By Nora Reiner, ’29 staff writer
On Friday, Oct. 17, the Blair Music Center welcomed over 30 high school students to experience their first “Music at the Valley” event.
Carter Palmer, senior music education major with a minor in music theater and event logistics captain for the Valley Ambassadors, sparked the idea after Megan Williams, assistant director of admissions, expressed her goal to focus on niche admission events.
The day opened with an organization fair spotlighting Wig & Buckle, LVC Music Theater, National Association for Music Educators, Sigma Alpha Iota, Valley Jazz Orchestra, Pride of the Valley Marching Band and graduate studies. This was followed by a brief information session from music department heads, Dr. Zeuch and Dr. Heffner, and a student recital, featuring a range of vocalists and instrumentalists.
The high schoolers were then split into three informational sessions, discussing audition preparation tips, music production and a music theory class. The day ended with a faculty recital and free lunch for all participating guests.
“When you’re 17 or 18 years old, there are so many question marks with college, so it’s like our goal to make the events here super light, super fun…” Williams said.
The admissions office hopes to use this event as a blueprint for future niche programming events, including another Music at the Valley event.