The College of Charleston Arts Management Program will honor its Artist in Residence Mark Bryan as he concludes his teaching and service to the program at IN THE MIX, the popular music industry series he hosts. The event, “IN THE MIX: Celebrating Mark Bryan” will be held on Monday, Nov. 12, 2018 at 6:30 p.m. in the Sottile Theatre (44 George St.) on the College of Charleston campus. It is free and open to students and the public. For additional information, contact the Arts Management Program at artsmgmt.cofc.edu or call (843) 953-6301.
Mark Bryan, Grammy award-winning lead guitarist of Hootie and the Blowfish, has been teaching in the Arts Management Program since fall 2009 when he was hired by former Program Director Scott Shanklin-Peterson. Under the leadership of Shanklin-Peterson and now current director Dr. Karen Chandler, and with the support of School of the Arts Dean Valerie Morris, former College of Charleston Presidents P. George Benson and Glenn McConnell, and Provost Brian McGee, Bryan has worked with the faculty and staff of the Arts Management Program to develop an exciting and industry-based concentration for students who are Arts Management majors. Today, the Music Industry Concentration is one of the program’s fastest growing interests among its students. The concentration offers a full complement of academic and co-curricular programs including IN THE MIX; a roster of courses including audio production, presenting and festival management, legal issues in music and entertainment, artist and band management, and internships; 1770 Records, a student-run record label; and a Global Music Industry Study Abroad Program in Stockholm and Örebro, Sweden. “Mark’s professional contacts in the music business and use of those contacts over the years to assist students in getting internships, and his overall involvement in the development of the music industry concentration have been immeasurable in advancing the curriculum of the Arts Management Program,” says Chandler.
IN THE MIX, the music industry series hosted by Bryan, is a formal component of Introduction to the Music Industry, the class he co-teaches with Ron Mendola who taught in the music program at Georgia Tech University for 32 years before coming to the College of Charleston. The class and its IN THE MIX counterpart introduces students as well as the public to topics and professionals from all corners of the music business. The inaugural session of IN THE MIX was held in January 2014 with Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter and lead vocalist of Hootie and the Blowfish, Darius Rucker, and Cary Ann Hearst, singer-songwriter and vocalist of Shovels and Rope. Through the years, Bryan has successfully developed IN THE MIX and hosted leading professionals in the music business from Nashville, New York City, and Los Angeles covering topics from songwriting, touring, digital streaming, and licensing to music publishing. (A full listing of all guests and topics can be found on the Arts Management Program website.)
In December and after ten years of service to the Arts Management Program as its Artist in Residence, Mark Bryan will be leaving the College to focus on his own musical endeavors. To honor and celebrate his contributions to the program and the Music Industry Concentration, he will be the guest of honor at the November 12th session of IN THE MIX. The event will be hosted by and will include an interview of him by Arts Management alumnus John Shields (‘12) of Charleston’s hip-hop-pop-rock duo, Little Stranger (and Long Miles, the popular reggae-rock band he and his College of Charleston classmates started while in school). The event will also feature student acoustic performances, student and community expressions of gratitude, and a few surprises. The event will conclude as it should — with a few tunes by Mark Bryan himself dedicated to his students, past and present.
IN THE MIX events are presented by the Arts Management Program in the College of Charleston’s School of the Arts. For information, visit artsmgmt.cofc.edu or call (843) 953-6301.