The inaugural free program Sound Thinking NYC began its three-week summer intensive on July 9 with 40 female students from New York City's five boroughs who will be entering grades 11 and 12 next year. Based at City University of New York's Creative Arts Team, the pilot program selected its entering summer class from 85 applications.
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"The primary thing that we were looking for in the applicants was that they had a passion about learning more and demonstrated in their essays and answers that they could commit to exploring the world of music," said CUNY-CAT's Executive Director Dr. Jeanne Houck.
With visits to recording studios, panels of industry experts and leadership training filling their days through July 27, the program will continue to support these students after they return to school. It was inaugurated in partnership with NY Is Music and the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Masterclass with Zach Hancock @ Downtown Music Studios! It was a treat to host <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SoundThinkingNYC?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SoundThinkingNYC</a>, a free <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/musicbiz?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#musicbiz</a> edu + career-path program for high school women conceived by <a href="https://twitter.com/JKalifowitz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JKalifowitz</a>/<a href="https://twitter.com/NYISMUSIC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NYISMUSIC</a> with <a href="https://twitter.com/MadeinNY?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MadeinNY</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/cunycat74?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@cunycat74</a>.<br><br>Full story on <a href="https://twitter.com/billboard?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@billboard</a>. <a href="https://t.co/FwAOkNRyyE">https://t.co/FwAOkNRyyE</a> <a href="https://t.co/a6VyueKkpN">pic.twitter.com/a6VyueKkpN</a></p>— Downtown (@DMPGroup) <a href="https://twitter.com/DMPGroup/status/1019331132674990081?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 17, 2018</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Downtown Music Publishing CEO Justin Kalifowitz helped initiate the pilot program based on his previous experiences speaking to school groups.
"The kids were not particularly enthused and I got up there and started talking about the music business, and not only my job, but all of the other jobs that exist behind the scenes," he said. "I watched the kids' eyes light up. I probably spent an hour and a half answering questions. These were all high school juniors, seniors."
The experience inspired him to do something about it, and now the extended team of educators and music pros is making the behind-the-scenes jobs real with the first 40 motivated prospects.
"We think it's a great way to incubate that talent, which will create a real pipeline of women entering into the field," said Commissioner Julie Menin with the Mayor's office. The prospects for expansion are positive as well, with two summer intensives of 50 students each planned for next year.
