Pianos for Peace
Marissa Balonon-Rosen
Marissa Balonon-Rosen grew up in the City of Rochester and graduated in 2009 from Wilson Magnet High School, located on Genesee Street in the 19th Ward. She attends the University of Rochester and the Eastman School of Music, expecting to receive degrees in Urban Youth Studies and Music Theory in May of 2014. Marissa is involved in projects that promote non-violence and community building among the city's youth.
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Chamber Music Campania
Regina Compton
Chamber Music Campania is a cross-disciplinary summer music festival in southern Italy. The festival invites a select group of fellows (both emerging professionals and exceptional students) to participate in a three-week exploration of music making. The fellows, working side-by-side with composers-in-residence and established Italian musicians, curate the musical and non-musical details of a weekly concert; this task entails pre-performance planning, the performance proper, and post-performance evaluation of the event.
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Enharmonia Productions
William Paceley
Enharmonia creates elegant, educational and entertaining video content featuring classical ensembles from around the world. We then distribute all of our content online using unique web monetization models. These ensembles are incentivized to collaborate with us due to our unique production relationship. In order to keep additional costs as low as possible for ensembles while maximizing revenue gained via royalties, Enharmonia handles all aspects of video production--upfront costs, personnel, post-production, marketing, licensing and distribution.
Read MoreDescription of Contest
The Eastman New Venture Challenge is a contest to encourage new thinking and innovative ideas in music. It gives students the opportunity to develop a project proposal that could result in the launch of a new entrepreneurial initiative.
Entries may be from individuals or teams of up to three students. Entrants must create and present a project proposal that demonstrates creativity and potential for success. The proposals will be evaluated in a preliminary round by a panel of judges who are experts in the field. Two to four student entries will be invited to participate in the final round where each initiative will be evaluated on both the written proposal and an oral presentation. Successful entrants will have demonstrated creativity, innovation, uniqueness, and added value to the music field. Project Proposals will be returned to all entrants with comments and suggestions from the judges.
Awards
First prize: $2,000*; Second prize: $500*
*Seed money for development of your venture along with advisory support from Eastman's Center for Music Innovation and Engagement to help bring your idea to fruition. Prize money may be taxable. Entrants should consult their tax advisor. Prize money will be rewarded as reimbursement for project expenses. Original receipts and an invoice are required.
November 2013
Date TBD
New Venture Challenge
Fact Sheet
Examples of Potential Ventures
- New Product Prototype
- Single Event/Series of Events
- Improvement on an Existing Service/Product
- Launching a Music-related Company or Non-Profit
Eligibility
- The contest is open to all students who are enrolled full-time in an Eastman degree program and are in good academic standing.
- Entries can be by individuals or teams of up to three members.
- Project Proposals must be original work.
What to Submit
A project proposal (suggested 3-5 pages) that includes:
- Summary of Proposed Project
- Description of Company/Organization/Venture
- Product or Service
- Market Analysis
- Strategy and Implementation
- Management Team
- Financial Plan
Judging
- Judges will be selected from experts in the field.
- The Eastman New Venture Challenge reserves the right not to select a winner.
- Several second prizes may be awarded.
- Entrants are encouraged to seek advice from Eastman faculty and staff.
What is Entrepreneurship in Music?
The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation grant to the University of Rochester began a dialogue among the Schools within the University that resulted in a much broader definition of entrepreneurship than is usually found in business. "The transformation of an idea into an enterprise that generates value," is a description that encompasses all areas of study and is the definition in use at the Eastman School.
