John Jay Sophomore Heading To NYU’s Future Music Moguls

CROSS RIVER, NY — Lily Oyen, a sophomore at John Jay High School, has been accepted into Future Music Moguls, a 14-week program for high school students offered by New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. The highly competitive workshop accepts only 18 teenagers each year.

“I am so proud of Lily and how hard she has worked to get here,” said Amy Geiger, music teacher at John Jay High School. “I have no doubt that Lily will continue to accomplish great things in the years to come. Congratulations Lily!"

“Many students have applied to Future Music Moguls over the years, but Lily is the first John Jay student to be accepted,” Geiger said. “This is an incredible opportunity for her to work alongside NYU college professors and professional artists and learn all there is to know about the music industry.”

Oyen is an active participant in John Jay’s extra-curricular performing arts program. She sings in the school’s vocal jazz group and vocal jazz select group as well as with the Trebs, John Jay’s coed, student-led, a cappella group. She has also performed in every school theater production since she was in seventh grade and was seen on stage most recently in “12 Angry Jurors.”

Oyen is midway through John Jay High School’s four-year general music sequence which consists of Music History and Theory, Intro to Music Technology, Advanced Music Technology and Über Music Technology, all of which are taught by Geiger.

Knowing how to compose music using software programs such as Logic Pro X, Ableton Live 9, Finale and Pro Tools was a key part of the application she presented to Future Music Moguls.

“NYU didn’t require a portfolio, but Mrs. Geiger suggested I send one in anyhow,” Oyen said. They selected three of her compositions including “Sonata in G Major,” which she wrote in Music Technology class, and a song she’d written with her dad when she was 10.

While Oyen credits her piano teacher, who taught her how to write music, and Geiger as major influences in her musical journey, she acknowledges her parents as playing the biggest role in where she is today.

“My entire house is my studio,” she said. “Music is everywhere. We have a music room with a piano, three or four keyboards and a drum set. I keep my guitar, another keyboard and my ukulele in my room.

“Ever since I was really little I said I wanted to be a musician,” Oyen said. “I thought I’d outgrow it but I never have.”

Photo caption: Lily Oyen. Photo credit: Lewisboro-Katonah School District.