A screenshot of 21CM.org's homepage.
The new creative interface by the 21st Century Music initiative for music students and the community at large looks to become a base for flexible and entrepreneurial musicians.
Last week, the music school launched a new site 21CM.org. The site advertises its self as “a place where collaboration, experimentation and excellence in serious music are discussed, applauded and emulated.“ It was created with the demands of the industry and 21st Century Musicians in mind. According to music student Lisa Salazar, “the purpose of the website is to connect musicians in a new way while making it easier to find musicians to collaborate with. I think the goal of the site is to be the "LinkedIn" for the music world.”
The website, 21CM.org, is a place for musicians at all stages in their portfolio or career. It includes a magazine portion that highlights people, organizations, projects and more for students to look to for inspiration. There is also a categorized guide section to point students to events relevant to their own creative process. The other main component of the new site is called The Hub.
The Hub is a platform for students to develop their own portfolio as well as collaborate with other members of the site. With an innovative Hub WorkSpace, members can work on projects privately or create public projects to share online with other Hub members.
The site is part of the music school’s 21st Century Musician Initiative. 21CM is working to create a program that cultivates musicians of the future and provides students with the right tools to thrive as artists in the 21st century.
The initiative’s Graduate Intern Elleka Okerstrom said, "I started working for the School of Music this summer and at that time we were in the beginning phases of creating 21CM.org. It has been really exciting to see this venture develop and come to fruition. I can't wait to see how it not only impacts the School of Music but also the music community at large."
With the public launch of 21CM.org, the music school is working to reach far beyond the DePauw sphere.
Dean McCoy said, “This is the music school's effort to reach out to the wider world. This site is more searchlight than spotlight — rather than brag about ourselves, we are trying to give real world examples of how our students and other 21st century musicians can make it in today's world.”
While the site has only gone public with the beginning of the semester, students and faculty alike are excited to see what can do for the industry as a whole.