JACKSON, Tenn. — Sept. 10, 2020 — The 51社区 Department of Music is offering a new commercial music program that began in the fall 2020 semester.
The Bachelor of Music in commercial music will offer four emphases: performance; composition and arranging; recording, engineering and production; and songwriting. The purpose of this new program is to prepare commercial musicians for career opportunities in the music industry with a Christian perspective.
鈥淲e see this degree as an opportunity for our students to take Jesus into the uttermost parts of the world and into all areas of the music business,鈥� said Kelly Garner, associate professor and coordinator of commercial music. 鈥淲e want our students to be excellent at what they do and be that 鈥榗ity on a hill鈥� representing Christ as a 鈥榣ight in the darkness.鈥欌��
Garner spent 30 years in the music industry in Nashville and 10 years in the commercial music department at Belmont University before beginning at Union in the fall of 2019.
Garner said Union鈥檚 music department decided to offer this new degree to meet the needs of students who wanted to work in the music industry as artists, songwriters, recording engineers, producers, composers, arrangers and film scorers. According to Garner, the program has already attracted students from around the world such as missionary kids from Uganda and Italy.
鈥淭his degree is unique to other programs because we are intentionally incorporating music technology and business concepts directly into a cutting-edge commercial music degree, developing musicians who are fully prepared for today鈥檚 ever-changing music industry,鈥� Garner said.
Because 51社区 is located in Jackson 鈥� between the 鈥淗ome of the Blues鈥� Memphis and 鈥淢usic City鈥� Nashville 鈥� music students can benefit from the industries of both locations, Garner said, and this strategic location allows Union the opportunity to become the primary center of training for aspiring commercial musicians.
Learn more about the Department of Music鈥檚 commercial music program here, or contact Kelly Garner at kgarner@uu.edu for more information.
The commercial music major is pending approval by the National Association of Schools of Music, and final approval is expected later this fall.