By Jeremiah Yonemura
The Master’s University invited 19 prospective students to its campus on Feb. 18-19 to check out the Paul T. Plew School of Music at its semesterly Prelude event.
The Prelude is part of Monday at Master’s, an event that TMU Admissions hosts for prospective students to tour the campus, visit classes, and attend chapel.
But the Prelude is for prospective music students to see the music department more in-depth than other attendees.
The Prelude is one of the music school’s main recruiting events.
“If you can get somebody to come to View the U or Prelude and get them on campus, the likelihood of them wanting to come is way higher than just seeing it on a piece of paper,” said Bekah Colson, the music school’s administrative assistant. “The whole draw to TMU is being here, meeting the people, seeing the environment, and just getting a vibe of the school because … it’s so different from any other school, and so if we can get them here on campus, it’s a lot more beneficial than just talking to them over the phone and saying, ‘Come to TMU!’”
Prospective students arrived Sunday night for an opening event, stayed the night with a music student, and then visited classes the next day.
Students could visit Music Theory II, various music and composition lessons, Old Testament Survey II, Introduction to Biblical Counseling and more.
High school seniors could also audition for the school of music. Students could be eligible for scholarships based on their auditions. The best audition during the Prelude received an additional scholarship.
Don Hedges, dean of the school of music, opened the event by explaining what the school of music is and offers.
Colson then took the students on a tour of the music building, showing the different classrooms and practice rooms.
After the tour, The Master’s Chorale, vocalists and a double string quartet showcased some pieces of music. The student hosts then brought the prospective students to In-N-Out Burger after showing them their rooms for the night.
Silas Hughes is a high school junior pianist, who wants to emphasize in composition.
“I’ve learned so much more than I really thought I would learn because I already knew a lot about Master’s, and even in like the first 30 minutes, I’ve learned more than I thought I ever would,” Hughes said.
Elizah Fickling, a freshman pianist and violinist at Fresno State, attended the Prelude to learn about TMU’s music program and meet faculty and current students. She wanted to see if the Lord was calling her to transfer to TMU in the fall.
“After the audition I’ll be more sure, but I’m pretty sure that this is where the Lord is calling me. But we’ll just see,” Fickling said.
This was the largest group of prospective students. The previous record was 17.
“Usually in the fall we have more because obviously our scholarships are first-come-first-serve basis. So students want to try and come in the fall when we’ve just opened our music scholarships, and they can audition,” Colson said. “So, in the fall, usually we’ll have average … 10-13, and then in the spring, five to eight. So this was a very unusual semester to have that many, but it was so exciting. We loved it.”
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