Danielle “Queen D.â€� Scott performs for 2023 Berklee College of Music’s Opening Day – photo credit: Michael D. Spencer

Wanting to Take Your Passion for Hip-Hop Music to College?Ìı

While most college-level hip-hop programs focus on dance, more are starting to cater to musicians who want to find ways to incorporate it into their college and career plans. As Danielle “Queen D.â€� Scott, professor in the Ensemble Department specializing in hip-hop at Berklee College of Music, says, “Part of hip-hop culture is an emphasis on authenticity (‘realness’) which allows individuals to use hip-hop as an expression of their authentic selves.â€�Ìı

Hip-hop classes, minors, and certificate programs are showing up in schools throughout the world. Typically offered as a single class, a certificate program or as a minor, there are now a couple of U.S. schools offering hip-hop as an undergraduate major (Peabody Conservatory, Loyola University New Orleans).

The focus of hip-hop programs and courses vary, from performance to production to music education to songwriting. And there are also options for students who want to focus on the historical and cultural roots of hip-hop; on the stylistic differences throughout the world; or on sociopolitical relevance and impact.Ìı

Why Study Hip-Hop in College?

Studying hip-hop on the college level may provide fundamental education about the political, cultural, and historical roots of hip-hop. It can also offer hands-on experience in music production and audio technology.Ìı According to Dr. Melvin Earl Villaver, Jr., former assistant professor of Audio Technology and Global Black Studies at Clemson University, “Colleges offer access to equipment, mentorship, and community that might be out of reach otherwise. It’s a structured entry point into a complex, living culture.â€�

Studying hip-hop in college also helps legitimize the genre and its impact. “When universities treat it as a serious subject of study—with dedicated courses, professors, and research—that sends a message: hip-hop matters,� says Villaver. “This shift opens doors for people outside the culture to engage with it responsibly and can lead to wider recognition of hip-hop’s intellectual, artistic, and political contributions. For those of us teaching it, the goal is to preserve and expand the culture with integrity.�

Dr. Melvin Earl Villaver, Jr. performing at Purdue University, 2021

Areas of Concentration

The focus of college hip-hop programs varies. Which school you choose depends on the skills you want and need to learn:

• Music production skills – songwriting, arranging, beat-making, turntablism, DJing. Traditional and creative contemporary innovations.

• Audio technology skills – recording, mixing, mastering, sampling (reusing part of a sound recording in another recording).

Ìı• Academic focus on culture and history – the sociopolitical relevance of hip-hop, exploring the historical, cultural, and political roots of hip-hop and understanding hip-hop as a form of community building, identity formation, protest.Ìı

• Music education – hip-hop for classroom teaching including teaching neurodivergent populations.

Music Education Degrees and Hip-Hop

“Traditional music education often centers on European forms,� says Villaver. “Including hip-hop challenges that, by broadening the curriculum and reflecting the cultural reality of students today. Hip-hop is deeply connected to Black American roots music—blues, jazz, gospel, funk, rock—and brings these traditions into the present.�

Dr. José Valentino Ruiz, a multi-instrumentalist, producer and composer with four Latin GRAMMY wins, is a big proponent of incorporating hip-hop into the curriculum for Music Education majors. “By studying its history—how it grew from marginalized voices to a global movement—you learn to approach teaching with respect for your students’ backgrounds,â€� he says. “This is critical in diverse classrooms where kids bring a mix of cultures and experiences. Hip-hop lets you center their stories, using their music and references as a starting point instead of forcing a one-size-fits-all approach.â€�Ìı

Ruiz sees hip-hop as “a vital skillset for future teachers, especially if you’re headed for public schools, special education, or urban and suburban districts.â€� Ìı

In his work in higher education, Ruiz has found hands-on training essential. “Imagine taking a workshop on using digital audio workstations (DAWs) to make beats or learning how to facilitate a rap cypher,â€� he says. “These skills let you bring hip-hop into your classroom authentically. Colleges also need to hire faculty who know hip-hop pedagogy inside and out, so you’re learning from people who’ve lived it.â€�Ìı

Ruiz encourages prospective music teachers to learn the following hip-hop skills as teaching tools:

• Beatboxing (vocal percussion using the mouth, lips, tongue, voice)

• Lyric pedagogy (encouraging creative/personal expression raps)

• Cypher circles (taking turns sharing spoken word, rap or poetry)

Hip-Hop and Neurodivergent Students

Andrew Wang is a Yonkers, New York music educator who works with students with disabilities. Wang, a.k.a. Mr. Hip-Hop, discovered beatboxing while growing up as a way of dealing with a speech impediment and his own neurodivergent issues. Now, with a master’s degree in Music Education, Wang is considered a leading pioneer of hip-hop and neurodivergence. Along with José Valentino Ruiz, he has authored numerous articles focusing on the value of hip-hop for students struggling with ADHD, dyslexia, and other attention/literacy challenges.Ìı

In a presentation Wang and Ruiz did for NAfME (National Association for Music Education), they shared the following:

• • Hip-hop beats incorporate rhythm into note-taking, brainstorming, or movement-based activities.

• • Lyric deconstructionÌımakes literacy more intuitive and engaging.

• • Student-created rap versesÌıfacilitate learning in a variety of school subjects including history, science, and math.

They also describe hip-hop as a way to reach and support students on the autism spectrum who may excel with oral rather than written expression. “Hip-hop’s cypher culture, where individuals take turns freestyling (spontaneous rapping) in a circle, provides a structured yet fluid space for expressive communication,� they explain.

For anyone doubting the relevance of hip-hop in the classroom, listen to Wang and Ruiz : “Hip-hop is not just a genre—it’s a pedagogical tool that empowers neurodivergent learners through engagement, self-expression, and cognitive development. By embracing hip-hop as a legitimate form of music education, we can create inclusive, culturally-relevant learning environments that validate the diverse ways students process information.�

Wendel Patrick (center, arms folded) with Peabody’s Hip-Hop Ensemble – Photo credit: Michael Ciesielski for Peabody Conservatory

Careers and Hip-Hop

What’s the value of studying hip-hop in college?Ìı

According to Wendel Patrick, award-winning composer, producer, beatmaker, jazz pianist and head of Peabody Conservatory’s hip-hop undergraduate degree program, “There are exquisite musicians of all genres that don’t have degrees, and there is not a direct correlation between having the degree and being a performer—but that doesn’t make having a degree any less valuable.â€� Patrick, who has an M.M. in Piano Performance, sees studying hip-hop in college as “an opportunity for skilled students to learn from extremely skilled practitioners who can share insights into how to do what they do better, while being in a community of other artists and having access to resources like recording equipment, state-of-the-art recording studios, and hundreds of some of the finest young musicians in the country.â€� Patrick believes these experiences and opportunities will prove invaluable once students graduate and move on in their chosen careers.Ìı

Finding opportunities to gain hands-on experience is as vital in hip-hop as it is in any area of music. Consider collaborating with dancers, visual artists, filmmakers, and poets. Reach out to those teaching hip-hop classes for opportunities and ideas.Ìı

Melvin Villaver sees a varety of career paths open to those with experience in hip-hop.Ìı “Some go on to make music, perform, or produce,â€� he offers. “Others find work running live sound at venues, operating recording studios, or doing audio for houses of worship. Students also pivot into adjacent fields like journalism, podcasting, music education, law, or business. The skills they gain —technical, collaborative, creative — prepare them to navigate multiple industries.â€�

Danielle “Queen D.� Scott at Berklee suggests utilizing college job boards, job fairs and the school career center to scope out options. “With hip-hop being a part of pop culture infiltrating all types of music and music-related industries, I believe many industry internships will have some interaction with hip-hop in some form,� she predicts.

And for anyone interested in a career as a K-12 or special education music teacher, a background in hip-hop will be indispensable, as this article points out.Ìı

By Barbra Weidlein, co-founder and director of »Æ¹Ïapp

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Resources

Popular music has been gaining recognition as an essential element of music education training.

According to Bryan Powell, Chief Program Officer at Music Will (see below), traditional school music programs work for approximately only 20% of K-12 students. For music education to be more accessible to the other 80%, additional strategies are essential.

