About IEMMA

The Institute of Entertainment, Music, and Media Arts (IEMMA) at Duquesne University's Mary Pappert School of Music is a unique interdisciplinary program that provides resources for undergraduate and graduate students to learn all aspects of the entertainment industry—from composing to recording, performance to engineering, production to distribution, and everything in between.

You can succeed in a growing multi-billion dollar commercial music industry with a fulfilling career as a:

  • Performer
  • Sound Engineer
  • Producer
  • Composer
  • Game Designer
  • Worship Leader
  • Artist Manager
  • Publisher
  • Distributor
  • And many more

 

About IEMMA

IEMMA is an environment that fosters the skillsets a young artist needs to thrive in the entertainment industry. We help each student develop an entrepreneurial mindset that can, in turn, help them generate multiple revenue streams through their creative abilities in all media including performance, recording, producing, composing, engineering, managing, publishing and distribution, gaming, and more.

IEMMA provides students, regardless of major, opportunities to learn in a real-world, experience-driven environment. Whether students end up being performers in a recording studio, hospital, church, or concert hall, or if they are studio engineers, producers, marketing agents, or record label executives, every one of them must develop the skills to interface with one another.

Examples of these opportunities include:

Orchestra in the Studio
With Jay Dudt & Rachel Stegeman

This immersive orchestral recording session helps students experience the rigorous environment of the film sound stage studio and features five-time GRAMMY Award-winning sound engineer Jay Dudt, as well as violinist Rachel Stegeman, who has performed on hundreds of commercial music recordings and movie soundtracks.


Commercial Music for Performers
with Jesse Naus and Mark Koch

Recording engineer and owner of Red Caiman Media, Jesse Naus, and local jazz/rock guitarist, Mark Koch, present a seminar about commercial music for students to learn how to perform in a recording studio environment.

IEMMA is an immersive experience for our students, from the music technologist to the performer. Sound Stage Sessions is a program within IEMMA in which our technology students have opportunities to prepare, setup, run, and strike real-world recording sessions of our performing ensembles in the weeks prior to their performances. In addition, ensemble performers learn how to conduct themselves in a recording studio environment. The recordings will then be mixed and mastered by our students—under the guidance of our GRAMMY Award-winning sound recording faculty—so that they can be played back and critically reviewed by the ensemble director and the student performers in advance of the concert.

Sound Stage Sessions provide unmatched potential for students to learn and hone their skills behind their instrument or recording console, all while developing skills they will need to interact with other professionals as they move into their careers. Regardless of which side of the microphone students find themselves on, they will develop critical listening skills while learning how to interpret and implement the artistic requests of producers, conductors, and directors to create finished products of the highest level for live performance, distribution, and broadcast.

A typical Sound Stage Session features setup and recording of an ensemble's rehearsal several weeks prior to a scheduled concert, with a deliverable recording for critical review one week later, enabling the group to have rehearsal time prior to the concert to address performance issues that became apparent through the recording.

Following review and rehearsal, IEMMA students will be on-hand to setup and record the ensemble's live performance.

Through IEMMA's forthcoming record label, these recordings can be made available for purchase, streaming, and download, and it is all made possible by students who facilitate the IEMMA process. This brings the true meaning behind IEMMA—from the mind to the audience—full circle. In addition, listen for IEMMA Live and Studio Broadcasts on WQED-FM radio (89.3 FM/Stream Live) and WDSR (Duquesne Student Radio).

Why IEMMA?

 
Professor shows a student techniques on a mixing console.
Professor Tom Kikta coaches a student at a mixing console.

Destination Institute

Aligning with all five imperatives of Duquesne University's Strategic Plan, IEMMA is THE destination institute for young artists seeking a revolutionary and unique leadership experience for application in the entertainment industry. Students benefit from an environment equipped with the latest hardware and software necessary for development of the advanced techniques required to be successful.

A singer wearing headphones records vocals in an isolation booth.
A singer records vocals.

Partnerships with Industry Leading Organizations

IEMMA also partners with and is supported by leading industry manufacturers and trade associations. Our faculty are active in the profession and possess the expertise necessary to teach and mentor our students at the highest possible level. In addition, a blue ribbon panel of industry leaders are set to become part of the fabric of this institute.