Meet Music and Media and Communication Double Major Daisy Cunningham ’25
Cunningham was among the founding members of A-Town Records, a student-run record label and music association. She also conducted research in music and held an internship with a record label during her semester in Dublin.By: Meghan Kita Friday, March 21, 2025 09:15 AM
Daisy Cunningham ’25When Daisy Cunningham ’25 arrived at Muhlenberg, the creative community was itching to collaborate. It was the fall of 2021, the first semester the entire student body was on campus since the onset of the pandemic. A classmate was starting A-Town Records (ATR) — a student-run record label and music association — and asked if she wanted to join.
“We were looking for gaps in performance opportunities, because there are a lot of music majors and more theatre majors who are just looking to perform,” says Cunningham, a music and media and communication double major. “Even though there are already a lot of performance opportunities, I feel like people are always looking for more.”
And ATR has created more. The group launched a musician roster, where instrumentalists and vocalists can find students interested in performing together. ATR holds karaoke nights, open-mic nights, and jam sessions. The group put on a Battle of the Bands event and an A-Town Idol singing competition, and it annually produces Muhlapalooza, a music festival that welcomes student performers as well as outside bands. Last year’s headliner was TikTok-famous Laundry Day.
“Planning an entire event takes a lot of scheduling, arranging, and preparing, all of which require multitasking and delegating tasks as well,” Cunningham says. “These skills are invaluable to any career path or future events, and I will take them with me after I graduate.”
“Planning an entire event takes a lot of scheduling, arranging, and preparing, all of which require multitasking and delegating tasks as well. These skills are invaluable to any career path or future events, and I will take them with me after I graduate.”
—Daisy Cunningham ’25
Muhlenberg has also enabled Cunningham to create academically and to have hands-on, in-depth experiences in both her fields of study. She spent a summer conducting music theory research with Professor of Music Paul Murphy as her advisor. During her semester abroad in Dublin with the media and communication program, she interned with a record label. Now, she’s working on a 50-page thesis as her capstone media and communication project — a challenging experience that’s giving her a taste of what graduate school might be like. She’s considering programs in music and in communication, in the United States and abroad.
“My summer research project with Dr. Murphy helped me learn how to operate on my own schedule and hold myself accountable without the rigid structure of a formal class. It also excited me for grad school music research, which is something I would definitely love to pursue,” she says. “My honors thesis has also helped me to manage a long-term project during the semester, and due to the fact that it is a year long, I am learning to keep my interest going for longer than a few months. This will all be incredibly useful for the academic research world.”
“My summer research project with Dr. Murphy helped me learn how to operate on my own schedule and hold myself accountable without the rigid structure of a formal class. It also excited me for grad school music research, which is something I would definitely love to pursue.”
—Daisy Cunningham ’25
