My name is Sam Gray, I am a 22-year-old from Vancouver, British Columbia and I am a first-year student at Capilano University. In my spare time I enjoy indulging in creative content whether that be listening to music or podcasts, making music with my friends, cooking, or going down YouTube rabbit holes. I joined the Arts and Entertainment Management (AEM) diploma program to further foster my skills and passions around the world of the arts.
I have a background in music: both on the creative side with live performance and recording as well as the business side; specifically, with show promotion, event planning and tour booking. For the past few years before joining the program I toured around North America with a band that I did all the booking for and that is when I knew that I fully wanted to make working in music my life. Music to me has always been the most beautiful creative form and I want to gain the necessary skills, experiences, and confidence to be able to go out into the real world fully prepared for a life and career in the music industry. I look forward to gaining valuable hands on experience through my program at Capilano while simultaneously continuing to further my knowledge and love for music and the industry. I chose the program at Capilano because the Universities formidable reputation and standing within the art communities of Vancouver. Further, the more I looked into the program the more I realized how perfect a fit the program was for me and my career goals. On top of this the practicums that the program offers are what set this program apart from other similar programs. I forward to completing the practicums in my fields of interest, those being record label A&R, promotion, tour booking/management and festival coordination.
I am excited by the opportunities that the program provides as we have many great professors, work placements and opportunities to work with our peers to get more involved with the entertainment industry. I believe strongly in the creative community in Vancouver and hope that when I finish the AEM diploma that I can be a major part of building a community through music. Many people want to move away from where they are from to go to a bigger or “more glamourous” city but I envision myself staying in Vancouver to help make Vancouver even more vibrant than it already is. My career goals are linked with this program and by the end I hope to be working either with a label or PR/management firm or to be involved with booking, either for artists directly or through one of Vancouver’s many great art and music festivals. I believe that Vancouver can be the next hot bed for Canadian musicians and artists and I look forward applying myself and what I learn from this program to my community.