For the seventh consecutive year, Billboard has named SUNY Oneonta to its unranked list of “Top Music Business Schools.” Billboard’s 2026 list includes about 40 colleges and universities total across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Spain.
Seven consecutive appearances on Billboard’s Top Music Schools list clearly shows our efforts to prepare future generations of music industry professionals,"
“It’s a great honor for our institution and our department. Seven consecutive appearances on Billboard’s Top Music Schools list clearly shows our efforts to prepare future generations of music industry professionals,” said Joseph Pignato, Music Department Chair and Professor of Music. “The SUNY Oneonta Music Industry degree program offers a unique mix of curricular and experiential learning opportunities, facilitated by our outstanding faculty and staff. Students at SUNY Oneonta do remarkable things, and that’s evident in the achievements of our alumni across so many and varied sectors of the music industry.”
The Curriculum of a Top Music Business School
SUNY Oneonta’s Music Industry curriculum includes courses in pop culture, record label history, concert production and promotion, music products industry and legal issues. Additionally, audio arts classes give students who do not play traditional instruments the chance to create music using technology and to focus on recording, mixing and nontraditional composition techniques.
One 2023 Music Industry graduate, Elyse Victoria Johnson, made the most of her time SUNY Oneonta through the curriculum and by being a part of multiple music-related activities on campus, including Grammy U and the Music Industry Club. In the summer of 2023, Johnson landed a position in the creative A&R division at Sony Music Publishing in New York City and finished her final semester of elective classes online while working full time. Later that November, during her final semester, Johnson was one of several collaborators nominated for a GRAMMY as a songwriter for the upbeat Gospel anthem “God is Good.”
Her favorite classes were in music theory, audio production, music law, music marketing and concert producing. Johnson credits Dr. Pignato’s Music Industry Communications class with preparing her for interviews and negotiations. “I was able to take what I learned and apply it to the real world after leaving Oneonta and starting work in the field.”
Music Industry majors have extensive opportunities to learn by doing on campus, both in and outside of the classroom. Through an on campus paid position or the Music Industry Club, students can handle booking, planning, operations, logistics, promotion and production for live music events, including the annual OH-Fest concert, which features a nationally known headliner. Classrooms become a place of learning, teaching and collaboration as students work with one another and faculty to hone each other’s musical talents.
“You get in a room with a bunch of other kids who are just as interested in songwriting, and it’s an opportunity to bounce ideas off a professional and get feedback from classmates,” said Franklin Mastrangelo ’26, who signed a multi-album record deal with Mercury Records just three months into his senior year under the name “Frank Mastra.” During an interview after landing his multi-album record deal, Mastrangelo explained how faculty support and the opportunity to immerse himself fully in music through performance, songwriting and production helped shape the skills and discipline that led to the record deal, and the experience he had touring the campus in high school.
“I met professors like Rob Roman and Jeremy Wall and was really inspired by the environment and the resources here — especially Studio A, a real professional-grade studio — that stood out right away. The resources are just infinite,” said Mastrangelo. “Jeremy Wall, whose name speaks for itself, has been really good to me. He’s been very nurturing, and he knows exactly how he wants something to sound or how he thinks something could sound if given a push in the right direction.”
Additionally, SUNY Oneonta offers an internship program that places students in hundreds of non-performing music, media and entertainment industry settings across the country. The university offers grants to help fund off-campus learning and networking experiences. These opportunities include an annual faculty-led trip to the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) trade show in Los Angeles, Bonnaroo music festival externships through the Well Dunn Foundation, and Rock Litiz and New York is Music events.
Music Industry Career Outcomes & Connections
“We encourage students to pursue highly individualized career paths ranging from executive management to creative and technical services to entrepreneurial musicianship,” said Pignato. “That diversity of possibilities is reflected in our outstanding alumni, many of whom maintain close ties with the program, returning regularly to mentor students and share their experiences.”
Noah Rakoski, a 2007 graduate, is a great example of a SUNY Oneonta alumnus who has helped mentor students through his experience as head of West Coast Label Relations for YouTube Music at Google. This past June, during a visit to the NAMM Show in June 2022, music industry students were treated to a tour of Google’s facility in Los Angeles, Calif. and learned about Rakoski’s work.
“That was definitely my favorite part – the Google tour and meeting Noah,” said music industry major and singer-songwriter Luke Mock, who graduated in May 2023. “He is an astounding and inspiring character who shared the most real and blunt advice about the music industry. I also really enjoyed going to panels and networking with other artists and music industry professionals.”
Gabi Rose Feliciano, a 2017 Music Industry graduate, is a SUNY Oneonta alumna who attended a show as a freshman at the Oneonta Theatre featuring multiple ensemble groups from the university. Afterward, she got involved with ensemble groups led by Wall, Roman and Pignato, as well as taking her first singing lessons with Music Department Lecturer Colby Thomas.
Feliciano plays the saxophone and flute professionally and was previously on tour with the Jonas Brothers and Sleep Token in 2024, and recorded the saxophone sections of Sleep Token’s hit single “Emergence.” She is also a former full-time member of Bilmuri, but she continues to make special guest appearances on their tours with the most recent appearance being on their “Kinda Hard World Tour” in September 2026. Now, Feliciano is currently fronting as the lead vocalist, songwriter and saxophonist for Enrose.
“Being involved in so many different ensembles was the best kind of music performance education I could have ever had,” said Feliciano. “I loved all of my professors, who are all experts in their fields. They taught me how to really play music. I try to stay in touch with them and hope to make them proud. Ever since my senior year, seeing alumni come back to speak and being so inspired by them, I hoped that would be me someday setting an example for what's possible out of a music career.”
More alumni who have connected with students through campus visits and online career networking sessions include Emilia Albarano ’16, Artistic Planning Company Manager at New 42; Eric Lense ’07, founder and CEO of Eric Lense Management; and Scott Harris Friedman ’06, a multi-platinum, Grammy-nominated (“In My Blood,” Song of the Year) songwriter, producer and musician. SUNY Oneonta students have also heard from visiting guest speakers such as Jack McMorrow, SVP of Sales at Atlantic Records and Dae Bogan, Head of Third-Party Partnerships at The Mechanical Licensing Collective.
Accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music, SUNY Oneonta’s Music Industry program will prepare you for a career in a variety of fields in the music, media and entertainment industries. Such fields include management, marketing, promotion, merchandising, publishing, production and performance.
Music Industry Students perform at the B-Side Ballroom in Oneonta with professor Mark Pawkett. Photography by Katherine Makrin `28, majoring in Art And Design.
