Cal Poly to Host Andrew Surmani for Music Industry Lecture and Q&A on Nov. 17
Contact: Michele Abba
805-756-2406; mabba@calpoly.edu
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Cal Poly’s Music Department and Jazz Studies program will host Andrew Surmani for a lecture and Q&A about the music industry, music business and entrepreneurship at 11:10 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 17, in Room 216 of the Davidson Music Center (No. 45).
Surmani is president and CEO of Surmani Business Coaching and teaches music industry studies at California State University, Northridge, where he is also the academic lead of the music industry administration master’s degree program. He previously served as CEO of Caleb Chapman’s Soundhouse, a contemporary music training program.
As chief marketing officer for Alfred Music, he oversaw global sales and marketing operations. While there he helped consolidate company operations following the largest acquisition in print music publishing history — Alfred’s purchase of Warner Bros. Publications — and launched and oversaw major product lines including the release of “Accent on Achievement,” “Strictly Strings,” “Choral Designs,” “Alfred Pop Choral,” “Alfred’s Essentials of Music Theory” and the revolutionary new customizable band and string methods, “Sound Innovations.”
Surmani also works as a freelance musician and has performed in numerous international jazz festivals. He has been a band leader and played lead trumpet in shows at Walt Disney World, and he has managed high school groups tours to Hawaii and Japan for a music production company.
He was a founding board member and past president of the international Jazz Education Network. He currently serves on the Music Technology Advisory Board at Indiana University/Purdue University Indianapolis, the Technology through Music Education advisory board and the College Music Society editorial board.
Surmani holds a Bachelor of Music degree in trumpet performance and a Master of Business Administration degree from California State University, Northridge.
The presentation is free and open to the public. It is sponsored by Cal Poly’s Music Department, College of Liberal Arts and Instructionally Related Activities program. For more information, call the Music Department at 805-756-2406 or visit the department’s calendar website.
