Alumni achievement award recipient to give talk on music entrepreneurship

Dr. Allan Dennis ’70, ’72, is the president and founder of the award-winning Midwest Young Artists Conservatory (MYAC), located on Chicago’s north shore. More than 1,000 students are enrolled in orchestra, chamber music, jazz, choral, theory/composition, early childhood education and community programs. A visionary, he founded MYAC in 1993 with just 50 students. He will be honored Friday with the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Fredonia Alumni Association and the university.

On Friday, Oct. 21, from 9 to 10 a.m., Dr. Dennis will meet with School of Music students in Mason Hall Room 1080, and will use his explanation of MYAC as a springboard to talk about entrepreneurial artists' ventures in general, covering, for example:

• What are ways in which college students can think outside of the "box" of their musical education, which traditionally makes students think in terms of seeking permanent performance and/or teaching gigs as the only viable career options?

• What are the college courses or experiences aspiring entrepreneurs should take? For example, the legal, managerial and advertising/marketing aspects of running a business?