Boaz High School and Snead State Community College Adventures

Professors Laurie Middaugh, Alan Goldspiel, Melanie Williams, Lori Ardovino at Snead State

On Tuesday, September 17^th, Professors Alan Goldspiel, Melanie Williams, Lori Ardovino, and Laurie Middaugh set off on an adventure to promote the pursuit of music careers and the University of Montevallo to students at Boaz High School and Snead State Community College.

First Stop – Boaz High School Talk and Performance

Photo Sep 17, 2 20 17 PM — Speaking to young musicians at Boaz High School

The first stop was a talk and performance at Boaz High School. The professors spoke to the students about careers in music, the courses required to get there, and how the University of Montevallo could help them achieve their dreams.

Photo Sep 17, 2 37 20 PM — Fielding questions from musicians at Boaz High School

During the visit with the students, the Meálo Trio (Melanie Williams, Alan Goldspiel, and Lori Ardovino) performed a Goldspiel composition, Sloss: A New City; the LeBaron Trio (Melanie Williams, Laurie Middaugh, and Lori Ardovino) performed Nonsense Songs by Ardovino; Goldspiel and Williams performed the Beatles classic, Blackbird; and then all four musicians performed the jazz piece, The Way You Look Tonight.

Photo Sep 17, 2 23 42 PM — The Mealo Trio (Williams, Goldspiel, and Ardovino) performing at Boaz High School

In between performances, the University of Montevallo professors fielded questions from the high school students ranging from how to break into the music business to methods for composing music. The questions were very insightful and showed a high level of curiosity among the high school musicians and all four professors enjoyed answering and interacting with them.

Next Stop – Snead State Community College Talk and Performance

Photo Sep 17, 5 00 30 PM — Professors Middaugh, Ardovino, Williams, and Goldspiel fielding questions at Snead State

Next the UM Professors headed to Snead State Community College where they had an impromptu casual chat with current music students asking all their questions regarding the best ways to achieve their music career goals, how to transfer to the University of Montevallo to continue their studies, dealing with scholarships, and even some questions about the professors’ best and worst job on their career path and how they knew that music would be their life.

Photo Sep 17, 6 38 01 PM — Performing at Snead State Community College

That evening Professors Goldspiel, Ardovino, Middaugh, and Williams performed to an appreciative audience.

The performance began with the Meálo Trio performing Goldspiel’s piece, Sloss: A New City followed by the LeBaron Trio performing Ardovino’s Letters, Goldspiel’s Sometimes Y, and the evening finished with Ardovino’s Nonsense Songs.