Music industry and trumpet performance junior Teddy Tietze, also known by his stage name “Shmoo,” said he came to Loyola without ever writing popular music. He didn’t know how to record until freshman year when he lived in Loyola’s dorms, he said.

Now, with over ten thousand streams on his self-titled album “Shmoo,” Tietze called himself a success story. But Tietze said the biggest impact on his artistry in his time at Loyola has been his peers, the music industry students he encounters on a daily basis. Tietze said his biggest inspiration is his best friend Steven Wood who he met his freshman year.

He said he remembers recording one of his songs with Wood in his dorm.

“It was on this tiny little interface where you plug in a quarter inch and then you plug it into your laptop,” Tietze said. “And it’s how I record everything. He helped me with advice on mixing and stuff like that.”

Born in the Bay Area of California, Tietze said he was raised around music. His parents are both professional musicians: his father, an organist, and his mother, a pianist. His older brother is a jazz drummer and a Loyola alumnus, a big part of the reason Tietze chose to come to Loyola.

Tiezte said he entered Loyola with tunnel vision of a classical music track because of his initial training in piano and trumpet.
“My parents took me to get a new trumpet, and it was –it is– the most expensive thing I own at all. It is professional level, and they said to me, ‘if we get you this, you are going to have to play in college,’’’ he said.

But Tiezte said this wasn’t a big ask of him by his parents.

“I always knew I wanted to do music,” he said.

His milestone of 10,000 streams has led to tangible opportunities for Tietze to tour and play his music live. He is set to perform in New Orleans, at the Loyola Fair Dec. 3 and at Hool x Delta Epsilon Phi’s Backyard Bash fundraising for Rebuilding Together and Bayou Community Foundation at 2710 State Street Dec. 12.

The environment of community within the music industry department has been impactful to Tietze’s growth as a musician, he said, and he is grateful for taking the leap to come to Loyola since all the other schools he applied to were conservatories.

“I’m really glad I came here because I wouldn’t have realized how much I actually wanted to do stuff with guitar and songwriting rather than classical trumpet. And I’m really grateful for that,” Tietze said.

Tietze said all his peers in the department are always trying to play shows with each other, fostering a supportive environment for all young artists at Loyola.

“I’m lucky that I have friends here that are super supportive, showing my music to my hometown friends. I have people listening from all around the country, which is awesome,” he said.