Course Syllabus
Contact Information
Eric Walschap is a multi-award-winning Artist Manager, a voting member of the GRAMMYs® and Recording Academy, the Manager and Administrative Coordinator of the OU School of Music, a Professor of Music in multiple disciplines and a Professor of Artist Management for the OU Arts Management and Entrepreneurship Department, the director of the award-winning Resonance Series, the director and lead negotiator of COSMICA (The Consortium of Oklahoma Schools of Music and Institutes for Creators in the Arts), the program director of the Jazz in June Festival, a professional film music consultant, a world-touring professional saxophonist who has recorded with GRAMMY®-winning musicians and engineers, an internationally in-demand speaker on music and artist management, and serves on the Board of Directors of four non-profit organizations.
As an Educator, Eric was hired by OU in 2012 as the Professor of Saxophone and Woodwind Techniques while still in graduate school, and within one year was hired to be the manager of the department. At the age of 26, he was the youngest faculty member in the college and one of the youngest in school history. He completed the majority of his graduate work in Saxophone Performance as his own professor. Over the last decade, his responsibilities at OU continued to grow, becoming the Administrative Coordinator for the department as well as teaching 11 sections of music classes, making him the faculty member with the most number of students in the School of Music at nearly 500. Eric is also the Professor of Artist Management for the Arts Management Department in the College of Fine Arts, one of the top programs of its kind in the country, where he teaches how to manage and negotiate against elite-level artists in the field of performing arts, primarily GRAMMY® and Tony-winning artists . His students include professors from universities across the country - including current OU professors in other departments - executive directors of companies, presidents of non-profit organizations, and more.
As an Artist Manager, he represents multi-GRAMMY® winning musicians and engineers, negotiating and contracting deals with platinum-selling artists and on mediums ranging from Broadway to Netflix. The most recent project he and his clients worked on was "Impossible Dream", where they co-produced one of the most ambitious projects in the music and musical theater world; featuring Aaron Lazar and artists like Lin Manuel Miranda, Josh Groban, Sting, Neil Patrick Harris, Leslie Odom, Jr., Loren Allred, Norm Lewis, Kate Baldwin, Kelli O'Hara, Rebecca Luker, and Kristin Chenoweth. This project is FYC for both Grammy and Tony Awards.
As a Producer, Eric has worked with either the artists or band members of pop stars like Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Beyoncé, Paul McCartney, Lizzo, Michael Jackson, Prince, Billy Joel, Elton John, Kanye West, Justin Timberlake, Dr. Dre, Toto, BTS, Ariana Grande, Shakira, Jay Z, John Legend, Josh Groban, Kesha, Eminem, Barbra Streisand, and Celine Dion, jazz legends like Christian McBride, Jon Batiste, Esperanza Spalding, Chick Correa, Ray Charles, Snarky Puppy, and Cory Wong, and other famous musicians in various disciplines including Eric Whitacre, Adam Neely, Pedro Eustache, Alex Cuba, and the inventor of hip hop, DJ Kool Herc. He has worked with the musical directors of the Super Bowl, American Idol, U.S. Presidential Inaugurations, Guggenheim Fellows, GRAMMY® Hall of Fame inductees, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, and more. He is close enough to these elite musicians that he often houses GRAMMY® winners, Emmy winners, U.S. Ambassadors of Music, members of the bands of Kendrick Lamar, Pharrell, Snoop Dogg, Toto, Justin Timberlake, Snarky Puppy, and Celine Dion, and many others in the theater room of his home while they worked on projects in Oklahoma.
As the director of the Resonance Series, (trailer) the first new official series in the School of Music in over a quarter century, he has connected students at the University of Oklahoma with some of the most influential people in the world of music. Since 2020 he has brought more than 60 guests to OU including over 30 GRAMMY® winners, as well as Oscar, Emmy, Tony, Pulitzer, Golden Globe, Latin Grammy, and Juno winners. Through his grant writing and developmental work with sponsors and donors, he single-handedly increased the artist budget of the Resonance Series by 700% in four years, with its total operational budget - including in-kind donations - growing by over 1900% during the same time period. This enormous growth has driven the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, Oklahoma Department of Education, the Texas/Oklahoma GRAMMY® chapter, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and other local, state, and regional entities to partner with the series to further expand its reach and resources.
