McNally Smith College of Music

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McNally Smith College of Music

Established:	1985
Type:	Private
President:	Harry Chalmiers
Students:	530
Location:	Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
Campus:	Urban
Website:	http://www.mcnallysmith.edu/

McNally Smith College of Music is one of the preeminent colleges of contemporary music in the world located in Saint Paul, Minnesota. McNally Smith offers a range of diplomas, associate’s degrees, and bachelor’s degrees in the areas of music business; performance in guitar, bass, drums, voice, keyboard, and brass & woodwinds; live sound, production, and recording engineering; and composition and songwriting.

Most of McNally Smith’s faculty members are actively engaged in aspects of the music industry, including as musicians, songwriters, and industry executives. A number of faculty have credits that include gold and platinum records and Grammy awards. Their careers include performances ranging from Broadway to major arena stages.

Formerly known as Musictech College, McNally Smith College took its new name in honor of its two founders, Jack McNally and Doug Smith, on its 20th anniversary celebrated in 2005. With a fall 2006 enrollment of 512, McNally Smith is known for its intimate setting, access to studios and other facilities, and small class sizes.

[edit] Notable Alumni

Justin Bonhiver, is a member of Quietdrive on Sony's Epic label with Kevin Truckenmiller, Brandon Lanier, Justin Bonhiver, Droo Hastings, and Matt Kirby. "When All That's Left Is You" is Quietdrive's first LP, released in May of 2006. Its first single was "Rise from the Ashes" and was featured on EA's NHL 2007 soundtrack. Quietdrive's cover of the Cyndi Lauper song "Time After Time" is currently in the Top 40 and is being used in promotions for the WNBA for its "Have You Seen Her?" campaign.

Zack Carroll, a 2005 guitar performance graduate, plays guitar and sings in the band This World Fair. This World Fair was signed to Rethink/EMI Records in 2005 and their self-titled album scheduled to be released in early 2008. The band recently contributed the song "Don't Make Me Wait" to the Disturbia soundtrack. There was also a music video created for the song.

Ari Herstand, is a singer/songwriter who graduated from McNally Smith in August 2005. His albums include "Baby Eyes" and "One Take." He has played at Milwaukee, WI's Summerfest, Austin TX's SXSW, and has had his music played on MTV as well as over 250 radio stations.

Brian Nagan, a 2005 graduate, is the front man in the band Four Letter Lie. The band released their debut record, Let Your Body Take Over, through Victory Records on October 31, 2006.

Sebastiano Mereu, attended Musictech in the year 2000. After going back to Switzerland in 2001, he joined Stereotype and played bass on "as if they were all alike" which was distributed by RecRec Records. The same year, Sebastiano founded Monsterbazz with whom he released two albums. The band got nationwide radio and TV airplay and opened for Krokus, A, TM Stevens, and other international acts. Monsterbazz produced its second album with Donnell Cameron at the legendary Westbeach Recorders in Hollywood. Sebastiano performed at the very first Bassday Schweiz 2007 with Monsterbazz.