Year:
2008
- Program of Study: Violin Performance
- Current Residence: Winterville, NC
- Current Occupation: Master’s of Music Theory/Composition student at East Carolina University
- Recent performances, publications, awards: ECU Graduate Scholar Award; Full Teaching Assistantship at ECU involving independent teaching, tutoring, and support for theory and history classes
- What did you value most about your graduate experience in the Hayes School of Music? I grew greatly as a musician especially through my residence with the Hayes Graduate String Quartet. My favorite memory about being a student at Appalachian was the mentor relationships between the faculty and the students. The music faculty (whether music theory, performance, music history, etc.) all work together to encourage each student’s success. That partnership and rapport among faculty carries a direct effect on the student experience in the Hayes School of Music, and I greatly benefited from it. Music theory and history faculty are eager to help performance students further study and understand the pieces they play, and likewise, the performance faculty encourage rich scholarship in the academic realm. Each pedagogical approach is tailored to the student, and the faculty members are genuinely concerned with the student’s personal and professional success. It was a very nurturing environment that encouraged me to grow as a musician, a performer, and a scholar.