Horizons Online Edition

Issue date: 2/3/10 Section: Diversions

Media Credit: michael1959

Students who attended the activity fair on Jan. 28, or any other activity fair in semesters past, learned firsthand that Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has much more to offer than just an excellent education. Dozens of fraternities and clubs were present, highlighting the diverse talents and personalities of the student body. Even after such events, however, it is easy for some clubs to remain largely unnoticed for the rest of the semester, when it is exactly these clubs that need exposure the most.

One of these clubs is the music club. The music club has been around for several years now, and came into existence long before most current students began their education at ERAU. In recent years, however, the presence of the music club on the ERAU Prescott campus has slowly diminished. A new generation of students, however, is rousing it from its sleep. Music groups that enjoyed great popularity in the past, such as the drum line, choir, and jazz band are now meeting on a weekly basis and plan to perform at future campus-based events, such as the International Festival hosted by the International Student Association on Feb. 20.

The recent growth of the music club is due to the involvement of active students and faculty alike. Involved faculty members include Dr. Curtis James and Dr. Robert McGrath, who co-advise the music club. Dr. McGrath is himself a member of the jazz band.

The passion the student members of the club show for the groups they are involved in shows the club's emphasis on peer-based learning.

Andrew Burch, an active member of the choir, for example, notes that due to the varying levels of skill in the choir "[The choir] picks music that is easiest to teach and give further guidance in." Similarly, the jazz band features students and faculty with a wide range of skill and experience in performance and improvisation. It is here, too, that the instruction of the less experienced members by the more knowledgeable is crucial to the survival and success of the group.

The jazz band certainly does not lack members; with the exception of brass instruments and a baritone saxophone, the jazz band essentially constitutes a full-sized big band. This, together with the recent discovery of a file cabinet full of big band music in the Davis Learning Center, is why the jazz band is actively seeking the membership of any brass players on campus. A full-sized big band certainly would put on a stunning display at future performances.

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