As the director and lead negotiator for COSMICA (The Consortium of Oklahoma Schools of Music and Institutes for Creators in the Arts), he negotiates on behalf of the state of Oklahoma - representing six universities including the two flagship institutions, the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University - the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, the Oklahoma Department of Education, multiple public school systems, multiple public library systems, over a dozen businesses, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and the Texas/Oklahoma GRAMMYs® office to create tours for some of the world’s most famous musicians. The combination of his connections with artist representation for the highest echelon of musicians, paired with his fierce but fair negotiating style have resulted in thousands of Oklahomans being able to be in attendance of, perform with, and learn from the most successful musicians on the planet.
As the program director for Jazz in June, he leads a program committee made up of 16 professionals from a diverse range of backgrounds to select artists and groups for the legendary Jazz in June Festival in Norman, Oklahoma, which has been in existence for over 40 years and has had some of the most famous jazz names in history at the festival. With 30,000-50,000 people in attendance a year and providing an economic impact of over $3,000,000 for the city of Norman, Eric is solely responsible for final selection, negotiating with, and contracting with the artists and management teams of all of the groups selected for the festival. Since 2019, he has brought 22 GRAMMY® winners to the festival, as well as Emmy winners, two U.S. Ambassadors of Music, three military jazz bands including the legendary Jazz Ambassadors (Army) and Airmen of Note (Airforce), and dozens of other national and internationally-acclaimed bands.
As a film Music Consultant, he is called to the sets of multi-million dollar films to provide expertise for various music-related elements of movies, most recently working for Apple Studios as the music consultant for the Martin Scorcese Film Killers of the Flower Moon.
Eric has a rich history as a Professional Saxophonist, with a rare balanced experience of success in both the pop and classical/academic world. Within the pop world, he has recorded and performed with multiple GRAMMY® winners, most notably with members from the bands of artists like Kendrick Lamar, The Weeknd, 50 Cent, Justin Timberlake, Xzibit, Nelly, Toto, and Snarky Puppy. He has done solo performances internationally in multiple countries across South America and Europe, toured the United States multiple times with several bands from Los Angeles and Las Vegas to Chicago and NYC, including a career performance highlight of doing a mid-court solo at Madison Square Garden. In the classical/academic world, his notable performances include playing at the International Saxophone Symposium in Washington, D.C., and at multiple North American Saxophone Alliance conferences at both national and regional levels.
As an in-demand Lecturer and Expert in various fields of music and artist management, he has given speeches or talks at the National Endowment for the Arts, the International Saxophone Symposium, has been interviewed on National Public Radio four times, and is regularly invited to speak at schools across the country.
Eric does significant Committee Service for the university, most notably as a member of the SoM Technology Committee since 2013 (serving as Chair twice) and as an advisor for the OU Academic Integrity Office as an expert in AI detection in academic papers.
As a Business Owner/Operator, he was the Executive Director of Infinity Music and Arts, LLC. from 2009-2013, and the Manager of Axent Music, LLC. from 2005-2009. Between these two studios, he hired and managed nearly 40 teachers who taught over 300 students from 2005-2013.
His Volunteer roles include working with Big Brothers Big Sisters, serving on the Board of Directors of four non-profit organizations (National African American Jazz Legacy Museum, a founding board member of the Oklahoma Saxophone Society, Friends of Music, and Jazz in June), serving as a roundtable member for the Norman Arts Council, being a faculty advisor for two student groups, being a faculty host for international students, serving as the Senator for the School of Music in the University of Oklahoma Senate, donating roughly 15% of his OU salary to music non-profit organizations, and 100% of his salary from Jazz in June to non-profits.
Significant Recognitions include being named a Marquis® Who’s Who in America in 2024 in the Entrepreneurs, Business Owners, and Professionals category, and selected as the 2021 Oklahoma Business Professional Award by the Oklahoma Film + Music Office and Oklahoma Department of Commerce.
