In March, the Eastern Wind Symphony fulfilled a long time goal: performing at the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York City. Todd Nichols, recent alum of the graduate conducting program at Messiah, led the symphony from behind the conductor’s stand.

“It was quite remarkable,” says Nichols, in reflection of the evening.

The symphony commissioned a new work to be written for the ensemble by Messiah College professor Bruce Yurko. The piece Yurko produced, “Red Tal Skirmish (for Wind Ensemble”), honors Tuskegee Airmen, a celebrated group of African American pilots who fought in World War II. The symphony honored two Tuskegee Airmen among the 2,000 in attendance at the concert. (more…)

Embarking on a 115-day, 31-state, 10,000-plus-mile trip across the U. S.,
writer Shawn Smucker ’99, his wife Maile ‘99 and their four young children departed from Lancaster, Pa., Feb. 15, 2012 and began a life-changing journey. Pursuing a dream to live a simpler life was the main motivator for the couple. “We had both always wanted to travel around the United States,” said Shawn Smucker, who began the travel blog “Writing Across America” to document the family’s journey across the country.  (more…)

In his own words, artist and emeritus professor of art Ted Prescott describes the process and meaning of his High Center installation, “Psalm.”

The sculptural installation in the entrance to the Calvin and Janet High Center for Worship and the Performing Arts is composed of 14 linear forms that move throughout the entrance space. Each form was made from multiple pieces of apple wood that are fit together to create dynamic and expressive lines. More than 1,500-feet of apple limbs measuring between one and eight feet in length were cut from a local orchard that was being cleared to make way for a housing development. All of the limbs were peeled, and then dried for one to two years. From this inventory roughly 225 feet of various shapes were chosen for use. These pieces were modified by grinding and carving before they were joined together. Finally, each completed form was sanded, stained and sealed before being installed here. (more…)

For broadcasting student Jeremy Zimmerman ’14, a year in Philadelphia has provided countless opportunities to “get plugged in.” Now in his second semester at the Messiah College Philadelphia Campus, Zimmerman has made a commitment to community life, inner-city living and, most of all, a practical education. “It was easy to see myself develop with skills related to my major,” Zimmerman began. “My courses have focused on projects rather than theory or process… I’m more of a hands-on kind of guy, so these classes are really where I start to shine.”

When Zimmerman arrived at the Philadelphia Campus last fall, he enrolled in four courses, including Media Production and Advanced Editing. The latter course tested Zimmerman’s flexibility, requiring the broadcasting major to work with Apple Final Cut Pro, an unfamiliar video editing software. “Advanced Editing, in particular, really pushed me to my limits, because I had never really worked with video editing before,” Zimmerman said. Several weeks later, during a series of interviews for a spring internship, Zimmerman started to notice the benefits of his perseverance. “Both locations that offered me internships said they wanted me because I had put ‘film editing skills’ on my resume,” Zimmerman said, “a result of taking Advanced Editing and going outside of my comfort zone.” (more…)