“Alternative approaches to teaching music are invaluable for teachers of this generation because we are faced with the task of upholding traditions of music education while at the same time piquing the interest of a new generation of students,� says Kaelynn Newton, B.M., Music Education, Choral-Vocal Music, California State University, Long Beach (’15). “Emerging Methods� is a class she took in college with Dr. Dan Zanutto to introduce prospective teachers to popular music styles, instruments, and techniques. “Even as a teacher of a traditional ensemble such as band, orchestra, or choir, techniques of popular music education can be employed to meet students in a place where they are more comfortable and willing to learn. An example of this would be doing rhythmic warm ups with a classical choir using a cell phone drum machine app that you can easily hook up to classroom speakers. This training also gives a teacher the option to offer to teach alternate ensembles such as rock, folk, mariachi, steel pan, etc. and utilize materials available to them if the resources are not available to support a traditional band.�

Radio Cremata, assistant professor of Music Education at , is committed to ensuring that music education is universally available. As a “teacher of teachers,� he says that prospective music educators need more than traditional conducting and general music in their music education training. “Experience in planning and teaching popular music in collaborative student-led music settings,� is also essential, he says.

In his research and teaching, Cremata focuses on music technology as a “familiar digital platform� from which children can explore their ideas. Music educators should be effective in a variety of inclusive contexts, he says. They “need to know how to navigate things like sound systems, recording, technology, iPads, drum sets, drum machines, guitars, and basses. They also need experiences in facilitating songwriting and other negotiated creative learning environments.�

Landing a job

Nathan Phung, B.M., Music Education & Piano Performance, California State University, Long Beach (’13), is convinced his background and experience in popular music helped him land a high school instrumental teaching job in San Bernardino, California. He currently teaches two string orchestras, two bands, and a percussion class. And he’s in charge of the marching, jazz, and pep bands in addition to coordinating the winter percussion ensembles.

The Emerging Methods music education course at Cal State Long Beach provided Phung with popular music pedagogical training. Student teaching in the Music, Media & Entertainment Technology program at Huntington Beach High School in Orange County, California gave him hands-on experience. He credits both for equipping him with the “open-mindedness and tenacity� necessary for getting hired and becoming successful at his job.

Phung sees himself “providing a perspective of practicality and industry experience, plus encouragement and validation for students who listen to and love alternative music styles.�

His background as a gigging ska, reggae and punk rock musician – the music he grew up listening to – has been invaluable. “My whole experience as a popular music performer provides me an outlet, and I feel that this outlet is something I can share with teenagers and adolescents as they go through a time in their life where they’re learning to deal with new emotions and might be dealing with their first major life struggles,� he says.

How to learn more

The hosts an annual conference in June that brings together college music faculty, K-12 music teachers, and others interested in sharing best practices for including popular music in the K-12 as well as college music education curricula. High school bands are invited to perform and receive songwriting and other training from faculty of college popular music and music industry programs.

(IASPM) was founded in 1981 and advocates for popular music “inquiry, scholarship and analysis.� Conferences, research, and publications are the major areas of focus to “advance an understanding of popular music and the processes involved in its production and consumption.�

provides access to music education to over a million students who might not have otherwise had access in their schools. These programs teach students popular genres such as rock, pop, R&B, Latin, rap, and country, along with styles found in typical school programs such as classical and jazz.

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Photo:ÌıMusic, Media & Entertainment Technology program at Huntington Beach High School (CA)

Students in the Bruce Hornsby Creative American Music Program at University of Miami Frost School of Music

Creating Your Own Career in Popular Music

What kind of a career in popular music can music majors hope to attain? David Fish, Catawba’s music department chair, sees success in popular music as having a lot to do with creating your own opportunities. He tells his students that careers are “you-shaped” and that “hardly any two careers look anything alike.” He reminds students that it takes time to build a career, and that their goal should be to consider what they can do to be successful not just in the short-term but also “thirty years from now.” That takes musical depth and breadth, he adds, as well as developing the kinds of musical skills that will draw other musicians to want to perform with you. “It’s not about how fast you play, or how many notes you can play; it’s not like gymnastics. Developing an artistic voice that others will want to be able to play with is what you are looking to do,” he stresses.

Chris Sampson atÌıÌısays that a career in popular music is “fundamentally entrepreneurial.” According to Sampson, “Career opportunities are created by individuals to meet a specific need in the industry –– nothing will simply come to you…careers are often the result of bringing together a network of people from various disciplines – business people, other performers, engineers, music supervisors, performing rights organizations, etc.ÌıFormer students who have taken this approach have enjoyed wide-ranging career opportunities as performing musicians, publishers, producers, music supervisors in film/television, engineers, media developers, songwriters, arrangers –– and, in some cases, a little bit of everything!”

