Sound Thinking NYC

Sound Thinking NYC is a free program especially designed to open doors for young women to explore careers in the music industry.

Sound Thinking NYC is a CUNY-CAT initiative with multiple levels of student engagement focused on increasing opportunties in the music industry for underrepresented groups, particularly women. All students who are interested in supporting gender equity in music are encouraged to apply. Summer Intensive graduates will be invited to Sound Thinking NYC 2018-19 school year events and will be offered opportunities for paid internships and credited College Now Courses in their 11th and 12th grade year.

Sound Thinking NYC empowers young people as they explore how to turn a passion for music into a possible profession in New York City's thriving music industry. Program participants will learn about the tools, technologies, and career paths that power songs, concerts, theaters and film. The program includes opportunities for students to visit recording studios, learn about the science and physics of sound, and meet fellow students and people in the music industry that share their passion.

The program began with a three-week Sound Thinking NYC Summer Intensive, in July 2018 (for details or to apply, see the Summer Intensive tab). All graduates of the Summer Intensive will be invited to:

participate in a series of events during their 11th or 12th grade school year;
apply for paid summer internships for summer 2019; and
apply to take free college credit courses at CUNY during their junior and/or senior year of high school

Sound Thinking NYC is a free program offered by the CUNY Creative Arts Team (CAT) and the Mayor's Office for Media and Entertainment (MOME), in partnership with NY Is Music, a coalition of music industry leaders.

Sound Thinking NYC is open to all academically eligible students, without regard to race, gender, national origin or other characteristic protected by law.

Applications for summer 2019 will open in January. Sign up here to receive updates about the program!

Read about STNYC on Billboard.com!

Sound Thinking NYC Summer Intensive is a free three-week long program that especially opens doors for young women in high school to explore careers in the music industry.

Adressing gender equity in the music industry is a core part of this summer program that includes hands-on activities in music production and workshops that develop leadership skills. All students who are interested in supporting gender equity in music are encouraged to apply. Summer Intensive graduates will be invited to Sound Thinking NYC school year events and will be offered opportunities for paid internships and credited College Now Courses in their 11th and 12th grade year.

The Sound Thinking NYC Summer Intensive is a free three-week program for current 10th & 11th grade students who will be entering 11th or 12th grade in the fall.

CAT's training and rehearsal spaces, at 101 W. 31st Street, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10001, will be the home base for this three-week, full-day (9am-3pm) summer program.

During the Sound Thinking NYC Summer Intensive, participants:

go behind the scenes to learn about the tools, technologies, and career paths that power songs, concerts, theatres and film;
visit recording studios to learn about what audio engineers and producers do and be introduced to the science and physics of sound;
learn about the design of sound for Broadway theatres and live concerts - from wires to microphones to computer programs and mixing boards;
learn about the new technologies, businesses and platforms that are distributing music over the internet and beyond; and
build leadership skills and explore strategies for fulfilling goals in life, including career exploration and college readiness.

Sound Thinking NYC leverages your passion for music as you explore how to turn that passion into a possible career. You'll be introduced to the varied opportunities and career paths available in NYC's thriving music industry - such as audio engineering, music production, sound design, and audio technology - directly from professionals in the business, all with a cohort of carefully selected, motivated fellow students.

Fifty applicants will be selected for the 2018 Summer Intensive. We expect to have two summer sessions in 2019.

Accepted students will attend free of charge
Metrocards for the three-week period and lunch will be provided.
All Summer Intensive graduates will be invited to attend school year events and to apply for paid internships for summer 2019.
Summer Intensive graduates attending DOE schools will have opportunities to enroll in free college courses, for college credit, during their junior and/or senior year of high school.

Applications for summer 2019 will open in January. Sign up here to receive updates about the program!

Sound Thinking NYC ~ School Year Program

Sound Thinking NYC includes nine workshops and events across the school year, designed to support young people in exploring how a passion for music can lead to a profession in New York City's music industry.

Five school-year workshops specifically designed for Summer Intensive graduates will support cohort building, mentoring and skill building related to exploring how a young person’s passion for music can lead to opportunities for careers in the music industry.

Four school year events will be designed for families and any student interested in learning more about opportunities in the music industry.

The Sound Thinking NYC School Year calendar of events will be listed in fall 2018.

Sound Thinking NYC leverages teenagers’ passion for popular music to introduce them to viable career paths in New York City’s thriving media, entertainment, and technology industries by,

Exposing them to key players at the intersections of media, entertainment, and technology industries
Sparking excitement and interest in related college and career tracks
Supporting participants with learning opportunities that provide pathways to success and the development of leadership skills

Over the next four years, Sound Thinking NYC will deliver a multi-faceted program, providing opportunities for 250 students during their 11th and 12th grade years. A wider group of students and families will participant in Sound Thinking NYC programs designed for the public.

