Music Capstone Celebration Showcases Senior Student Projects

In December, the University of New Haven Department of Music, Theater, and Dance hosted its first-ever capstone showcase, presenting a chance for senior Music & Sound Recording and Music Industry majors to share their work with faculty and fellow students.

During their senior year, all music majors complete a capstone project that serves as the culmination of their learning at the University, representing a portfolio piece that they can use to build their career post-graduation.

For Music & Sound Recording Majors, this can involve producing, recording, mixing, and mastering songs in the University’s recording studios or pursuing projects related to film audio post-production, virtual instrument design, video game music composition, and more.

For Music Industry (MIND) Majors, recent projects included pitches for music-tech applications, formation of a student-run organization as part of the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), a start-up record label, or research into the mythmaking of Artists & Repertoire.

“Of course, I knew what my MIND students would present, and I’m proud of their work and the support they got from their classmates,” reflected Mark Tavern, assistant professor of practice in Music Industry. “I was also impressed by the skill and the diversity of creativity displayed by the Music & Sound Recording students, all of whom really turned in amazing work.”

It was Music & Sound Recording senior and Audio Engineering Society President Logan Pollak ’26 who had the idea for the Senior Playback. “At my former college, we also had capstone projects, and we would book out a whole weekend for students to show off their music. Friends and family would show up, and it was a wonderful community moment to look forward to,” he explains. “I wanted to emulate that, but I never imagined it would go this well.”

The afternoon began with Music Industry seniors presenting their capstone projects to an audience of students and professors. Topics ranged from a student-run concert in the University’s German Club to a proposal on marketing the Nashville Study Away Program to current and prospective students.

MIND major Imani Cooper ’26 presented her project on boot-strapping an independent record label called Blue Hour Music Group. “The goal was to develop the skills of performers and educate musicians on the intricacies of the music industry, while allowing unique individuals to stay true to their art,” Imani explained. She aspires to work alongside developing artists, and this project helped equip her with the skills necessary to do so.

Imani leaves a piece of advice for all MIND students who will be completing a capstone soon. “When I first started thinking about what to do for my capstone, I knew I didn’t want it to just be something I put in my resume, but also something I would be proud of. My advice to those starting their capstones soon is to do something you wouldn’t have thought to do before you came here. Then, exceed your own expectations so you can see how far you’ve come.”

As part of the evening, each Music & Sound Recording senior played a selection from their project and answered questions from fellow students and faculty about their process. Students got to enjoy each other’s music and discuss songwriting, microphone techniques, mixing styles, and more.

Many students chose to write and record original music, such as Carson Cramer ’26 for his band Jericko, and Paul Dickens ’26 for his band Somethin’ Trippy. Other notable work included a project from Zach Rivet ’26, which involved composing and arranging orchestral music in combination with rock instruments, involving massive sessions nearing one hundred different tracks.

Several students decided to explore beyond recording songs, with Valor Swezey ’26 recording and mixing sound for a scene from the 1948 Hitchcock film Rope, Emma Yakalis ’26 using Reaktor to design a digital synthesizer that modeled a viola, and Joshua Doody ’26 composing music and creating sound design for several different video games.

“The turnout was so fantastic,” said Logan. “I think the reason it worked was that our student body is super supportive and kind. Seeing everyone come together and support each other was amazing.”

The goal is now to make this a yearly tradition, allowing graduating seniors to showcase the skills they gained over their time at the University and under-class students to see all the incredible experiences they get to work toward.