Music Roars Through Penn State Abington
By: Dani Bennov
Penn State (PSU) Abington’s music department is about to get a much-wanted face-lift, which
has actually been in the works for the past couple of years. With the addition of a state-of-theart recording studio, music technology courses, and courses in music business and industry, the
entire department has transformed from an ancient musical museum to having an extensive
waiting list to get into each courses. But you don’t have to major in music studies to take
advantage of this opportunity; students with majors all across the board flock to the small, yet
expanding, department to get hands-on industry knowledge from the one professor who almost
single-handedly cut through conflict and red tape to make it all happen.
“Please call me John,” is how John Pachence introduced himself to his classes at the beginning
of each semester. Pachence, a full time teacher and the newly appointed Coordinator of Music
Curriculum, stands as the driving force behind the developing department. However, it didn’t
take him becoming Coordinator for him to start putting his vision into place – this all first
began when Pachence was just a part-time professor at the school. A studio musician, freelance
artist, recording producer and engineer, and touring musician, amongst many other things, he
wanted to bring his extensive experience to a growing number of students who wanted to know
more about the music industry. The first step was to build a recording studio on campus that,
while confined to a small corner classroom, even professionals would be impressed by. The
second step was to begin offering classes in recording and music technology. “There are so
many talented students at Abington. As the music curriculum began to take hold, the student
demand for a recording course became very evident,” said Pachence.
One introductory recording and music technology course quickly expanded into a second more
extensive 400-level course. The progress didn’t stop there. Soon there was a demand for more
courses specifically about the music industry. Spring 2015 was the first semester that offered
MUSIC 497K, a course in music industry business practices. This wide-ranging course teaches
students about the history, structure, business practices, and economics of the music industry
while showcasing the diverse career opportunities the field offers. Currently, discussions are in
session amongst PSU Abington’s powers-that-be about offering music business as a minor in
the not-so-distant future.
Of course, nothing happened over night. Pachence had run into conflicts that he knew he
would eventually have to face. For months, he had to fight to get his innovative ideas green-lit
and backed by the Penn State heads. One of the major issues was that many of these courses
and ideas have never been offered at PSU Abington or in the PSU system; the administration
was treading on completely new territory, which was a risky process. Then there was the issue
of finding financing and funding. Technology, especially recording equipment, costs money.
Pachence found himself having to jump through hoops to impress the administration to get
courses approved and to get funding for his new recording studio. Nevertheless, the student
outcry and support for the professor never stopped. The administration could no longer ignore
or hush the obvious wants of the students, and soon became open to the ideas and courses that
Pachence was proposing. After over a year of planning and pitching, the red tape that the
administration had put up slowly began to come down as funding was provided to build the
new studio and music technology courses were introduced into PSU Abington’s course
catalog. The teacher’s hard work seemed to pay off; and the University’s administration, after
seeing the successful response, has opened their mind to continue on with expanding this
program.
However, there’s no reason to think that these courses are reserved only for undergraduates
who want to become recording masterminds. Students from a variety of majors have enrolled
in the music technology and music business courses. “I have students from so many different
majors in my classes,” said Pachence. “My [Information Technology] majors really enjoy the
music production classes. Majors like Corporate Communication, Economics, and English
have amazing cross pollination potential with coursework in music production, music industry
and creative song writing.” These courses are the perfect way for any student to explore their
creativity through music and learn about the ins-and-outs of the expansive music industry.
One sophomore, Dave Lisowski, was set on pursuing a major in Engineering when he first
came to PSU Abington – that is, until he met John Pachence and discovered the music
technology and music business courses. After taking just one introductory recording course,
Lisowski become enthralled in the world of recording and music. “The music technology
courses have hugely impacted my life. They way I see it, I’ll never work a ‘normal’ job. I have
the foundation set for my own exploration into music that I can use however I see fit, and
that’s awesome. It’s changed my hobbies too,” he said in an interview. Not only did he change
his major to Corporate Communications with a personal focus on music industry, but he also
decided to build his very own home recording studio. Taking from what he’s learned in the
classes, he now spends most of his time recording music for friends and even gets paid
recording local musicians to produce his own personal projects.
Lisowski didn’t let his appreciation for PSU Abington’s music industry courses stop there.
What he quickly realized was that the recording studio and its courses were more of a “hidden
gem” – something that not enough students and faculty knew about. With the help of another
student and under the supervision of Pachence, Lisowski made it his goal to promote the
campus’ recording studio and all the music industry courses that PSU Abington had to offer.
The recording studio was aptly named Studio 338, given that it was located in classroom 338
in the school’s Woodland Building. Through word-of-mouth and social media, Studio 338 now
has a following and student interest that it never had before. Lisowski currently manages the
social media for Studio 338, in addition to frequently contributing to the PSU Abington music
blog called ROAR and a new on-campus organization called The Pride.
Having started just a semester ago, The Pride is a music industry club organization that caters
to students who are on the growing waiting list to get into the music technology courses, but
want to still learn outside of the classroom. The organization, which is headed by Lisowski and
advised by Pachence, allows students to learn about producing and other aspects of the music
business. The purpose and goal of The Pride is to connect students with artists, professionals,
and each other to learn about careers in the music industry. “The artists and professionals we
bring in will share their knowledge and experiences with students through presentations,
demonstrations, Q&As, storytelling sessions, and more. We’re already reaching out to a lot of
people and have confirmed guests for the fall semester,” said Lisowski.
The recording studio and the music industry courses don’t need to be a hidden gem on the third
floor of the campus’ Woodland Building anymore. Now more than ever, students are realizing
that they don’t need to be confined by their major. Rather, they can diversify themselves by
learning things like music technology that make them versatile in an entertainment driven
society. In this career climate, specialization is becoming a thing of the past. Employers want
to hire somebody with an array of skills that can be thrown into any position in a moment’s
notice. What these new music courses show students is that they can have a career in music,
and it no longer has to be just a wild daydream. “I think this curriculum is coming along at the
perfect time,” said Pachence. “Student interest and talent is combining with accessible
technology to form the ‘perfect storm’.”