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Music Production & Engineering at Arts Academy

Why Study Music Production & Engineering

Take your love of music, technology, and production to the next level. Here, you'll gain a strong technical and artistic foundation to bring you one step closer to a future in music.
What You’ll Learn
As a Music Production & Engineering major, you'll take a combination of production and recording courses, seminars, and labs. You'll collaborate with students across disciplines to create professional-caliber projects. You'll also explore current practices and innovation in music.
Your knowledgeable instructors will serve as mentors, technological experts, and career coaches. They will demonstrate how to master production tools so you can find your own style and voice. They will also help you as you think about your future, providing guidance in the college search or offering other career alternatives.
As a student at our boarding school for music production and engineering, you will:
- Create, produce, and engineer music in a variety of acoustic, electronic, and hybrid styles
- Mix live ensemble and electronically produced music
- Perform multitrack recording, overdubbing, editing and mixing using digital audio systems
- Lead a creative project from idea inception to final delivery
- Coordinate and supervise many studio recording sessions
- Evaluate audio material and make technical and aesthetic decisions
- Communicate and time-manage in the context of multidisciplinary productions
- Create a professional portfolio
For information on graduation requirements and academic curriculum, please visit Academy Academics.


Program Specialties
- Signal flow and acoustics
- Studio recording
- On-location live recording
- Fluency in Pro Tools
- Extensive experience with analog recording gear
- Weekly project time in The Goop, our world-class student recording studio
- Artistic collaborations with Singer-Songwriter, Film & New Media, Musical Theatre, and Dance Divisions
- Music programming with other popular Digital Audio Workstations like Logic and Ableton
- Familiarity with the history and characteristics of popular music genres
Guest Artists
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Ruby Amanfu, Grammy Award-nominated songwriter
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Sam Ashworth, Grammy and Tony Award-nominated songwriter
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Jim Bonney, BAFTA Award-winning video game music composer
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Jeanine Cowen, composer and Chair of Screen Scoring at University of Southern California
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Laura Karpman, Emmy Award-nominated film composer and Interlochen alumna
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Tim Lauer, Emmy Award-winning multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer
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Makeba Riddick, Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter
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Jonathan Perkins, Emmy Award-winning pianist, composer, programmer and producer
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Soren Hansen, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and guitarist for the band New Politics
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Bryan Wilson, Grammy Award-nominated producer and multi-instrumentalist


Program Highlights
The Music Center
Our state-of-the-art 60,000 square-foot music facility has two 3,500 square-foot rehearsal halls, two recording studios which allow for rehearsal and performance recordings in multiple venues on campus with multiple ensemble and practice rooms, and individual faculty teaching studios. Learn more about The Music Center.
Live Music Sessions
While at Interlochen, you will have the opportunity to work with your fellow students to record live music. Test your skills with a variety of recording techniques using top-of-the-line tools and technology.
College Matriculation
Recent Interlochen Arts Academy Music Division students have continued their education at the following institutions and beyond.
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Belmont University
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Berklee College of Music
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California Institute of the Arts (CalArts)
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Detroit Institute of the Arts
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Full Sail University
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Jacobs School of Music (Indiana University)
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Institute of Contemporary Performance
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Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts
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Los Angeles College of Music
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Loyola University New Orleans
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Musicians Institute
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The New School
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New York University
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Syracuse University
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University of Colorado
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University of Hartford
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University of Miami
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University of Southern California (USC)
Dive deeper into Interlochen Arts Academy with a free digital viewbook
In our free informational booklet, you'll learn more about:
- Each of our seven arts areas
- Renowned faculty
- College-preparatory academics
- Student resources
- How to apply and financial aid information
- And more