing music or working in a studio, the whole point is, ‘How are you gonna sell what it is that you do?’”

Adams said he hopes the official title change can clarify the program’s direction for incoming students.

“Before, when it was a B.A. in Music, people would get confused and think that they were going to come and play violin and be a part of a symphony,” Adams said. “And maybe they still could, but we see things from a commercial standpoint here.”

The name change comes with updated curriculum, such as courses focused on studio recording, post-production and songwriting.

“Some of the courses needed to be refreshed anyhow, so it was just a replacement with something which was more current and more applicable to students writing music,” Adams said. “A lot of it’s now focused around the creation of content as opposed to being all about performance.”

The original program’s inclusion of commercial music was a draw to students like Evangelina Valverde Bermudez, sophomore music major.

“I looked at a lot of universities, but I really built a connection. With Nova once I found out that it wasn’t just like, fine arts and classical music,” Valverde Bermudez said. “I fell in love with the fact that we also do commercial music, so now that it’s fully changing into commercial music, it’s even better for me.”

Valverde Bermudez, who writes and releases original songs, said she is looking forward to seeing how the new curriculum supports students working on personal projects.

“All the professors here have always been so open to listening to our ideas and what we want to do, so I hope they continue to encourage us and guide us so our individual projects succeed,” Valverde Bermudez said.

She said it is important that the program continues to support students’ personal artistic identities and cultural expression alongside the preparation for entering the industry.

“I’m Latina, so I’m always looking for a way to bring out my roots and do stuff in my own area,” Valverde Bermudez said. “It’s important to me that the program supports that side of my work, too.”