As the Music Department increases its offerings within the classroom, the program continues to find outside support from the Georgetown Entertainment Media Alliance (GEMA). Founded by Gemstar-TV Guide CEO Rich Battista, GEMA acts as a network for GU alums involved in the entertainment industry, sporting contacts from ABC, AOL, DreamWorks and other mainstream conglomerates.
“GEMA is a godsend,” raves music professor Patrick Warfield. “Some of the guys that are active in GEMA are the people who first founded, for example, Cabaret.”
Indeed, Teddy Zambetti (COL ’80), the founder of Cabaret and Executive Producer of Sirius Satellite Radio, helped create GEMA ROCKS, a benefit concert held in New York City last September. The event raised money for the new film-screening classroom in New South and featured performances from a number of Georgetown alums, including Bill Danhoff, Walter Egan and the four-piece band Vertical Horizon. In fact, the fund-raiser was so well received that GEMA is bringing the show to the Georgetown campus Sept. 14-15 as well as to the Orpheum Theatre in New York on the 17th.
GEMA also continues to serve as a resource for any student interested in the entertainment business, mainly as a forum for networking. Zambetti maintains that while GEMA’s membership does not currently include a significant number of music executives, he is optimistic about more opportunities opening up in the future.
“I have continued to [have] an open door to alumni and current students who seek consultation about the music industry and Sirius Satellite Radio in particular,” he said.
Warfield also hopes that GEMA can work in conjunction with the newly found Guild of Bands, possibly providing a means for GU bands to gain more mainstream exposure.
He notes, “A lot of the GEMA people have felt [that] since they’ve graduated they’re not certain what talent is coming out of Georgetown. They’re interested in having things that allow them to see what’s here.”
