Jessica Muñiz-Collado, 2014 MFA in Music Composition

After completing her MFA in Music Composition at VCFA in 2014, alumnx Jessica Muñiz-Collado has been in the studio and on the stage. From 2019 to 2020, Muñiz-Collado has had major musical publications, has been chosen to judge and speak at multiple industry events, and has even started her own music consulting business.

This is what Muñiz-Collado had to say about her year of music:

 

ON HER RECENT MUSICAL SUCCESSES

It’s been an exciting year for me. My piece “Arise & Go,” a piece commemorating the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11, was published by MalletLab publications, and it premiered at the renowned MalletLab summer intensive. It was also recognized by Pearl/Adams percussion company as the first piece written for their newest electronic mallet product, the Pearl malletSTATION.

I was also selected to serve as a music technology/beat-making judge for the 2020 Hit Like A Girl International Drum Contest. In addition, I was fortunate to speak at the 2020 NAMM Show on media scoring and music licensing, and two U.S. Customs and Border Protection Hispanic-Heritage events where I spoke on the positive influence of Latin music in America and vice versa.

Lastly, a few of my music tracks were selected to be used in the PBS show Blind Love.

ON STARTING HER OWN BUSINESS

I have started my own music consulting business called NIZCO Music. I’ve been conducting research for some time now to develop a program that helps musicians who are feeling lost with the direction of their music career. The program will create a roadmap for the client and evaluate their current musical abilities with the goal of helping bridge the gap to new ways of acquiring employment/income opportunities in both music and music-related industries. Our motto at NIZCO Music is “Helping Musicians Compose Their Career To Their Own B.E.A.T.” B.E.A.T is an acronym for Business, Education, Artist Development, Technology.

I do believe that a fulfilling career in music is possible, and it hurts me to see musicians give up on their careers. That’s why I created my business. The goal was not to expand my artistry, but rather help other artists expand theirs.

Musicians who would like to schedule a free consultation call to learn more about NIZCO Music can email me at [email protected] or visit my website nizcomusic.com.

 

Read more stories about our Alumnx through our Alumnx Success series. Interested in an MFA in Music Composition? Visit our program page for more information on our VCFA graduate degrees.