Dwight Heckelman, founder of the new Groove U music industry college located in Columbus has worn many hats before starting what is soon to be known as one of the most innovative colleges in the region. Students of this college have the opportunity to choose their 2-year curriculum in music production, music business, and live audio, just to name a few.
But, don’t get Groove U confused with other music industry or broadcasting programs. Heckelman says, “Groove U is different than a lot places. We are unique in a lot of aspects. We have all music industry studies.” He also mentions an advisory panel that includes Jerry DePizzo, Leon Bass, Matt Crumpton, John Daughterty, and Andrew Dodson.
After speaking with members of this talented panel, their statements were distilled to what became the curriculum for the college.
Because of the advanced and unique curriculum, a question that came up was whether Groove U could/would want to expand to a bigger school. Heckelman’s reply was extremely refreshing. He says, “That’d be an interesting problem to have. I’d rather much be regarded as a person who is churning out quality graduates, not a bunch of graduates. If I got too big I wouldn’t be able to satisfy my mission”.
Students are interviewed and chosen based upon interviews with Heckelman himself as well as members of the advisory panel. A student who just likes music most likely will not receive the invitation to attend this school. The preferred student of Groove U would be a person who does not see themselves engaged in another field besides that of music business.
All of the requirements in order to graduate from Groove U are designed to help the student not only get a job, but to also prepare them for the things in that job that may arise. An example of this is all students are required to play an instrument and participate in private lessons on a commercial instrument. Each student is placed in groups based upon their skill levels.
Something interesting about this school is all of the materials students need are included in the tuition, which means things such as microphones or theory books will not require additional monies. An Apple MacBook is also included in the tuition, which is the student’s to keep. But the best part is the yearly trip to SXSW. Hickelman chooses SXSW in Austin versus Coachella or Lollapalooza as the place to go for students to be able to interact closely with those who already work in the music business. The trip might be able to guide them towards a career. Festivals such as Bonarroo and those previously mentioned do not offer the access to those working in the music industry world.
Groove U will also host workshops throughout the year. The next workshop is scheduled for Tuesday, April 24th, and will discuss music distribution. More information can be found HERE.
Groove U’s facilities are located at 1300 Forsythe Ave. in Columbus. More information can be found on their website: www.grooveu.net.
