Professor David Rezak was on his way to teach a class when he received an email from a friend in Los Angeles telling him to call him. On the phone, his friend gave him good news. He had been selected as Variety magazine’s 2015 Media Mentor of the Year.

Rezak’s response: “Aw shucks.”

A professor in the Setnor School of Music’s Bandier Program for Music and the Entertainment Industries, Rezak teaches music management courses that cover all aspects of the business. He has had a career of over 30 years in both music management and teaching and loves both of them, he said.

The course he currently teaches host classes and workshops as part of a curriculum that involves close contact with industry professionals. A self-proclaimed professor of practice, he used to run his own music booking agency and event production company, DMR Booking Agency.

“The music industry is more diverse than you think it is. There’s that many different career paths and everybody got strengths and weaknesses so that one person who is a great deal maker might be a good booking agent,” Rezak said.

Rezak said that he didn’t think that he would have been on Variety’s radar if Syracuse University hadn’t grown its profile in LA over the last several years, but he’s very flattered and humbled by the honor.

Rezak said he isn’t the Bandier Program; he is part of the Bandier Program. He credits two of his colleagues, Lisa Steele and Ulf Oesterle who, with Rezak, run the course.

“The program is doing something right,” Rezak said. “I think it’s a mix of ingredients, but the program is certainly doing something right.”

The relatively small Bandier Program tries to place all of its students in internships each summer because they provide students with experience and are cost effective for the program. He said that the program tries to identify each student’s unique abilities.

Rezak spends a lot of time visiting his students at their internships. He said it is a no-brainer to check in on the student’s performance, happiness and the company’s level of satisfaction with the internship. He called it a form of “quality insurance.”

Hard work has paid off for Rezak, who, in addition to being recognized by Variety, was also named Hall of Fame Music Educator by the Syracuse Area Music Awards. His inbox has been filled with congratulatory emails and Facebook messages from both past and present students and colleagues. His next goal is to continue looking for ways he can improve at his job.

Otherwise, he is the luckiest guy in the world in all aspects of his life, he said.

Rezak said to be successful students need do everything curricular and extracurricular that resonates with them personally, so they can grow as scholars.

Published on May 4, 2015 at 12:00 am

Contact Rachel: rcgilber@syr.edu