Bringing Chattanooga’s live music scene into the classroom, students learn marketable skills while promoting Chattanooga’s unique live music with the Exploring Chattanooga Music Scene course.
Professor Chandler Harris oversees communication classes in collaboration with the Chattanooga Tourism Company. Through his work with the 2022 Chattanooga Music Census Survey, Harris learned about the struggles local musicians are experiencing to gain traction.
“Personally, I’ve always loved local live music, so anything I can do to bring that joy to others is worth my time and energy,” Harris said. “Plus, the best way to keep live music alive is to bring others into the crowd.”
This course is designed from the study of music and provides students with hands-on experience to build marketing skills.
This partnership is focused on solving the challenges many local musicians have to promote themselves and strengthen students’ marketing abilities. Students will create blog posts, photo diaries, video shoots, and social media posts to highlight the uniqueness of Chattanooga venues.
UTC Library Studio Director Emily Thompson stopped by the class to show off the various tripods and cameras that students can use from the studio to record their experiences.
Harris said the partnership with CTC provides students with a glimpse into the careers they may pursue after graduation, as well as great networking opportunities.
Olivia Patrick, a student enrolled in the course, expressed her excitement about creating content through the course and the experience she hopes to gain after graduation.
“I’m really excited about the networking part, just making connections for my future,” Patrick said.
Students enrolled in this class will be able to see their work featured on CTC’s social media pages.
Student Lydia Ramirez said she would like to “get out into the city and see what kind of music is offered here,” as well as learn more about social media marketing techniques.
Professor Harris shared his goal for his class to build community as they meet and collaborate with people in the local music community.
“I can easily see internship opportunities arising from this class,” Harris said. “There also seems to be a growing interest in local music in general, which will benefit everyone.”
Student Kendall Robinson hopes that capturing media in the music scene will strengthen her as an aspiring musician.
“I want to experience more of what Chattanooga’s live music scene is like,” Robinson said. “I’m a musician, but I don’t really play professionally. But this will not only help me learn a lot about this city, but if I’m doing music, it will help me in the long run. I think it will be helpful.”