Eric is member of the Phi Mu Alpha and Kappa Kappa Psi Fraternities.
Course Details
For a list of course activities, scroll to the bottom of this page.
Course Prerequisites
- AMGT 5013 – Overview of Arts Management & Entrepreneurship
- Approval from OU faculty mentor
Course Materials
Dependent on the student - each student will collect their own materials throughout the course by way of the Self-Directed Study assignments.
Grades
Breakdown
| Activity | Description | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Five Year Plans | You will submit several versions of a five year plan (Plan A, Plan B, revised plan). | 20 |
| Self-Directed Study | Every other week, you will turn in a collection of 5 new resources directly connected to your project and goals, along with summaries and reflections on each. | 20 |
| Project Management Reports | Every other week, you will provide a screenshot(s) of your progress within your project management platform and a reflection on your current progress. You will receive feedback over the Live Session or through Canvas. | 20 |
| Individual Project | This will consist of a plan (start of the semester), a draft/prototype (midterm), and final deliverables (end of the course). | 40 |
| Total | 100 |
Scale
| Percentage | Letter Grade |
|---|---|
| 90–100% | A |
| 80–89% | B |
| 70–79% | C |
| 60–69% | D |
| Below 60% | F |
Course Components
Module Overviews
Each module will have an overview page that will introduce what you will do during the module and why, outline the specific skills/competencies you are expected to gain, and help you to manage your expectations and time.
Resources
Throughout the course, you may need collective instructor-provided resources to help you succeed in the first module, midterm module, and final module. This might consist of information on how to write goals, information on project management tools, etc.
Five Year Plans
These assignments give you the opportunity to create goals that are specific to what you want to accomplish during your career, which will guide your project choice for your independent study.
Self-Directed Study
These assignments will require you to collect and synthesize resources that will help you to achieve your goals in your independent study. This is necessary, as each student’s topic of study will be unique.
Project Management Reports
You will upload screenshot(s) of your project management platform and reflections on your current progress, which will keep you accountable for the commitments you have made for progress throughout the semester and help your faculty mentor to assess your progress. You may receive feedback by attending the Live Sessions or through Canvas.
Individual Project
This will be the final project that all of the other assignments in the course revolve around. This project will be unique to you and could consist of market research, a research article, a conference presentation, designing a complete portfolio, a recording project, a publishing project, developing an app, and so forth. The final project and/or documentation of the project (for example, photos, promotional materials, etc. if it is an event) will be uploaded at the end of the semester. You will submit a project plan at the start of the semester and a draft/prototype at midterm.
Course Policies
Communication
Please contact me directly by email at stan.renard@ou.edu. I will get back to you within 24 hours Monday thru Friday. I do check email over weekends but will most likely respond first thing on Monday morning to your inquiry. Please feel free to address me as Dr. Renard or by my first name. I highly encourage you to reach out to me for feedback, with any questions you may have, as I am here to help advise and mentor you to the best of my ability. I look forward to our exchanges.
Feedback
There will be live online check-ins every other week. This will be a two-hour window of time where you can come in and out to seek feedback from me. Those are not mandatory. You will upload your assignments on Canvas and I will provide feeback to you within the Canvas framework for the corresponding assignments. I will strive to provide you that detailed feedback within a one-week turnaround on your assignments.
Late Policy
I will accept late assignments. However, for each day the assignment is turned in late you will lose 1% of the overall grade for that assignment.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the most common form of academic misconduct at OU. There is basically no college-level assignment that can be satisfactorily completed by copying. OU's basic assumption about writing is that all written assignments show the student's own understanding in the student's own words. That means all writing assignments, in class or out, are assumed to be composed entirely of words generated (not simply found) by the student, except where words written by someone else are specifically marked as such with proper citation. Including other people's words in your paper is helpful when you do it honestly and correctly. When you don't, it's plagiarism.
For more information about plagiarism, watch this video and then take this short course offered by University Libraries.
University Academic Policies and Student Support
Access the University Academic Policies Document.
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
|---|---|---|