UPDATED 3:58 P.M. ET Oct. 24, 2020: An error was made in the lead, which originally stated that all the music tech adjunct professors were Capital alumni. This is not the case. The article’s lead has been updated to be more relevant and accurate of the subject matter.
Since the start of the 2020 Fall semester, many new adjuncts have been hired across Capital’s programs, and the music technology program has seen the arrival of two Capital graduates.
Andie Cascioli and Brian Skeel are both music technology graduates that have returned to teach. At the time of this writing, Skeel was not available for a comment.
“I’ve always wanted to eventually become a professor of some sort or teacher of some sort…coming back to Capital, and in knowing [Neal Schmitt and Chad Baker], I’ve been pushing for a while about there being no women instructors in the music tech department,” said Andie Cascioli, music technology adjunct professor and 2012 Capital graduate.
Cascioli became passionate about teaching when she started volunteering at Girls Rock Columbus, a rock and roll camp dedicated to trans non binary and female identifying kids from ages 12 to 17. Girls Rock Columbus showed Cascioli the importance of representation in the music tech industry and how influential it can be for children to see themselves represented in their educators.
Women in the music technology industry only make up less than five percent of the industry. This lack of representation has caused Cascioli to work endlessly to ensure that there is diversity, inclusion and representation in the music technology program.
“Identifying as an LGBTQ person as well, I wanted my students to be able to see even though I can’t give that representation to everyone in my class, I can show it to some of my students that you are welcomed here and you’re part of this community,” said Cascioli. “You are able to achieve these kinds of things as well. You don’t really see women in my field so I’ve been really hell bent on making sure that representation is coming.”
Cascioli has made sure to represent a diverse group of people as speakers for her classes.
“All of the speakers in class have been non-white, cis people and stuff like that,” said Cascioli. “I want to make sure that all of the information that I’m presenting is coming from multiple different sources and that it’s not just the same thing over and over again.”
Cascioli was initially nervous to take on her position, as she did not want to make the same mistakes to her students that her educators did to her.
“I put a lot more pressure on myself than anybody else does and I wanted to make sure that I was living up to my standards, as well as my students’ standards because I know what my education lacked,” said Cascioli.
After volunteering at Frostbite Fest, an event held by WXCU every year in January where local Columbus bands can perform for university students and local residents, Cascioli felt that she had what it takes to be not only a music tech professor, but a leader for those who feel they are not getting the appropriate representation in their industry.
“After we kind of got through our first gig as a team… we really started to hit our stride as a group and I think that’s when it hit me where I was like, ‘I want to keep doing this, and I want to keep taking on more responsibilities and more classes so that it’s not just the same five white guys saying the same thing over and over,’” said Cascioli.
Cascioli hopes that students of all kinds will take music technology classes. Whether a student is a music tech major or is majoring in a field completely different from the classes she is teaching, she wants students to find a space where they can feel comfortable, included and represented.
“I’m hoping that I’m able to work with Lisa Cave and more students in the spring about maybe creating a safe and sounds network, or a women and audio network on campus so that they have faculty members that actually represent the ideals of the group…. Anybody that is interested in live sound at all should sign up for Music 203,” said Cascioli.
For more information regarding music tech classes contact Lisa Cave at lcave@capital.edu or Andie Cascioli at acascioli2@capital.edu.
