While “undergraduate recruitment” is often associated with athletics or targeted scholarships, the Elon University Department of Music has created a different strategy for attracting potential students: Elon Music Ambassadors (EMA).
EMA, under the direction of Lecturer in Music Virginia Novine-Whittaker, is a group of students recommended by faculty to represent the music department. At the end of each semester, EMA travels to high schools up and down the East Coast, teaching the students about the music program at Elon.
But first, they perform on campus for one night only.
Each semester, Novine-Whittaker chooses a different theme. For this year’s fall concert, the show is titled “Anthems of War, Rebellion and Peace.” The group will perform this collection at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 15 in Yeager Recital Hall.
“The theme is something that inspired someone to write music,” Novine-Whittaker said. “Through each semester, I think of a theme that inspired people to use music as a voice. This seemed like a real natural one to me because all this music has come out of challenges through war and in hard times and people wanting to rebel and have their voices be heard.”
War, rebellion and peace cover a great deal of historical events and, subsequently, a large collection of music Novine -Whittaker and her student performers will focus on music that has come from U.S. experiences of wartime and conflict.
“[Audiences] can expect to have a good time and hear a lot of good music,” Novine-Whittaker said. “They’re gonna recognize things but they’re also gonna learn something because we’re gonna be taking this theme all the way through history in America, starting as early as songs from slavery era all the way through various wars and up to the current situation in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Even with these heavy topics, the ambassadors are able to remain connected with the commonality that brought them together: a love for music. Senior Kirby Vuocolo finds being part of the group allows her to take an even deeper pride and passion in her craft as she finishes her third semester in EMA.
“It is an honor to be in EMA,” Vuocolo said. “In this ensemble, you are the only person on your part — and even more than that, you are writing the music yourself, you’re making the arrangements, you’re researching them and writing narrations to help inform everyone else on what you learned during the process. It’s great.”
Junior music production and recording arts major Isaac Bates is most excited about the performance for the Elon community — especially since this is only his first semester with EMA.
“I’m excited to go on tour at the end of the semester, but there’s just always great reviews from the big shows at the end in Yeager,” Bates said. “I’m looking forward to that.”
Elon students only get one night to see and listen to the show EMA students work on all semester because this group’s goal is to inspire younger musicians across the East Coast. As the department’s ambassadors perform in Yeager Recital Hall, they will start their unique journey.
For junior Mike Hagen, this group is one he would have sought after before he applied to undergraduate music programs.
“I just like being able to share my talents with a bunch of kids,” he said. “I wish I’d had that kind of inspiration when I was in high school. I just like the fact that we can bring that to kids who could potentially pursue music as a career.”
As EMA goes on tour to bring more students into the department, Novine-Whittaker looks at her own students as inspirations — not just for young musicians, but for herself as well.
“My favorite part is just how exciting it is to watch the creativity the students bring to every piece of music we play,” she said. “It’s all about giving them the freedom to arrange the music and ideas around the music. I just love to see what they come up with.”