Bradley Whittemore

Bomber (“with a capital B”) Bradley Whittemore ’16 helps students find their forte at IC’s School of Music.

In addition to currently serving as director of music admission for IC, Bradley Whittemore is also a proud member of the Class of 2016.

It was while performing a rousing vocal rendition of “Ya Got Trouble” from The Music Man that middle schooler Bradley Whittemore realized, “Hey, I’m pretty good at this!”

Today, as director of music admission and IC School of Music alumnus, Bradley often finds himself serving as a “music man” of sorts, drawing on his experience to help high school students around the world to find their perfect program.

“I wanted to take music—something that I have used to better my life and I've had such amazing experiences with—and pay that forward to the next generation,” Bradley shares. “And I realized I didn't have to be in front of a classroom to do that. I can be part of the process to help identify the next generation of musicians, of educators, of recording engineers, and help them find their path.”

Some of the people who see great success are people breaking molds and people doing new things. How do you teach that?

Applicants and their families often ask Bradley how the school prepares students for a career. It’s a challenging question, but one that Bradley is fascinated to explore.

“Some of the people who see great success are people breaking molds and people doing new things. How do you teach that? How do you teach people to break molds when it's hard to predict what skills you'll need?”

To Bradley, what’s most important is sustaining a culture of innovation and exploration across the institution. Progress is “making sure that we're not just doing what we've always done. It's constantly reenvisioning how we can teach music theory, history—these core skills that are at the heart of every music major's program and training—and also see how that applies into our individual degrees.”