Students at some of the schools represented in the Association of Popular Music (APME) begin their career orientation as up and coming artists as soon as they enter college. At Berklee College of Music, freshmen take an artistry seminar in their first semester, says Darla Hanley, dean of Professional Education. They learn about sustaining a career and surviving financially as an artist. They also explore who they want to emulate and learn from, as well as where they fit in their artistry.

The Case for Music Internships

Ìıare essential for developing a viable career in popular music. Reynaldo Sanchez, chair of the Music Media & Industry Program at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music, coordinates the Bruce Hornsby Creative American Music Program there. He says that music schools need to prepare students for what they’ll be able to do when they graduate, to eliminate the element of surprise. Sanchez sees internships as essential for providing on-the-job-training and for opening doors to strategic career opportunities.

Jeffrey Rabhan at NYU Tisch School of the Arts agrees that internships are instrumental in paving the way for jobs in the popular music field. “Students must take an active role in building their careers while they are still in school,” he emphasizes. “They can no longer wait to graduate and send out résumés.”

Networking is Essential!

Steve Lipman, contemporary music education consultant and former assistant vice-president for student affairs at Berklee College of Music, sees networking as vital to the world of popular or commercial music. “Who you know is often the difference between working and not working,� he says. “Therefore, does your college of choice provide a wide network of students and student interests? Does the faculty have experience in the fields you are interested in? Do they regularly invite well-known visiting artists to lecture and offer students advice and the opportunity to perform alongside them? Many a student has gotten their first gig backing an artist who first heard them in a college setting.�

Lipman encourages students to explore various clubs and organizations on campus as “another way to network, gain knowledge, and obtain experience in a field of your choice and with people you will want to know. You are bound to run across some of these same students as your career develops.� Students may discover everything from technology, songwriting, and recording clubs to music organizations with a strong outreach component, entrepreneur organizations, and social media meet-up groups. They may also find that some schools will provide start-up support, including limited funding, for developing a new club that has enough student appeal.

Another networking strategy Lipman urges students to follow is to “attend professional conferences and meetings hosted by the leading organizations and associations representing your field of interest (e.g.,NAfME, JEN, SXSW, MIDEM, MEIA, NAMM, NARM, ASCAP EXPO).

By 8th grade, Karin Divya Maus was already demonstrating a vocal range, capacity for belting, and stage presence that clearly identified her as a force to be reckoned with. This risingÌıÌıjunior now envisions a career as a singer/songwriter that includes writing, arranging, and composing for other musicians, and in a variety of styles.

Divya grew up playing the violin and cello, in a household where classical instrumental music dominated. She spent the first part of her life in India, England, and Germany before moving with her family to the U.S. (Colorado)Ìı at age twelve.

Degree Switch: Bachelor of Music (BM) to Bachelor of Arts (BA)

As a freshman in the Popular Music Performance Program at USC, Divya immersed herself in all the required aspects of performance, aural skills, recording, and music business. But her penchant for languages (she’s already trilingual in English, German, and French and is now studying Russian as well) and desire for more breadth in her choice of classes (including orchestration and conducting) led her to switch to the BA in music.

Songwriting Opportunity

Divya was selected from a highly competitive pool of applicants deemed to be the nation’s “most promising songwriters across all genres,” to participate in the 2011Ìı, a joint effort of the Johnny Mercer Foundation and the American Music Theatre Project at Northwestern University. Two dozen songwriters, ages 16 – 30, spent a week focusing on their area of emphasis (musical theatre, pop, rock, country, jazz, or contemporary pop).

As with other summer music programs, the Songwriter’s Project gives participants the gift of time needed to dive into their pursuits without the typical schedule conflicts they face throughout the rest of the year.

Divya flourished in the master classes and workshops offered to Mercer songwriters. She reveled in spending an entire day totally absorbed in songwriting, and welcomed the abundance of individualized attention from a faculty of nationally-acclaimed songwriters and performers. She describes the Songwriter’s Project as “immensely supportive and musically affirming” and “great for one’s self-esteem.”

Building a Career in Music

Divya has been amassing performance, songwriting, and arranging experience since her freshman year. She sings alto and does some arranging for USC’s a cappella group, Reverse Osmosis. She was chosen to sing at the annual Charles Dickens Dinner that supports music scholarships at USC, where singer/songwriter Richard Carpenter was honored. At the January 2012ÌıNAMMÌıshow in Anaheim, she sang backup with a friend from the Songwriter’s Project who had just won the John Lennon Songwriting Contest.

