Over the course of the Spring 2025 semester, DMA student Shannon Lotti (flute) interned with the Anzû Quartet, a new music ensemble of violin, cello, clarinet, and piano. Anticipating a busy year that would include the release of the group’s debut album (adjust; Cantaloupe Music) and a showcase performance at the Classical:NEXT conference in Berlin, Anzû’s pianist, BGSU alumnus Karl Larson (DMA ‘12), turned to the DMA program for assistance. With her doctoral coursework largely wrapped up and her dissertation proposal already underway going into the spring of her third year in the program, Lotti signed on to help.

Lotti completed the majority of her internship remotely, meeting with Larson and clarinettist Ken Thomson via Zoom as necessary over the course of the semester. Working with Anzû gave Lotti a firsthand look at the inner workings of a new music group: juggling multiple grant applications, finding and pitching concert presenters and venues, making the most of an upcoming international performance, and preparing for an album release. For this last activity, Lotti acted as a proofreader, editing liner notes, the album insert, and the blurb sent to Classical:NEXT.

“As my own ensemble, Spectra Trio, works towards our album recording and release through this next year,” Lotti says, “these will be valuable skills.”

With financial support from the College of Musical Arts (Dorothy Mackenzie Price award) and the MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music, Lotti’s internship culminated with her attendance at Classical:NEXT in May, where she met the ensemble members in-person for the first time and watched them in action. “This visit taught me a lot about how professional chamber ensembles are operating,” Lotti says. “The concert was on Tuesday and the quartet arrived on Sunday.” She also took the opportunity to visit Prague and Vienna, and to take a flute lesson with Eric Lamb, an iconic contemporary flutist.

The internship experience is one of the unique requirements of BGSU’s DMA in Contemporary Music program. These are tailored to students’ interests and are designed to help them develop skillsets unrelated to performance and teaching. Since 2008, DMA students have held internships regionally, nationally, and internationally with more than 50 different museums, orchestras, dance companies, festivals, radio stations, chamber ensembles, foundations, and other organizations. A complete list of internships can be found here.