There is a music scene on Lehigh’s campus comprised of students who create their own music, open for platinum-selling recording artists, perform at bars and events in huge cities and strive to cultivate a creative network of artistically-driven minds.
The members of the Lehigh music scene serve to create an atmosphere for students that is fun and enjoyable while expressing themselves in ways they are passionate about. With Lehigh’s resources, such as University Productions and Residential Services, students have been able to create a visible music scene.
Jasmine Banful, ’19, first picked up DJing at Lehigh. After experimenting at a mixer, she began to develop a skill for music. Earlier this year, University Productions gave her the opportunity to open for Blackbear, a hip-hop artist who has worked with the likes of Justin Bieber, Pharrell Williams and Linkin Park.
Michael Gooding, ’18, got into DJing his senior year of high school. Now, he DJs everything from events in Lamberton to clubs and bars across Pennsylvania.
Frankie Rodriguez, ’19, has been making music ever since high school, which hosted a music program that taught him and his classmates the fundamentals of making beats. His friend Donterrius Walker, ’19, started making music his first year in high school with a free version of Virtual DJ and no prior experience. Now he can make an originally-sampled beat in under 15 minutes.
As first-years, Rodriguez and Walker came up with the idea of creating a Live Lehigh house equipped with a fully functioning studio space to house Lehigh students with a passion for arts together under one roof. This fall marks the third successful semester of the house, and they hope it will become an integral part of Lehigh.
Walker said without a music scene at Lehigh, everyone would be zombies. And without Lehigh, these students wouldn’t have the resources to add to the creative environment on campus.
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