Dr. Mark Tonelli, Millikin University assistant professor of applied guitar and coordinator of the Guitar Studies Program, is teaching students to be versatile when it comes to establishing a career in the music industry.
New to the Millikin faculty, Tonelli is an active guitarist, composer and author who has built a career spanning nearly three decades performing with artists such as Clay Aiken, Jon Faddis, Rita Moreno, Carol Channing and Lynn Seaton. The New Jersey native has taken the reins of the Guitar Studies Program in the Millikin School of Music, teaching applied guitar and leading the Guitar Ensembles.
"The faculty at Millikin are accomplished performers and educators, and I knew that I would be joining a good group of colleagues," Tonelli said. "I found Millikin students to be bright, articulate and engaged. Looking at the ensembles, curriculum and the students, I saw a really vibrant scene throughout the School of Music."
Tonelli has expanded the Guitar Studies Program by adding the Electric Guitar Ensemble (Guitar Ensemble I) that focuses on jazz, rock and pop styles. It provides guitar students an opportunity to develop their skills in commercial music performance. It also enables students to hone their arranging skills as some of the musical pieces may be arranged by students in the ensemble. The group includes five electric guitars, a bass and percussion.
Tonelli says one of his goals as an educator at Millikin is to help students translate musical skills into a career.
"It's important for artists to think of themselves as a business and realize that you will have to create your own career," Tonelli said. "I've seen that ingrained in the curriculum at Millikin. The idea of a commercial music program where students are also learning business skills aligned really well with my personal philosophy on music education."
Before Millikin, Tonelli was the guitarist for the West Point Band's Jazz Knights for 10 years, touring and performing in some of the nation's top venues, including Jazz Standard, Blues Alley, Avery Fisher Hall, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and The Midwest Clinic. His music has been featured on National Public Radio's (NPR) All Things Considered, and he has won composition awards from Billboard Magazine and The Great American Song Contest.
It's important for artists to think of themselves as a business and realize that you will have to create your own career.
"I'm hoping my experiences as a performer are going to be valuable to the students and that I can share some of the things I've learned over the years," Tonelli said. "The music industry can be tough and I think a lot of music students are focused on their artistic and performance skills."
Tonelli sees the Guitar Program in two pieces; the musicianship piece where students are taught how to be high level performers and acquire the mastery of their instrument, and the entrepreneurship piece where students are trained to think of themselves as their own business.
"The students will be able to develop entrepreneurial tools and strategies to build a sustainable career," Tonelli says. "It's not just a gig or an event here or there, but a career that they can sustain over a lifetime – creating a life in music."
Tonelli has written instructional articles for Guitar Player, Downbeat, The Jazz Education Journal, JazzEd, Jazz Improv, Just Jazz Guitar and The Instrumentalist. As a researcher, he has made presentations at major music conferences, including the Jazz Education Network and College Music Society national conferences.
Tonelli earned a Doctor of Education from Columbia University, a Master of Music in Jazz Studies from the University of North Texas and a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Performance from William Paterson College.
Tonelli notes that student musicians will have five roles during their career: artist, booking agent, marketing specialist, budget manager and web designer.
"Students will have to wear multiple hats, and sometimes it's time consuming, but it also gives them the opportunity to control the content and control their image," Tonelli said. "That's a powerful thing and that's what you ultimately want to do."