For Conner Larsen, the Professional and Public Writing program at Michigan State University is more than just a major – it’s a space where his academic work and creative passions intersect. A singer and songwriter, Larson found the major offers a unique opportunity to blend his passion for music with his scholarly work.
In a rut and struggling with writer’s block for nearly a year, Larson returned to MSU’s campus his sophomore year with a newfound passion to create. That fall, he took a course on Multimedia Writing taught by Bump Halbritter, Associate Professor in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Cultures and former Director of MSU’s First-Year Writing Program. Through this course, Halbritter introduced Larson to new music production software and helped him rediscover the joy of recording.
Halbritter describes learning as “these subtle little nudges at the edges, and then it becomes part of our knowledge. And then we reach out and we grab another little handful, and another little handful, and that’s how it all grows sequentially. It’s necessary to foster that (knowledge) around the thrill of it all, the thrill of satisfying those new little discoveries.”
For a class project, Larson created an extended play (EP) musical recording, titled Medallion, which is based around his experiences on his post high school graduation road trip from Michigan to California. During that trip, he drove out west alone and spent two months road tripping, camping, and being immersed in nature.
“I got to experience a lot of the natural beauty of America, and a lot of my experiences with life and that kind of beauty filtered their way into the album,” Larsen said.
Each of the three initial tracks on the EP have different themes, all inspired by the trip — topics such as relationship struggles and tough conversations, rainstorms in Oklahoma, the feeling of being on your own, and Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral election campaign and immigration struggles in the country are all featured on Medallion.
“I love how Conner has responded to the invitation to do something that he loves and to find not only opportunity to do it as its own thing, making his record, but also to find that that’s actually not only a place to just show what he can do, but it’s a site to learn more about what he might be able to do next,” Halbritter said.
For Larsen, the P2W program helped him realize that writing doesn’t always come strictly from inspiration; rather, getting words on a page just because you have the interest to do something is equally as important as the finishing touches at the end.
“P2W is responsible for all of the connections that I’ve had, getting access to a drum set, to a recording studio, and meeting people that want to help me on my projects.” Larsen said. “I have a close connection with my professors and ask them for advice and everybody that I meet in my own major is very open, very easy to collaborate with.”
Throughout the process of creating the Medallion EP, Larsen collaborated with fellow P2W students to create a documentary, which can be viewed alongside his EP on his website. His music is published on both Spotify and Youtube, with more music on the way.
“I always say that the best part about teaching is that you get to surf other people’s waves,” Halbritter said, “and Conner certainly has one healthy wave going for him and it’s satisfying and a privilege to be able to move along with that.”
To view Conner Larsen’s documentary about the creation of the Medallion EP, and learn more about him as an artist, see the Medallion album website.
By Nathaniel Weeldreyer