Divya has also performed as a singer/songwriter at the Grammy Museum in downtown Los Angeles with students from the USC Thornton Popular Music Performance Program, as well as at coffeehouses and performance halls around campus.

Travel has always been a significant part of her family life, and that’s reflected in Divya’s world view as well as her belief that “staying in one place too long results in creativity stagnating.” She’s returning to France in the summer of 2012 to participate in an immersion program. Her goal is to build upon a fluency that has already led to songwriting in French, a language she describes as “whimsical, playful, and not overly pretentious.”

Suggestions for Aspiring Singer/Songwriters

Divya recommends the following to anyone interested in a career as a singer/songwriter:

• Strengthen your music theory and aural skills, as well as your instincts, in order to be able to find your niche.
• Learn to use Sibelius, the music composition and notation software.
• Keep performing!
• Develop a large skill set that includes keyboard and rhythm proficiency. Singers need solid instrumental performance skills in addition to their vocal chops.
• Learn how to convey the meaning of the lyrics with your physical movements.
• If you don’t get what you want, at least learn how to ask for what you need.
• Develop other interests. Non-music-related experience and knowledge inform and enhance your music.
• Learn to balance your music with other aspects of your life. Include healthy and thriving relationships. Exercise! Take care of your health.

Career Prospects for Singer/Songwriters

According to Divya, the phrase “It’s awful out there” has become an expected description of what it’s like to try to work in her field. She knows that carving a niche for herself as a singer/songwriter will not be an easy path. Yet she’s compelled to move forward in this direction. She reflects upon the mixed message of having a “back up plan” that many music school students get from their parents and teachers. On the one hand, she feels that developing a “fall back” career reflects less than full commitment to life as a musician. On the other hand, she also recognizes that she may need to take a job that isn’t music-related, until she can find her way into a viable singer/songwriting career. Her facility with languages offers Divya an obvious and realistic alternative path she may need or want to pursue.

How would I feel if my student or son or daughter wanted to major in popular music in college? I found myself asking this question at the 2nd Annual Conference of theÌıÌıheld in Nashville, Tennessee in June, 2012. As a long day unfolded, full of presentations and informal meetings, I wanted to understand more about what schools are offering students who want to go to college to study popular music. And I wanted to know more about the educators who are leaders in this field.

Approximately two dozen highly educated and interesting professors, administrators, and consultants from across the country, most of whom are also accomplished musicians, gathered for the meeting. Most were board members of APME. A few, like myself, were invited guests. What struck me most was the overarching passion and drive, exhibited by everyone in the room, to legitimize popular music as a field of study every bit as important and worthy of focus as any other genre.

APME is a comparatively new organization whose mission is “to promote and advance popular music at all levels of education both in the classroom and beyond.� Indeed, its board members showed themselves to be the right folks to spearhead this effort. Their conference sessions addressed some of the academic and administrative issues and challenges for moving popular music forward as a major field of study, including assessment and career development. The depth and breadth of their research was substantial. Their understanding of the roots of popular music, music theory, and the development of musicianship was extensive.

What About Music Career Development?

The popular music educators and administrators I met at APME are committed to facilitating their students’ ability to work in the music field. Career development is a major area of focus. Since most APME board members have been or still are active musicians, they know what it takes to have a viable career in music. InÌıÌıAPME chair Chris Sampson, founding director and associate dean of the popular music program at theÌıÌıand professor of songwriting, said that careers in popular music are “essentially entrepreneurial…nothing will simply come to you…careers are often the result of bringing together a network of people from various disciplines –– business people, other performers, engineers, music supervisors, performing rights organizations, etc.â€�

How are schools offering popular music as a major addressing the career aspects? I found the current APME board members who work as professors to be deeply committed to helping their students learn what it takes to establish themselves as professionals in the music world. Their programs are designed so that students get a strong grounding on their instrument, in music theory and history, as well as in various aspects of successful performance and touring. Since popular music is such a collaborative process, it’s essential that students gain as much exposure as possible to the singer/songwriter, sound, lighting, and supervision components. They also need a grasp of the business and legal aspects of being successful in the popular music field.

