Musician Sharpens Marketing Chops Through Smith Experience

Johnny Graham, MBA ’12, has flourished as both a musician and scholar.

Well-known on the D.C.-Baltimore music scene, he has leveraged his recently concluded Robert H. Smith School of Business experience to launch and operate an entertainment company and begin pursuit of a PhD in business administration.

Graham, 24, crossed the Smith commencement stage May 20 for his MBA.

Just nine months earlier, he reached another pinnacle by performing at the Kennedy Center, whose online performance archives describe Graham as “a gifted poet, trumpet, flugelhorn, and piano player who bridges old school soul with new school creativity."

The Baltimore native’s debut on the national stage was helped by some Smith-fueled entrepreneurial savvy.

As a Smith student he launched Freestar Entertainment to facilitate his UMD campus (Juke Joint) and D.C.-Baltimore ventures, plus production and consulting for other acts. Performing solo and with different ensembles, he played in many noteworthy local venues, including the National Mall for the National Black Family Reunion, on a pair of East Coast college tours, and as an opening act for the likes of Doug E. Fresh and Musiq Soulchild.

Graham’s passion for the entertainment industry paralleled his commitment to academics.

"When I finished my bachelor's (finance ’09 with honors), I had several MBA options, but I knew the best opportunity was right here, at Smith – especially with its experiential focus," he said. "There's so much to take advantage of, from the research and entrepreneurial opportunities to exposure to visiting speakers who are industry leaders. One of my favorites was [Senior Manager of Marketing Communications] Jed Jecelin from Under Armour marketing.

Those expectations came to fruition.

"Though I've been active in the music business since I was 15, my experiences through the Center for Social Value Creation and my first-year consulting project through the Dingman Center (for Entrepreneurship) were real eye-openers to the range of possibilities in a large industry full of entrepreneurial-minded people," he said. "Professors like David Godes, Rachelle Sampson, Shreevardhan Lele and Hank Boyd took interest in my musical activities and tailored that insight to how they guided me in harnessing and expanding on my experiences in the industry."

Godes, who steered Graham — a Smith MBA scholar and Dean's Fellow — to qualifying for a doctoral fellowship at Temple University, has been especially influential. "He's inspired me to prepare for university-level teaching."

For now, the music industry is front and center.

Graham has followed his Kennedy Center performance with "The Inspiration," a new album of original material and a follow-up to 2010's "Coming of Age," which drew favorable reviews from the Baltimore Sun and Washington's WRC-NBC 4.

Graham’s new album is available on ITunes, as well as through his website.