William DiCosimo and Ulf Oesterle, faculty members in the College of Visual and Performing Arts’ (VPA) Rose, Jules R. and Stanford S. Setnor School of Music, were elected co-chairs of the Entrepreneurship in the Arts special interest group at the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE). They will lead the Entrepreneurship in the Arts group in 2012 and be instrumental in programming content for this area at the 2013 USASBE national conference in San Francisco.
The USASBE is the largest independent, professional, academic organization in the world dedicated to advancing the discipline of entrepreneurship. With more than 1,000 members from universities and colleges, for-profit businesses, nonprofit organizations and the public sector, USASBE is a diverse mix of professionals that share a common commitment to fostering entrepreneurial attitudes and behaviors.
DiCosimo is an assistant professor of music industry and chair of the Setnor School’s music and entertainment industries department. He has extensive experience in the music industry as a performing and session musician, songwriter, clinician, panelist/presenter, published composer (UNC Jazz Press, Oregon Catholic Press) and owns and operates his own publishing company and recording studio, DiCosmic Music.
Oesterle is an assistant professor in the Setnor School’s Bandier Program. He owns and operates an independent record label, which he founded in 2003 as a doctoral student, and programs and produces a weekly indie rock radio program for K-Rock in Syracuse. He has produced live events in Central New York and New York City with notable stages, including the Emerging Artist Stage at the Taste of Syracuse and at the New York State Fair. He is also a former stage manager for the Syracuse Jazz Fest, the largest free jazz festival in the Northeast.
