Industry professionals were invited to gather along with Belmont students for the 3rd Annual Best Job Ever Conference this past Saturday in Inman. Hosted by Student Leadership Council (SLC), this conference focuses on the future of the Entertainment and Music Business as well as current issues affecting the job market and evolving job opportunities. Expert industry professionals from all areas of the Entertainment and Music Business shared their experiences and introduced attendees to the diverse careers in their respected fields. The conference provides attendees networking opportunity with top professionals, who can answer questions about what to expect from jobs in the industry. SLC set a goal of attendance at 130 participants and passes sold out. Staff advisors for this event were Hanna Easley and Tish Stewart.
A few of this year’s panels included: Beth Laird, BMI; Daniel Tashian, artist/songwriter for Big Yellow Dog Music; Natalie Hemby, songwriter for Carnival Music; Luke Laird, songwriter for Universal Music Publishing; and Carla Wallace, partner in Big Yellow Dog Music; Ed Nash, Ed Nash and Associates; Suzzane Skinner, President of the Skinner Group; Ky Choi, AEG Live; Sarah Baer, 4fini; Heather Hannahan, George P. Johnson; and Niki Tyree, George P. Johnson.
Student Leadership Council Hosts Best Job Ever Conference
Kullberg Speaks on ‘Finding God at Harvard’
Kelly Monroe Kullberg, the founder of The Veritas Forum, spoke at Belmont Wednesday in an event co-sponsored by the Office of Spiritual Development and the Teaching Center. The Veritas Forum, which has emerged at over 100 universities in the U.S., Canada and Europe, enables Christian academics to engage their secular colleagues around issues of truth, beauty and meaning. Kullberg is the author of the bestselling Finding God at Harvard: Spiritual Journeys of Thinking Christians and Finding God Beyond Harvard: The Quest for Veritas.
Kullberg recounted her own struggles in finding Veritas, which came at an unexpected time. In 1998, she was consulting Veritas forums at 40 universities and her book had landed on best-seller lists, but personally she was devastated by a relationship’s end and battling the effects of Lyme disease. “Christianity Today was calling me an up-and-coming evangelical leader, and I was hiding in a cabin in the woods wondering if God even existed. The questions of skeptical students became my questions for the first time. I was no longer out to make God look good.”
The time alone, questioning, proved fruitful as Kullberg was challenged to ponder what story she had been living and find hope in a greater good. “When God’s light and love touch us, it shifts the boundary of being. I was able to breathe again, to rest and to think as well… Truth is knowable because the Author himself has spoken.”
Dave Ramsey Kicks Off 2010 Insider’s View
Financial author, radio host and motivational speaker Dave Ramsey kicked off the Insider’s View series to a packed MPAC crowd Wednesday evening. This was the first of four Insider’s Views this fall and the launch of the Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business’ Entertainment Entrepreneurship series. Due to feedback from alumni and board of advisors, CEMB is currently creating and implementing more opportunities for students to learn entrepreneurial skills and hear from other entrepreneurs in the industry.
Ramsey talked about entreleadership—informing students on the importance of being an entrepreneur and having leadership skills in the entertainment industry. “The trajectory of success isn’t simply from one point to another, it goes up and down constantly,” Ramsey said. “As an entrepreneur, you have to be ready to make a lot of mistakes, but you just don’t quit.”
This seminar is the first in an entertainment entrepreneurship series that will include panels with professional songwriters Chad Cates, Ben Cooper and Erik Bledsoe; with successful audio engineers and producers Jeff Balding and Luke Wooten; and with entertainment industry entrepreneur Ruta Sepetys.
Benson Wins Third IBMA Award
Alumna Kristin Scott Benson (1998) won her third consecutive Banjo Player of the Year award at the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Awards Thursday night.
Percussion Ensemble to Play with Nashville Philharmonic Orchestra
Belmont’s Percussion Ensemble will join the Nashville Philharmonic Orchestra for two concerts at the Celebration of Cultures Festival this weekend, where they will play the African marimba tune, “Atenteben” alongside the volunteer orchestra. The opening concert takes place on Saturday at 10 a.m. on the main stage of Centennial Park. The second concert is Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Nashville Korean Methodist Church. Both concerts are free and open to the public.
Keen Re-elected to Bluegrass Association Board of Directors
Dan Keen, Belmont alumnus and instructor of music business, was re-elected to the Board of Directors of the International Bluegrass Association on Monday. Keen was also appointed to a second term as the Board Secretary.
“Contrary to rumor, I am not a bluegrass freak. I’m a super-freak!” Keen stated, “Bluegrass music is one of America’s original art forms, and my work in the genre is a labor of true love and respect.”
Vaughn Publishes Article
Mary Vaughn (Communication Studies) recently had an article published in The Journal of Civic Commitment titled “Finding the Value in Group Projects: Service Learning in a Group Communication Course.”
Giordano Publishes Article
Dr. Pete Giordano, chair of the Department of Psychological Science , has published an article in the Journal on Excellence in College Teaching. The title of the article is “Serendipity in Teaching and Learning: The Importance of Critical Moments.”
Murphree Hosts Webinar, Teaches Workshop, Attends Summit
On Sept. 16, Dr. Steve Murphree, professor of biology, hosted the Greening University Campuses Environmental Protection Agency Webinar on the Belmont campus with officials from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. Besides the webinar and luncheon, the group from local area universities toured the Belmont campus including McWhorter Hall’s green roof.
Murphree also taught a five-hour workshop titled “The World of Invertebrates: Pollinators, Predators, Pests and Parasitoids” as a part of the Tennessee Naturalist Program at Owl’s Hill Nature Sanctuary on Sept. 18.
On Sept. 22, Murphree and Fred Thompson, director of Plant Operations, attended the Bed Bug Summit at the Lentz Public Health Center in Nashville, where they spoke about previous bed bug infestations of the Belmont campus and how these were handled.
Gustke Publishes Article
Charmion Gustke’s (English) article “Somewhere Between Temperance and Prohibition: The Wandering Alcoholics in Cather’s The Song of the Lark” will appear in the 2011 Scholarly Edition of the Willa Cather Review.
