CONWAY, SC (WBTW) – With the rise of careers in music technology, young people don’t have to wait to travel to Nashville to get their start in the industry.
One new Masters program at Coastal Carolina University is music to the ears of some who want to make their mark in music.
The Master of Arts in Music Technology program is the only one of its kind in South Carolina, and it’s preparing these students for a lifelong career in music.
Walk into the studio at the Wheelwright Auditorium, and there you’ll find a melody.
“I wear a lot of hats, and musicians have to,” said CCU Masters program student, Timothy Hardwick.
The program is helping students to wear those hats at Coastal Carolina University.
“I see myself as a recording engineer, producer, singer-songwriter,” said Hardwick. And for student Timothy Hardwick, having a studio 20 minutes from where he grew up in Aynor, is what he calls, a joy.
“My father gave me a tape recorder, and so, I’ve always been interested in recording,” he said.
“If they’re a saxophonist that plays saxophone and maybe does some teaching, the technology will allow them to record themselves to maybe compose music to arrange things,” said Dr. Matt White, who is the coordinator for the Master of Arts in Music Technology program.
But, it hasn’t always been this way. “50 years ago, you could just be a singer-songwriter,” said Hardwick.
In fact, the program is so sought after, two of Dr. White’s students commute every Wednesday and Friday from Charleston to get in on the music-making. And, it allows musicians here along the Grand Strand to become more marketable.
“There’s always going to be things like you need to go to Nashville, or you know, L.A., or New York,” said Dr. White. “Those are hubs for music, but what we’re finding is because of the Internet and the chance to collaborate musically, that really you can make great music anywhere.”
Dr. White says they hope to double the program in size and add five to six more students.