Don’t Take My Word For It!
…take theirs!
And thank you as well for coming to Fellows and taking part, again with such patience and interest. You were so generous and terrific. Please think of me if you are around in future.”
Penelope Laurans
Senior Adviser at Yale University Head of Jonathan Edwards College, retired
“Great to meet you yesterday in my Sudler classroom. The business you talked about is something the Yale students really need to hear. I love the Spanish language bid for the Lottery Account! Awesome idea. My students have often heard me lecture them that the goal is Get out of the Big Pile!”
Richard Gard
Yale School of Music
“Please accept my heartfelt thanks for your dynamic and compelling presentations during your Yale visit with us. You did a very fine & terrific job and at each session the students were clearly engaged – and their teachers were, too!”
Kathryn Alexander
Prof. of Composition & Music Technology Department of Music Yale University
“Thanks so much for speaking to my class and Richard’s. It was a great presentation. I just wish we had had more time! If you have any time and would like to test drive the Hammond or any of the other vintage keys, let me know- you have a free lifetime pass!”
Jack Vees Director
Center for Studies in Music Technology Yale School of Music
“Many thanks to Jonathan Wolff for a fascinating lecture at Yale University this morning! Mr. Wolff will also be presenting a Composition Seminar at Yale tomorrow afternoon, providing two valuable new additions to the OHAM archives.”
Libby Van Cleve
Director Oral History of American Music at Yale University
Brian K. Price
Clinical Professor of Law and Director Transactional Law Clinics of Harvard Law School
“Thank you so much Jonathan for coming to speak to us, your insights were greatly appreciated!”
Rebecca Rechtszaid
Harvard Law School
We thoroughly enjoyed your presentation and we have had a lot of positive reception from it! It was really refreshing to not only hear your experience with your lawyer in drafting unique deal points, but it was also great that you had concrete clauses and anecdotes to support your theme.
Jennifer Marr
Harvard Law School
“My husband Mark Gailus and I were at your talk at Harvard Law yesterday and enjoyed speaking with you more afterwards. Thank you for an inspirational presentation, which is actually of use to anyone in any field! Our son Arshan also said he enjoyed your presentation at Tufts and appreciated having the chance to speak with you.”
Tanya Bartevyan
Harvard University New England Conservatory of Music
Jon Burlingame
Screen Scoring Program USC Thornton School of Music
Eager to do lots more together. Thanks again for your generosity and commitment to education.”
Panos Panay
BerkleeICE: Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship
Berklee College of Music
“It was a pleasure to host you Jonathan!
I love seeing a room fill up with students when we have a great speaker with really relevant and crucial info, and Thursday was definitely one of those days.”
Nicole d’Avis
Operations and Events Manager
BerkleeICE: Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship
Berklee College of Music
Hummie Mann, D.M.A.
Film Composer/PNWFS Program Creator
Thank you so much for stopping by SFI yesterday! It was an absolutely captivating morning. And it’s heartwarming to hear from you that it’s still about personal connections.
And hilarious pilot ads!
Looking forward to ruffling feathers and building great relationships.
Anton du Perez
Pacific Northwest Film Scoring Program at SFI
With gratitude,
Daryl P. Friedman
Chief Industry, Government & Member Relations Officer The Recording Academy/GRAMMYs
“LOVED your stories. What an incredible gift!”
Claudette Silver
Silver Muse Productions
“Thanks so much for coming out and participating. It was so much fun watching you work and seeing the level of engagement everyone had during your presentation. I hope we get to do it again soon.”
Clay Upton
Director of Production & Event Development
The Recording Academy/GRAMMYs
Don Marra, Penn Law Student
Quoted in The Daily Pennsylvanian newspaper
“He was very business-savvy. I especially liked how he talked about how he used both smart business tricks as well as more shameless methods, that no road is too shallow to take.”
Gustavo Vardona, Penn Law Student
Quoted in The Daily Pennsylvanian newspaper
Anne Marie DiNardo, Board of Governors
Georgetown University National Alumni Association
Larry S. Miller
Music Business Program NYU-Steinhardt
“Thank you again for your presentation, expertise, and willingness to share your invaluable experience. We are so appreciative for your sharing and presence.”
Ronald H. Sadoff, Ph.D.
New York University
Dept. of Music & Performing Arts Professions
“It was a pleasure hosting you. The students had a great time–they have taken your words of wisdom to heart, thinking more about marketing stategies, probably having their soundcloud pages and web addresses printed on coffee mugs as we speak!
Great yarns, great time. Thanks so much.”
Mark Suozzo
Film Scoring Program
New York University
“No composer has shared with us as in-depth of their experience reaching the top as you did.”
Madeleine Tan
NYU Steinhardt
Scoring for Film and Multimedia
Anne Witchner
Assistant Dean Student Affairs
Carnegie Mellon University
We really enjoyed having you.”
Madiha Shafquat Lecture Director
Lecture Series Committee
Kareem Roustom
Lecturer of Music Tufts
University Department of Music
Daniel Wood
Musicianship and Composition Chair
SFCM Pre-College Division
San Francisco Conservatory of Music
Rachel L. Roberts
Director of Entrepreneurial Musicianship
New England Conservatory
Mark Koch
Director of Jazz Guitar
Assistant Academic Advisor Duquesne University
Kim C. Pensyl
Director of Commercial Music Production College-Conservatory of Music
University of Cincinnati
“I can’t thank you enough for having made yourself available to CCM Commercial Music Production students and faculty on your recent visit to Cincinnati. I have heard rave reviews from all concerned. I’m glad we might be able to keep you engaged with the college for at least as long as your daughter is a UC student.”
