After giving his commencement speech for Tulane University on Saturday, Tim Cook visited the nearby Ellis Marsalis Center for Music.
He met with founders Ellis Marsalis and Harry Connick Jr. He also announced that Apple will be donating Apple products to help produce music in EMCM’s studios.
“The center is an illustration of the unique creativity of this city,” Cook said. He took the opportunity to listen to students playing in the center’s 150-capacity, acoustically engineered performance hall. He additionally met with students, who showed off some of the work they had been doing. (It seems that some of Apple’s equipment is already being used.)
“To have Tim Cook come here and be interested in our center is really monumental,” said Connick. “This is a first step, and hopefully this will be the beginning of a long relationship.”
According to The Advocate:
“Cook spoke briefly afterward about New Orleans’ potential as a technology hub and the need for more diversity in the industry, including directing more funds to businesses run by people other than white men.”
Education and diversity have been two of the big themes of Cook’s time running Apple. In particular, he’s been proactive about meeting with young people setting out on new careers. Like Steve Jobs before him, Cook has positioned Apple as a company that sits at the crossroad between tech and the liberal arts.
Source: The Advocate
