DETROIT — Detroit Institute of Music Education, a music education college dedicated to teaching the next generation of modern musicians, has launched in downtown Detroit.
Its temporary location on Woodward Avenue, between John R and Witherell, opened today, and will serve as its admissions office and performance space. Prospective students are permitted to visit the space to meet the team, and sign up anytime between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Monday through Saturday. The space will also be equipped with a live stage and sound system, and will feature regular entertainment events.
Founded by music industry veterans Kevin Nixon, Sarah Clayman, and Bruce Dickinson, the institute offers advanced music students a college-style experience in contemporary music, with musicians and industry professionals teaching courses in guitar, bass, vocals, drums, songwriting and music entrepreneurship. Prospective students can pursue a bachelor’s degree, diploma in creative music performance, or sign up for part-time and summer music education programs. The institute expects to enroll 150 students for its 2014-2015 school year.
“The music industry is a complicated business, and learning by experience can be a long route, ,” says Kevin Nixon, president of the institute. “Musicians will be playing in bands, meeting industry professionals, mastering technique, promoting their own shows, developing their brand, arranging songs, and many other exciting career development activities.”
The institute is the third music education venture for serial entrepreneurs Nixon, Clayman, and Dickinson. The trio’s most recent model grew to a multi-campus college with locations in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Its educational programs are built on the model pioneered by its founders. Michigan-based private equity firm Beringea has also made a $3 million investment in the institute to fund the opening in Detroit.
The institute will formally open in September, when renovations are complete on the historic Bamlet Building, located at 1265 Griswold Street and owned by Bedrock Real Estate Services. The school will occupy more than 20,000 square feet of space on four floors of the seven-story, building in Capitol Park at the corner of Griswold Street and Grand River Avenue, built in 1896.
