Welcome to the Music Business and Technology Portal at Millersville University!

A message from Dr. Jester, Director of the Music Business & Technology Program:  

During my second year at Millersville, I am excited about the changes happening in our department. Be sure to check back regularly for various updates, events, and performances. If you have questions about this program, please feel free to contact me or the music office to learn more. My contact information can be found on my faculty page. (Click here). Our program is growing by leaps and bounds as we have focused our attention on our students as Performers, Educators, and Entrepreneurs. In these troubling financial times, many people ask me "Why is your program special?" The answer? Because when our students graduate, they can be performers, recording engineers, business people, and have a skill set that prepares them for the world they are about to enter.

How, you ask? When students leave here, those who want to look for a traditional job do so with a high rate of success, but those who want to be actively working musicians - that is performing, teaching, and making opportunities for themselves - these students are also successful. These two are interchangeable. If a student doesn't get a traditional "job", they use the skills they've acquired to be an entrepreneur. The idea is that when you leave Millersville University after earning a degree in our program, you not only know how to be a great musician, you also have the tools to be able to "eat" at the end of the day. The hardest part is often the initial steps to booking the first gig, presenting the first concert, and even making the first "cold call." Once you have had a chance to try these first hand, the sky is the limit. My philosophy is to create an environment where students not only lean from reading and studying, but also by participating in hands-on learning projects.  By participating in these types of classes in a safe environment that school offers, the first steps are over. You have learned from the successes and failures, and each student participates in two internships in places of their choosing. 

Over the coming months the emphasis in this music department and the MB&T program is moving towards being one of the premier entrepreneurial arts universities in the country. Not only are we building an amazing new Visual and Performing Arts Center with cutting edge classroom space and recording facilities, we our building our program to graduate students that are well equipped for this dynamically changing age where the power is in the hands of the musicians once again.  

I encourage you to apply to join this selective group of students and join in the excitement. Our program is unique because the MB&T degree combines music performance with music business and recording technology within a liberal arts curriculum. Again, please feel free to contact me to learn more.

Best regards,

Dr. Jennifer Jester, Assistant Professor of Music

Director of the Music Business and Technology Program

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Overview:

Millersville University uniquely combines both recording and music business classes into one major.  Students in the MB&T program at Millersville University participate in the “Creative Campus” program as performers, entrepreneurs, and educators, and interact with visiting professionals, and participate in real-world projects. Millersville University offers a Bachelor of Arts Degree in music and liberal arts with music business and technologies and is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music. ALL students must play a principle instrument or sing and pass an audition before being allowed to enter the MB&T Degree Program.

Individualized Coursework

Music Business and Technology track majors combine courses from both the music and the business departments. The student majoring in professional music will enter into an advising relationship with departmental staff and designate of an area of concentration for major study and create individual plan for course work. The student will learn the skills, concepts, and methodologies necessary to develop proficiency in the designated area of concentration typical of that found in the professional music industry. Towards the end of the degree, students will complete a final project, a capstone experience with online portfolio documentation.

Music Business and Arts Administration

Millersville University offers classes which focus on both commercial and popular studies and arts administration studies.  Students will develop skills in areas such as contract negotiation, interpretation of copyright law, licensing agreements, concert promotion, grant proposal writing, events planning, fund raising, strategic planning, marketing, promotion, and professional communication.

Music Technology

Students in the MB&T program will create and produce recordings and successfully complete recording projects typical of those found in contemporary professional recording and production environments.

Internships

Students at Millersville University are required to experience two internships or co-ops. Students are encouraged to find a local internship and a national internship to broaden their spectrum of the music business. To learn more about internships and co-ops, view more...   

Our Facilities

CRIS (Computerized Recording Instructional Studio) Studio

ProTools Computer Lab - Stayer Hall 211

MB&T Courses - for detailed course descriptions, please see current MU catalog

Intro to Careers in Music (offered in Spring) - Instructor - Dr. Jester

Music Business for Classical Musicians (offered in Fall) - Instructor - Dr. Jester

Music Business for Popular Musicians (offered in Fall) - Instructor - Dr. Jester

Electronic Music - (offered in Fall) - Instructor - Dr. Jester

Advanced Recording Techniques - Instructor -Dr. Jester

Student Organizations

FDR - First Dimension Records - www.firstdimensionrecords.com