While some young folks find a way to succeed in popular music without going to college to major in music, most need the training, experience, and safety net that good popular music programs are designed to include. The schools open the doors to internships and provide access to networks that are difficult to find on one’s own. In music (as in most every field these days), knowing how and with whom to network is the key that unlocks all the important doors.

Final Thoughts

Back to my original question: How would I feel if my student or son or daughter wanted to major in popular music in college?

I’d feel fine, especially if he or she went to a school where APME members are hard at work to ensure both a solid education as well as the kind of career development support
required for success.

Figuring out where to study popular music can be confusing. This relatively new field may be housed within music industry, music technology, commercial or contemporary music, or songwriting programs. At a few schools, it’s a distinct major unto itself, while at Berklee College of Music, popular music is integrated within every major offered.

One thing is clear: studying popular music on the college level is a growing trend. In the rapidly evolving world of music, it’s a challenge to meet the needs of students and faculty, relates Jeffrey Rabhan, chair of the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music* at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. In response, faculty and staff at ten college-level music schools have recently formed the Association of Popular Music Education (APME), to lend credence and visibility to the study of popular music. Their goal as an organization is to “seek educational opportunities for teachers and students” as well as to “develop innovative ways to create, perform, and teach popular music,” says Chris Sampson, APME chair and founding director and associate dean of the Popular Music Program at the . Membership opportunities will be open to anyone with a vested interested in popular music once the association receives its non-profit status.

What’s Does a Popular Music Major Study?

According to Sampson, there are typically seven basic components to most popular music curricula. The specifics will vary from school to school but areas of study will likely include performance*, a creative component, technology, music business, music theory, music history, and liberal arts classes.

1. Performance

Sampson states that being part of a band and “interacting with other musicians is at the heart of developing skills for the popular musician.” He elaborates, “Ensembles that develop understanding and skills in rock, R&B, country, blues, fusion, funk, alt-styles, etc. are becoming more available in institutions.ÌıThese opportunities allow students to understand the nuances of various genres, tone production, and stage deportment.ÌıThey also address the specific ensemble challenges of effectively working in an amplified environment. In addition to a diverse ensemble experience, individual instruction (one-on-one lessons with a professor) are also important in developing the facility and artistic abilities on one’s instrument and/or voice.ÌıFinally, programs should offer a wide range of performance opportunities –– there is no substitute for progressing one’s skills then to get on a stage regularly in front of an audience.”

2. Creative

From the creative standpoint, Sampson sees popular music as “a living, breathing entity where new repertoire, performance techniques, and technological applications are central to the experience.” He goes on to say, “Many programs integrate songwriting, arranging, and production instruction to promote and integrate creative works from the students.”

3. Technology

“An understanding of the technological applications of music making is essential to popular musicians,” says Sampson.Ìı“Digital recording, live technology applications, and digital distribution, among other things, will become the tool box of these musicians.”

4. Music Business

According to David Fish, music department chair at Catawba College and the impetus behind Catawba’s popular music concentration, the how-to’s of building a career are essential aspects of the curriculum. Fish underscores the importance of including pre-professional academic as well as experiential opportunities. Chris Sampson at USC emphasizes the need to introduce popular music majors to relevant publishing, marketing, music contract negotiations, and relevant legal concepts. He says, “The successful musician will understand, navigate and leverage this information to their benefit.”

5. Music Theory

As in any area of music, a solid background in music theory and aural skills is critical. Sampson encourages students to include “classes (arranging, harmony, etc.) specific to popular music, as there are voicings, rhythmic elements and practices specific to the field.”

6. Music History

Understanding pop music within a larger historical and cultural context is important. It brings depth and perspective to performance, business, and communication, and gives popular music the serious consideration it deserves.

7. Liberal Arts

Liberal arts classes are sometimes thought of as irrelevant by students. According to Chris Sampson, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. “Popular musicians often seek to connect with many people through their music,” he says. “How better to connect with these people than by better understanding the world around you?”

Jeffrey Rabhan at NYU concurs. “Students need to become citizens of the world because this is an arena that knows no boundaries,” he says. He recommends for this purpose, where students study everything but music so they can round out who they are as people.

*NYU’s program, housed in the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, is a non-performance major.

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Top Photo: The Catawba College Vernaculars performing the Beatles Abbey Road album live at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City’s Times Square.