School of Music sweeps the Arts Business Ideas Competition

The three winners of the 2022 Arts Business Ideas Competition were announced on Thursday, all of whom are from the School of Music. Now in its seventh year, the competition is the college’s annual showcase of arts entrepreneurship that asks undergraduate and graduate students in any major to present an arts-based business plan that could earn entrants up to $5,000 to develop the concept. James Dennis, Doctor of Musical Arts candidate in piano performance, was the first-place winner and will receive $5,000 to develop his business idea “Eartrainer,” which will provide instructors with the tools they need to spend more time teaching and less time grading and managing student assignments. Matchstick Percussion, comprising a team of students from the School of Music, won second place and $3,500 for the business idea, which aims to expand and enhance performance opportunities for musicians. David Hutchinson, Music Education undergraduate student, won third place and $1,500 for “Suoni,” which is a business idea that will develop and provide interactive web-based tools for anyone to learn, practice and play music. This year’s judges, all College of Arts and Architecture alumni, were Ryan Russell, associate professor of graphic design; Heather Bhandari, independent curator and co-founder of Art World Learning, a subscription-based, online education platform to help those in the creative sector thrive by making intelligent business and financial decisions; and Luke Gall, founder and CEO of Ultimate Drill Book, which creates educational tools for marching ensembles. The Arts Business Ideas Competition is made possible with financial support from Paul Bell and the Powell Family Foundation.