The premiere edition of Musicians Studio, Columbia College Chicago’s informative series of intimate conversations with recording artists, songwriters and music industry insiders, airs at 9 p.m. on WYCC, Channel 20, each Friday in May.
The hour-long program, hosted by Down Beat’s editor Frank Alkyer, will broadcast four new segments this month and four more in June. The shows include interviews with punk rock pioneer Bob Mould (May 4), jazz trumpeter and conductor Jon Faddis (May 11), Academy Award-nominated songwriter and recording artist Bird York (May 18), and country music singer Robbie Fulks (May 25).
Airing dates in June have not been finalized, but the remaining shows feature blues guitarist Fernando Jones, Grammy award-winning drummer Paul Wertico, Stellar award- winning gospel artist Donald Lawrence, and blues singer Shemekia Copeland.
Musicians Studio airs on Fridays (right after “Austin City Limits”) on WYCC-Channel 20.
The program is taped before a live studio audience at the Music Center Concert Hall on the Columbia College campus. Conceived as a multi-episode series for distribution on broadcast television as well as cable and DVD, Musicians Studio began production in March 2006.
The show is produced by Mary Filice, a faculty member in the college’s Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management (AEMM) Department, and directed by Chris West, operations manager for the Television Department.
The one-on-one conversational format gives the live audience a chance to learn firsthand how these musicians create and earn a living through their art, says program host Frank Alkyer. “It’s a way to meet performers and music business professionals in an entirely different way,” says Alkyer. “Artists can talk about music, rather than simply having their music speak for them.”
Deeper insights are revealed during the audience question and answer segment. "Musicians Studio works well as a teaching tool. The show engages students and gets them to apply the business and critical thinking skills they are learning. It also heightens their aesthetic awareness of the art form as well as the media production process. In so many ways, it's the perfect example of how art and business come together," explains producer Mary Filice.
Columbia students are given the opportunity to learn hands-on during the production of the shows. Filice recruits graduate and undergraduate student volunteers from the AEMM Department to assist her in the production and promotion aspects of Musicians Studio. Student volunteers assist in a variety of ways, from hanging up posters around campus, helping to line up guests, scheduling freelancers such as the make-up artist, obtaining "TV release" forms, to performing house management and marketing duties.
Television Department students also volunteer their services by taping the shows. Under the direction of the Television’s Chris West, student volunteers assist with lighting, camera work, and other technical aspects of the production. "It’s a great way for students to put into practice what they learn in their production and aesthetics classes," explains Filice.
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