Farewell to a music scholar

Justin Lance has been singing with the chancel choir the entire time he has been enrolled at Montreat College, 4.5 years. I heard him audition for scholarships at the school and mentioned to him that if he matriculated, he should consider taking a scholarship with us also. He did, and he did! We have enjoyed him immensely, and have been delighted to share his college tribulations and triumphs. He leaves this month to take a job in Charlotte. He managed to score the big three goals for anyone graduating: full-time, in his field, with benefits. We wish him well.

Music Scholars Fall 2011

Black Mountain Presbyterian Church is pleased to announce its music scholars for Fall 2011. Nathan Hathaway Adams and Imari Jade Scarbrough will each receive $1000 scholarship for tuition and fees at their college, Montreat College this semester. The Music Scholars program allows scholar musicians an opportunity to hone their musical skills in the context of a vital and vigorous music ministry representing a wide variety of musical styles and worship experiences. Scholars participate in one of the church’s adult music ensembles, the Chancel Choir which sings weekly at the 11AM worship service or the Prophets of Praise contemporary ensemble which leads music at the 830AM alternative worship service FirstLight. Mr. Adams will be singing Tenor in the choir; Ms. Scarbrough will be playing violin in the Prophets ensemble.

Nathan Hathaway Adams has been living in Asheville since 2003 and has been performing ever since. He has been very active in the Montford Park Players, and has also self produced some of his own works as a playwright. He is currently pursuing a BA at Montreat College where he is studying music. You can find more at his website, www.nathanhadams.com

Ms Scarbrough was born in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania and grew up in Winchester, Virginia. In recent years she moved back to Pennsylvania; this is her third year at Montreat. Soon after graduation, she hopes to move to either North Carolina or southern Virginia. She was homeschooled along with five younger siblings and was on the swim team, soccer team, 4-H, a few orchestras and ensembles, and other activities, even a chess club for awhile. She is a senior communications major now with minors in English and music. She hopes to graduate either next May or August.

For more information about the scholarship program, visit the church’s website www.bmpcnc.org or contact Mike Barker, director of music and worship arts at the church via phone (669-7813) or email (michaelb@bmpcnc.org).

Music Scholars

The Music Ministry is pleased to announce two Music Scholars for Spring 2010. Emily Wasser returns, singing soprano in the Chancel Choir. She also rings handbells, and assists with the Aerie Singers at Logos. She is in her third year at Montreat College, majoring in Bible and Religion with a concentration in Ministry Studies. She is from Allentown, PA. We also are pleased to welcome Joshua Manuel who will be singing bass in the Chancel Choir. Josh is a third-year vocal performance major at Montreat College. He is already looking at graduate schools to further his vocal studies. He is from Dayton, OH.

Please welcome these young musicians when you can. We give special thanks to our resident Chancel Choir singers who have so generously taken these young musicians under their collective wing.

The Music Scholar ministry began in 2008 with Imagination Funds. This year the ministry has been incorporated into our music budget. We have funding for two scholars each semester. Application materials are sent to the following regional colleges and universities: Montreat, Warren-Wilson, UNC-A,Mars Hill and Brevard. Your support of our operating budget maintains this ministry to the benefit of both the student and our music ministry.

Music Scholar Ministry

The Music Ministry received endorsement recently to implement a Music Scholars Ministry. The Music Scholars Ministry of Black Mountain Presbyterian Church seeks to glorify God by reinforcing the music ministry for corporate worship. Specifically this ministry seeks to engage local college students to be members of the Chancel Choir or contemporary music ensemble, Prophets of Praise, during academic terms and compensate those students with funds deposited directly to their college accounts for the payment of tuition, fees, room and board. Funding for this new initiative in 2008 is coming from the Imagination Fund and Imagination Matching Fund.

At the beginning of each semester a team appointed by the music director will publicize the scholar ministry and interview interested students. They will then recommend a group of as many as five students, one each Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass to be part of the chancel choir and a fifth instrumentalist or singer to be part of the contemporary music ensemble. The music director will interview each student directly and in consultation with the Worship and Music Ministry make final decisions and report those to the Session. Once selected, students will be contractually bound to certain performance requirements including rehearsal and Sunday worship participation. Upon completion of the term of service, funds will be directed to the appropriate department at the student’s college to pay that semester’s expenses. Funds will not be paid directly to the student.

The Music Scholar Ministry has several benefits for both student and our church:

-- Fosters good relations with local institutions of higher learning.
-- Adds depth to the volunteer personnel participating in our music ensembles
-- Assists student in a very tangible way
-- Allows students to hone musical skills in the context of a vital and vigorous music ministry
-- Fosters inter-generational relationships
-- Helps the church maintain its standards of high quality music presentation for worship and
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