Cyprienne's Summer at NYU Clive Davis Institute

Hi, it’s Cyp! I’m overjoyed to say that I was recently accepted into the NYU Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music Summer High School program!

In October, my mom and I had the opportunity to visit the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music’s facility which occupies two half floors of a big high rise building in Downtown Brooklyn. We were treated to a personally guided tour by our family friend who is also a professor in the program and we sat in on his class, and I knew immediately that I needed to go to college there. The community at CDI is small and feels like a warm family where everyone knows each other and collaborates on projects together. This is something that I really want to be a part of and when I learned that there was an opportunity for me to attend CDI before college I immediately started my application. The application required me to answer 4 essay questions and make a 2 minute video. I spent hours working on this application making sure that it was absolutely perfect, and it paid off! Only 36 students are admitted each summer so this is truly an amazing opportunity for me and an honor.

To me, music is the most beautiful and vulnerable form of expression, and there is absolutely nothing I love more than a song. I describe many of my favorite artists’ music as the same sound frequency as my soul, and I want to further understand why that is and how I can create music that rings at that frequency for someone else. This program will allow me to explore every facet of myself as a musician and a producer, and place me on the right path in my discovery of who I am as a musician. Also, if I attend the summer program and do well, it is a feeder into the undergraduate degree program which is my ultimate goal for college.

I spend the majority of my time reading Pitchfork news and reviews, discovering new music, and recently teaching myself how to sing and play guitar (despite popular opinion, I’ve realized that guitar is much easier than bass), and in this program I would have the opportunity to meet other students who are as passionate as I am! I would also be learning new skills, like how to use the music production software ProTools, LogicPro, and real soundboard as I currently only know how to use Ableton Live.

Unfortunately, CDI’s summer program’s tuition is out of my family’s budget (we applied for a scholarship but were denied), so we’re turning to our friends and family to help me fulfill this dream. It would mean the world to me if you could donate any sum of money however large or small to help me pursue my passion.

With love,

Cyprienne

Cost Breakdown:

Tuition for 6 units: $11,064

Program fee (activities facilitated by Residential Life & Housing): $200

Housing for 4 weeks: $1,232

Meal Plan: $768

Recorded Music Lab Fee: $316

Recorded Music Ticket Fee: $340

Total Cost: $13,920

Deadline for Tuition Payment is May 7, 2024

GFM Donation Deadline: April 30, 2024

Program Website for additional information:

https://tisch.nyu.edu/special-programs/high-school-programs/recorded-music