Peter Landgren, Dean
College-Conservatory of Music
University of Cincinnati
“Thank you so much for coming and speaking to us at CCM yesterday! I took a lot from your presentation, really enjoyed your story lessons, and hope to hear you again soon. I am very interested in learning as much as I can about the business. I think that most aspiring musicians don’t take it seriously enough and that is what breaks them. I have always loved the idea of the’independent-business’ model and seeing that you have become so successful with that approach is very inspiring.”
Dan de Groh
Commercial Music Production Major
College-Conservatory of Music University of Cincinnati
Melinda Wagner
Composition Department
The Juilliard School
Michael K. Slayton, D.M.A.
Associate Professor/Chair
Department of Music Composition & Theory Vanderbilt University
Blair School of Music
Scotty Huff
Record Producer | Film Composer
Nashville, TN
“It was a pleasure to meet you Sunday night at the SESAC party and you were very kind to invite us to your wonderful Monday performance At Belmont. As Ben Bradlee said about Norman Lear, an evening with you should be bottled and consumed regularly. We so enjoyed it.”
Kent Grizzell
Franklin, TN
“I recently saw your presentation at the Belmont event. Your career is very inspiring and it is great that you are now giving back to others!”
Dr Dave Tough
Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business
Belmont University
“Thank you for giving your informative talk at Belmont a few weeks ago! Hearing just a few of your stories about your experiences in the
entertainment industry was incredibly inspiring and informative. I spoke with you briefly afterwards – I’m double majoring in motion pictures and commercial music with a composition and arranging emphasis. I would love to go into a similar career path as yours.”
Bethany Brinton
Student
Belmont University School of Music
“My name is Becca Darling, and I greatly enjoyed your visit to Belmont this past Monday. I attended both presentations, and asked you about how you kept that tambourine on the piano at the very end (I sat up front for the last show). I also play piano, so the night concert was a treat for me. Your journey as a musician and pianist has inspired me and helped to clarify in my own head where I want to go and what I want to learn next. Knowing that many songs and genres, and being able to play them at the drop of a hat is the mark of a versatile player, and is something I want to achieve now. Thank you for being so open with your time and experiences; it was invaluable for me.”
Becca Darling
Student
Belmont University School of Music
“It was our pleasure to serve you and hear your stories. Thanks for giving back to students with your experiences, there is only so much that they can hear from an old ‘road dog’ like me and some of the staff and professors around here.”
Rusty King
Production and Facilities Manage
Belmont University School of Music
Dave Clark
Head of Jazz Studies Program
Bellarmine University
Christian Steinmetz
Student
Clemson University
Mark Kilstofte
Professor of Music
Furman University
Nickitas Demos, DMA
Professor of Music Composition Georgia State University School of Music
Dr. Robert Spittal
Professor of Music
Gonzaga University
Tim Haertel
Lecturer in Music Industry Advisor for Sound Engineering and Music Business Indiana University Southeast
Ethan Germann
Student
Loyola University New Orleans
“Thank you very much for coming. I received lots of positive feedback about your visit.
I hope we can get you back soon. I’ll be in touch.”
Tim Kappel
Professor of Entertainment Law
Loyola University New Orleans
Dave Walter
Assistant Director of Outreach and Admissions Director of the LYNX National Arts & Media Camps College of Arts & Media University of Colorado Denver
Dr. Jonathan B. McNair Coordinator of Music Theory and Composition, UT Chattanooga Department of Music
Jon Nelson
Professor of Music University at Buffalo
“Thank you for sharing your stories with the UB Concert Band. They were very interesting. I play french horn in the band but am mainly a pianist. I loved how you mentioned artists such as Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan, Doobie Brothers etc. as I listen to the music of pretty much all of the groups you mentioned and also play my own piano covers of many songs from the 1970’s. It was truly interesting to hear your take on some of those songs as well when you sat down at the piano. You are an awesome piano player! Thank you for taking the time to share your amazing talent with us!”
Joshua Tixier
Student
University at Buffalo
“Thank you so much for speaking to the concert band! I think I speak for us all when I say that we thoroughly enjoyed hearing from you. Though I am not currently pursuing a career in music, it is a big part of my life and I appreciated your candor about the realities of working in the industry. I found myself feeling inspired after hearing you speak. Through multiple ups and downs you have been able to cultivate a pretty sweet career/life for yourself. I hope that someday I’ll have those things as well.”
Maddie Collins
Student
University at Buffalo
Edward A. Petersen
Professor in Jazz Studies University of New Orleans
Antonio J. García
Director of Jazz Studies Virginia Commonwealth University
“Just wanted to thank you for your talk today at VCU. My name is AndrewRandazzo, I graduated from the jazz studies program at VCU in 2012. (I was the guy in the yellow shirt with the glasses asking too many questions) I loved hearing your advice on everything today and I want to delve deeper into my song writing skills. I dug your analogy about pulling the ball out and working on weaknesses.”
Andrew Randazzo
Jazz Studies Graduate
Virginia Commonwealth University
I followed your advice, and attended a workshop in California earlier this summer. It was great fun; I met people and made connections, as you suggested, and from it I got a gig! Your advice about making connections and being persistent was so helpful, and I am very thankful for it.”
Kathryn Jorgensen
Kubilay Uner
Director, Music Composition for the Screen MFA program
Columbia College Chicago
Laura Lamansky
Sports and Entertainment Law Society, President
University of Wisconsin Law School
Noelle Klockner
The University of Notre Dame Law School
J.D. Candidate Class of 2019