Bhen Bri Bernard was invited to a training program at New York City’s legendary Carnegie Hall last year, she was excited to finally be able to visit “this landmark of great music” – and not just to visit, but to “work in the space where so many wonderful artists have performed.”
“Once you’re inside,” says Bernard, “it’s even cooler.”
The Carnegie Hall The B-side helps young New Yorkers ages 14 to 22 explore career paths in the music industry, and Bernard is exactly the kind of student The B-Side wants to reach: a woman of color who grew up in the Bronx, has never been to Carnegie Hall before, and is serious about composing and producing music.
Over the course of a week, she and 39 other young candidates visited the Louis Armstrong Museum and recording studios, learned from entertainment lawyers, union representatives and musicians, and received feedback from professionals on their work.”“I think it’s important to share our knowledge with the next generation of entrepreneurs, artists and producers,” says Donald Garner, one of the popular program leaders, whom the students all affectionately call “Dr. G.” “Research and anecdotal evidence shows us how poorly young people, especially people of color, are represented when it comes to breaking into the industry.”
The highlight for Bernard was visiting Stanley Brown’s Pulse Music Studio in Midtown Manhattan. “It was the first time I worked in a really professional studio,” she says. “It was just amazing.”
Although Bernard plays piano and bass, The B-Side is not aimed specifically at musicians, but at young people interested in a career in music more broadly. “The unifying factor for the young people in the program is their love of music, regardless of what career they‘“We’re very interested,” says Ayanna Cole, director of Carnegie Hall’s Social Impact Program. The students range from artists who have already released their first single to people who are still figuring out what they want to do.
The B in B-Side stands for business. Students learn about contracts, royalties, marketing and other important aspects of the industry. Although the goal of the program is not to produce music, “there’s a break room where we just leave the instruments lying around, and before five minutes are up, someone has picked up the bass, someone is at the piano and the singer jumps on the mic,” Cole observed. “Making music together creates a different kind of community for them.”
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Bernard is one of 40 trainees selected for the week-long pilot program in spring 2023. The program has been so popular that it has since been expanded to a four-month afternoon program, with plans to expand it even further next year. “We’ve been looking closely at research on the lack of diversity in the music industry,” says Cole. She speaks of a “diversity desert where underrepresented groups are plentiful on the charts, but are severely underrepresented not only at the executive level, but also in artist management and other senior levels of the industry.”