Established as part of a series of initiatives targeting the under-representation of women in entertainment, Sound Thinking NYC is a free program offered by the Creative Arts Team (CAT) at the City University of New York (CUNY) and the The Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME), in partnership with NY Is Music, a coalition of music industry leaders. Sound Thinking NYC includes the Advisory Council listed below. If you or your organization is interested in becoming invloved by offering event sites, volunteer mentors, presenters, networking opportunties, internship placement, or other opportunties, please contact CAT Executive Director at jeannehouck@cuny.edu.

Sound Thinking NYC Advisors include:

Binta Nambi Brown, CEO & Founder, Fermata Entertainment, Ltd./Big Mouth Records, LLC
Cass Conrad, University Dean of K-16 Initiatives, CUNY
Carletta Higginson, Manager Music Partnerships, YouTube & Google Play Music
Colleen McDounough, Executive Director, The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Foundation
Jessica Sobhraj, Executive Director, Women in Music
Justin Kalifowitz, CEO, Downtown Music Publishing, Co-Founder, NY Is Music
Molly Neuman, Head of Business Development, Songtrust
William Harvey, Co-Founder NY Is Music

Sound Thinking NYC Partnerships

The Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME)

The Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment encompasses the key economic and creative sectors of film, TV, theater, music, advertising, publishing, digital content and real estate as it relates to these industries. In total, these sectors account for over 305,000 jobs, and an economic output of $104 billion. Under the leadership of Commissioner Julie Menin, MOME promotes New York City as a thriving center of creativity, issuing permits for productions filming on public property, and facilitating production throughout the five boroughs. It also oversees NYC Media, the largest municipal broadcasting entity in the country including five TV Stations and a radio station with a reach of 18 million households and a 50-mile radius.

NY Is Music

Co-founded in 2014 by Justin Kalifowitz, of Downtown Music Publishing, and musician William Harvey, NY Is Music is a coalition of more than 200 music industry stakeholders whose mission is to advance and promote awareness of the importance of music in economic development, culture, and education in New York.

CUNY-CAT

The Creative Arts Team (CAT) at the City University of New York (CUNY) provides drama-based workshops and programs in pre-K-12 schools, colleges and community centers in all five NYC boroughs. CAT has served more than a million youth, and thousands of educators and parents in NYC, throughout the US and around the world, since its founding in 1974. CAT is part of CUNY’s K-16 Initiative under the Office of Academic Affairs.

Sound Thinking NYC extends our thanks to the following organizations for their contributions to our mission:

Downtown Music Publishing is the leading music rights management company for the modern age. Based in New York City, with offices in the world’s major media centers, they own, manage, and develop extraordinary song copyrights.

Platinum Sound Recording Studios was founded in 2000 by Wyclef Jean of The Fugees and Jerry ‘Wonda’ Duplessis, multi-platinum Grammy Award winning producer. The two came together with the goal of giving artists an unparalleled studio experience. By focusing on sound quality, productivity, and privacy, they have created a truly world-class space where artists instantly feel right at home, able to get into their creative flow and record the next big hit.

Flavorlab is an award-winning audio production company that composes, records, mixes and masters music and sound for the biggest brands in the world, such as FOX, Polo Ralph Lauren, and HBO, utilizing the exclusive Producer’s Toolbox and licensing services for their show music. Flavorlab offers the ultimate mix of inspired creativity, technical know how, state-of-the-art infrastructure and customer service.

Sunnyvale is a big empty room. Within this empty room resides the endless possibilities of creative expression. Artists from around the world can congregate in this neutral environment to tell their own stories and continue the narrative that is New York City culture. As a home for free expression, it is crucial Sunnyvale maintains its position as a safe space, which means freedom from harassment of any type, so that one can feel genuinely free to express themselves.

MONOLisa Studios: Opened in January 2013 by recording engineer, Denise Barbarita, MONOLisa specializes in recording, mixing and producing music for bands and artists of all genres.

The National Jazz Museum in Harlem, a Smithsonian Affiliate, is a thriving center for jazz that stimulates hearts and minds, and reaches out to diverse audiences to enjoy this quintessential American music. The Museum was founded in 1997 by Leonard Garment, Counsel to two U.S. Presidents, and an accomplished jazz saxophonist, Abraham D. Sofaer, a former U.S. District Judge who gave the initial gift in honor of his brother-in-law Richard J. Scheuer, Jr., and matching funds from the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone.

BRIC Arts Media is the leading presenter of free cultural programming in Brooklyn, and one of the largest in New York City, presenting and incubating work by artists and media-makers who reflect the diversity that surrounds us. BRIC programs reach hundreds of thousands of people each year. In addition to making cultural programming genuinely accessible, BRIC is dedicated to providing substantial support to artists and media makers in their efforts to develop work and reach new audiences.