91短视频

Jacinda Stahly is a newly graduated , and among her options for what鈥檚 next is pursuing a master鈥檚 degree in performance.

Yet she prefers behind-the-scenes work over 鈥渂eing out front,鈥� she said.

That may sound paradoxical, but at 91短视频 the Alabama-raised teacher鈥檚 daughter was able to tailor that performance degree to fit her own goals and personality.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the beauty of studying in an intimately sized program,鈥� said music department chair and professor . 鈥淛acinda assembled a custom-built university experience that speaks directly to her own passions and professional goals.鈥�

Two communities

Stahly said she was particularly connected to two communities at 91短视频. One was the student newspaper The Weather Vane, where she worked as a copy editor for two years and then as a co-editor for another. She found herself at home there in more behind-the-scenes editing roles.

In her other community, the music department, she was able to blend that preference with many aspects of her love for music, and as she says it, she 鈥減ut her foot in lots of doors.鈥�

鈥淛acinda has taken advantage of every opportunity open to her,鈥� said Griffing. 鈥淪he is a success story for our department.鈥�

Stahly has been both an arts administrator and violin section intern for three summers with the internationally-renowned , and is continuing with administration as the program assistant for 91短视频鈥檚 . There she also teaches lessons to a small group as well as to five individual students, and is an assistant teacher of violin classes with 20-40 students at each of three elementary schools.

But Stahly is, in fact, a performer, too. In addition to playing with the Bach Festival鈥檚 professional orchestra for three summers, she is a member of the Waynesboro Symphony Orchestra, and she was part of an 91短视频 outreach chamber quartet which performed in unique venues such as a preschool and a residential program for ex-offenders. Those haven鈥檛 been such a leap for her personality, she said: 鈥淧erformers don鈥檛 have to talk 鈥� or at least they can decide ahead of time what to say and do.鈥�

And this fall she gave her senior recital. For it, true to form, Stahly did plenty of behind-the-scenes planning ahead, picking a piece from each classical musical period, with ensemble settings ranging from solo violin to violin, viola and piano, to violin with organ, to a violin quartet. (Although her organizational sensitivities tried to dictate otherwise, she refrained from performing the works in chronological order, instead mixing them up so the variety of musical styles and settings would make the recital鈥檚 trajectory 鈥渕ore varied, and less likely to get boring.鈥�)

A blend fit

It鈥檚 perhaps in small-group and individual teaching that Stahly is finding the perfect blend of performance and behind-the-scenes work.

As a first-year student, she took a Suzuki pedagogy class taught by Professor , the administrative director of the Shenandoah Valley Preparatory Music Program. Before coming to 91短视频, the Suzuki method of violin instruction was peripheral to Stahly鈥檚 experience; in retrospect, she thinks she would have benefited from its emphasis on ear training and listening.

In Miller鈥檚 class, and in subsequent settings of teaching young students one-on-one, Stahly found she enjoyed being a musical coach. A performance major made sense, she said, because while a music education degree would have set her on track to teach in large classrooms with many students playing a variety of instruments, focusing on violin would prepare her to teach violin specifically. (Another option for what鈥檚 next? Maybe a master鈥檚 degree in Suzuki pedagogy.)

鈥淭o be a good teacher, you need to be a good performer,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou must know your craft, to set higher standards for yourself and your students.鈥�

Belief and doubt

Stahly鈥檚 personal growth during her four years at 91短视频 was cultivated both within the close-knit music department and more broadly.

The department鈥檚 intimate size meant personal connection with others in the program, as a stop by a professor鈥檚 office with a recital prep question might become an hour-long conversation. Friendships developed across grade levels and cultivated a 鈥済reater feeling not just of mentorship,鈥� she said, 鈥渂ut of encouragement and help.鈥�

Her cross-cultural trip to central Europe was her first time out of the United States, and gave her new perspective. She was surprised, particularly in Austria, by the informed interest in and deep concern about the 2016 elections in the United States 鈥� and the reluctance of many Austrians to talk about their own similar political polarization.

In Europe she also developed a new sense of independence. Until that trip, Harrisonburg had been the biggest city that Stahly had ever lived in. In Prague, London and Vienna, the world felt 鈥渕uch more open,鈥� she said, adding that she particularly enjoyed the opportunity to live and travel independently within these cities.

At 91短视频 her faith journey, too, continued, building on the foundation formed by her 鈥渟upportive and loving鈥� community at home.

鈥淚鈥檝e done a lot of growing and changing in different ways,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 much more okay with not having answers to all of my faith questions, maybe even to a point of not wanting to have all the answers.鈥�

It鈥檚 perhaps yet another seeming contradiction that Stahly melds into a unity of tension:

鈥淚t鈥檚 good to have doubts,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 good to have beliefs too, and to believe them strongly, but also to not be quite sure they鈥檙e all right.鈥