As seen in the Washington Square News.
Many awesome things come in the smallest of packages – iPods, condoms and Ferraro Rocher candies, for instance. Also included in this list of tiny wonders is the Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music, a two-year old program where just 55 students are currently preparing for careers in the music recording industry.
From learning the technical aspects of production to the artistic methods of music creation, students in the department work directly with star-studded professors. Students also spend at least one day a week in the department’s specially-built recording studio, working on class-related projects.
With only 24 students accepted into the department every year, Clive Davis is a close-knit program where students get more attention from their professors than in other departments with hundreds of students. But like any burgeoning program, the Clive Davis department is not without its difficulties.
“The studio wasn’t built for four months until after we got here,” Clive Davis sophomore Sam Jones said. “It’s a developing process.”
Recorded music students are enthusiastic about the networking opportunities and uncommon education, but are less enthused about their roles as program guinea pigs.
“I think it’s something that nobody knew what to expect,” Jones said. “We all went in blind.”
The program, named after former Columbia Records CEO and legendary producer Clive Davis, focuses not only on teaching students the technical and creative aspects of music making, but also offers classes on how to run recording labels and manage musicians.
The curriculum – the first to combine so many aspects of the music industry at NYU – comes with a small price: sharing the department’s state-of-the-art recording studio with the other recorded music students.
“I think we are behind in one area: facilities,” said Nicholas Sansano, who teaches music production to second-year students. “We do not have enough studio space to accommodate three years worth of students.”
Each student in the department is required to take a music production course where they work in the studio once a week. Beyond that, students must sign up for more studio time and all projects must be class-related, said Jason King, a founder and chair of the department.
Though space is a concern, students say that the unique opportunities offered by the department have been significantly bolstered since the program’s inception.
“This year it’s meeting my needs much more than last year,” Jones said. “The curriculum was restructured this year. They’ve been able to sit back and go, ‘This works, and this doesn’t.’ ”
Professors said they are excited to offer new classes to incoming students of the program.
“We are constantly adding unique classes, such as the punk class with Vivien Goldman, the artists and audiences class with Robert Christgau and booking music industry guests,” Sansano said. “There will always be something challenging and engaging for our students to dive into.”
The list of professors teaching in the Clive Davis department adds credence to the axiom: Practice what you preach. Goldman has worked for years as a music critic and journalist both in the United States and Britain. Christgau, who teaches a class on the history of popular music, is a well-known music critic for the Village Voice.
Students also said they appreciate the chance to work in a unique course of study.
“I have to write 2,500 words on the Smashing Pumpkins as a final for one of my classes,” said Tom Schecter, a sophomore in the recorded music department. “Man, my life is hard.”
Some students entering the department said they are excited to enter the prestigious program but are anxious about the small size of their prospective freshman class.
“I would say I am most looking forward to, but fearing somewhat, the small size of the program,” said Andrew Zakim, a high school senior from Edison, N.J., who will be joining the department this fall. “The idea that I’ll be with the same 24 people for four years is both really attractive and kind of repelling.”
The combination of small classes and qualified professors is appealing, but the tight-knit community might magnify any friction, he said.
“I’ve already begun talking to kids my age, and we’ve hit it off really well,” Zakim said. “But I mean, over-saturation of anything can turn out bad.”
The program’s second-year students have grown more accustomed to learning with their classmates in the tight spaces of the studio.
“I also love watching their progress,” Sansano said. “I have seen a marked improvement in the level of confidence many of the students bring to the recording studio.”