MPF on Campus

Connecting Greater Washington’s universities with its regional music ecosystem

Saturday, December 6, 2025
6:00–7:00 PM | Copley Hall
Invitation only

On December 6, 2025, the Music Policy Forum, Georgetown University’s Music Sustainability Initiative, and the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities presented the first MPF ON CAMPUS convening at Georgetown University’s Copley Formal Hall.

This special edition of the Music Policy Forum Intensive focused on how the Washington region’s musicians, venues, advocacy organizations, and music businesses build stronger relationships with the students, faculty, alumni, and other resources connected to local colleges and universities.

The invitation-only, off-the-record gathering brought together leaders from across the District, Maryland, and Virginia. Participants included students, faculty members, university administrators, musicians, venue operators, government officials, journalists, broadcasters, nonprofit leaders, advocates, and representatives of music-related businesses.

Through facilitated small-group conversations, participants examined how universities and the regional music community currently interact—and how those relationships could become more collaborative, accessible, and mutually beneficial.

Topics explored

The convening focused on opportunities to:

• Engage students and alumni in concerts and cultural events across the DMV
• Strengthen internship and workforce pipelines connecting students with music-sector careers
• Coordinate support for regional musicians and musical culture
• Introduce students who are new to the area to the DMV’s genres, traditions, and musical heritage
• Expand the impact of university programming boards and student media
• Create more performance opportunities for student artists and bands
• Bring regional musicians, venues, and music leaders into campus life

A regional conversation

MPF ON CAMPUS adapted the Music Policy Forum Intensive model—previously convened in Washington, D.C., Boise, and Seattle—to examine one specific part of a healthy regional music ecosystem: the relationship between higher education and the communities that surround it.

The event created space for university communities and regional music stakeholders to hear one another’s perspectives, identify shared priorities, and consider practical strategies for deeper collaboration.

The Georgetown convening also served as a pilot for a model that could be adapted by other communities seeking to connect colleges and universities more meaningfully with their local music ecosystems.

Event program

9:00 a.m.
Registration and networking

10:00 a.m.
Introductions, framing, and goal setting

11:00 a.m.
Students’ views of the D.C. music ecosystem

12:00 p.m. — Working lunch
How musicians, venues, and other stakeholders view students and local universities

1:00 p.m.
Beyond the ivory tower: Strategies for engaging students, alumni, and university communities in the DMV regional scene

2:00 p.m.
Be our guest: Strengthening the role of DMV musicians and music stakeholders on campus

3:00 p.m.
Adjournment

Presented by

Music Policy Forum
Georgetown University Music Sustainability Initiative
DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities