USF names record label

By Alex Brown | Inside INdiana Business

The student-run record label recently launched at the University of Saint Francis has a name. The label, which will be led by students in the university's Music Technology and Media Entrepreneurship Training in the Arts programs, will be known as Marble Lounge Records.

Students named the label after an area of the Music Technology Center at the university's downtown Fort Wayne location. The center's student lounge features a marble wall that was part of the original Scottish Rite building before the university bought an renovated the building in 2015.

USF announced the launch of the record label in September. Music Department Chair Miles Fulwider spoke with Inside INdiana Business after the launch and said the label will provide a hands-on opportunity for students.

Marble Lounge Records is currently reviewing submissions from local musicians to determine the first artist to record under the label. The winner will be announced in January and the label plans to release its first record next spring.

USF has also announced it will offer a new Low-Residency Master of Fine Arts degree in Studio Art beginning in the fall of 2018. The university says the program will focus on independent creative practice with roots in traditional studio arts.

"This new degree sets the university apart from its regional competitors and peer institutions," said Colleen Huddleson, interim dean of the School of Creative Arts at USF. "This program trains and cultivates artists in preparation for academia. It allows for continued exploration, investigation and study in the fine arts as well as permitting study at a distance, introducing USF to a wider market."

USF says the program will begin with an eight-day, on-campus residency, followed by a semester of critical theory and self-designed, guided studio practice.