Lily Robitaille ‘21, Music Business and Industry

When Lily Robitaille enrolled in the Music Business and Industry program at NVU’s Lyndon campus, the Barnstead, NH native chose the Music Management concentration. After some upper-class students suggested she explore recording, too, she looked into it and added the Audio Production concentration to her degree program. And that decision opened a unique door: the opportunity to work with NVU Assistant Professor Brian Warwick on the film Summertime, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival (Park City, Utah) in January 2020.

Warwick was the score mixer and Lily worked as one of two NVU student assistant score mixers for the film.

“Music has always been a passion of mine, and I decided to take that passion further by choosing the MBI major at NVU,” says Lily. “I truly love the music industry and working behind the scenes to make projects come to fruition. So being able to work on this film was an amazing experience.”

They spent a week on the project editing, synchronizing audio to video, and preparing mixes for “Summertime,” which takes place on a single day in Los Angeles and follows the lives of 25 young people through poetry. Carlos López Estrada directed the film.

“It was awesome to work on something on a professional level and to see all of the steps involved,” Lily said.

Lily’s approach to her education has been engaged and professional as well. “I’ve taken every opportunity I could to get involved,” she said, including being active with the Music and Entertainment Industry Students Association (MEISA) club. The club puts on 10-15 shows each year plus Gregg Fest — a two-day music festival that’s entirely student-run and raises funds for an MBI scholarship fund and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in memory an MBI student.

The experience putting on shows was great, and as she looks forward to her career she realizes she really enjoys booking and event planning and editing and mixing — “I would love to do both!”

Of the program she says, “It’s been really awesome. It’s very hands-on and project-based, and I’m using the techniques I’ve learned in class in real ways.” For instance, for her Music Management concentration she worked with a performing artist on their career plan and marketing approach — “and the artist is actually using it!” she said.

Lily said that the professors have so much experience and so much to share based on that experience. “I feel like I’m in a pretty good spot,” she said. “I have the baseline knowledge I need and the experience to take myself further.”