Students get involved in local music scene

NSCC music program helps students get into the business

Samantha Forsythe (far right) says events like Light the Fuse are "why the NSCC Music Business Program is right for me." Photo: Geoff Lowe

The stage is set, the sound check complete and the dance floor cleared. It's a Tuesday night at the Company House and another concert is ready to start.

This isn't just any other concert, however.

Samantha Forsythe and fellow music business students at the Nova Scotia Community College put this concert together. It's called Light the Fuse, an event organized and run by the students as a project for their course in professional practice. The bill includes local acts singer/musician Lana Grant, folk rock band Matthew Pickup & the Movement, rock band the MacGillivray Brothers, and acoustic rock band Clockwork.

Forsythe, the show's producer, was responsible for making sure the concert ran smoothly.

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Having Light the Fuse at the Company House has given Samantha Forsythe the chance "to take what I have learned in the music business program and apply it to a real show." Photo: Geoff Lowe

The students put on the concert at the Company House on Gottingen Street on Oct. 18.

"Working on Light the Fuse has given me the opportunity to take what I have learned in the music business program and apply it to a real show," says Forsythe.

She says having the students responsible for the operation of the show has been fantastic. The process of booking bands, reserving the venue and promoting the concert has been an invaluable experience for her and her classmates.

"I think that all of the NSCC music business students are gaining important insight into what it really takes to put on a music event in Halifax."

Students of the program are putting on similar shows until December.

All of the money raised by the concerts is going towards developing and funding the music business program.

There are currently 27 students enrolled in the program at NSCC.

Musician: "Real life experience" more useful

The college's music business program is a one-year program that offers students music business-related courses in accounting, grant and proposal writing, contracts, and marketing.

One musician and former music student at the college contests the value of a music diploma.

Patrick Healy says putting on a concert is great, but often there is no need to take a music program in school to get this type of experience. Healy says for him and many others the program is unnecessary.

"There is more to learn by associating yourself with social circles at various gigs or other musical events - real life experience for the real life passion."

Forsythe doesn't think this is necessarily true. She says the music business program gives students the opportunity to form relationships in the music community.

"The fact that our professors have been actively involved in the music community and the experience we gain through events like Light the Fuse is why the NSCC music business program is right for me," she says.   

The Halifax music industry has faced serious obstacles in recent years. Some of the city's largest music venues, such as the Marquee Club and the Attic, have been forced to close because there aren't enough big acts coming to the city.  This means that the graduates of the music business program have a big challenge in front of them.

As for the future, Forsythe plans to continue with the same type of responsibilities she took on for Light the Fuse. She wants to remain in the production aspect of music after school and continue to organize live shows. She says the degree at NSCC and the experience she has gained will get her one step closer to her goals.

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