Summer Highlights

This summer, drummer Jacob Ward had the opportunity to compete alongside renowned musicians in the Guitar Center Drum-Off Nationals, an experience where he and many of his fellow contestants placed God at the forefront.

“Most of the contestants cite God for their success,” Ward said. “Jonathan Fortson (the winner of the competition) told me, ‘Give it up to God, man, and then everything will work in your favor.’ It is because of Jesus Christ that I was able to be happy with my efforts and recognize the areas I want to improve in.”

Jacob’s journey to the finals is an incredible story. Read his and many more like his at https://cfac.byu.edu/news.

This summer my team got to get together at Cargo Cinema to have our private premiere event for the short film 첫째 FIRST We kicked off the evening with a DV Survivorship Advocacy Panel with guest speakers from The Refuge Utah and Utah Domestic Violence Coalition and then got to have a couple private screenings of our film!

Back in 2024 I had an idea to direct, write, and sound supervise for my very first short film for my commercial music capstone project, with the goal of not just bringing awareness to the disproportionate rates of DV experienced by immigrant women married to/divorced from U.S. citizens and concerning rates of abuse in Christian marriages in the U.S., but also to create opportunities for students to get hands-on professional work on a film while receiving direct mentorship from industry professionals. It was a great success which I attribute to our incredible cast and crew and the generosity of BYU’s Laycock Grant Committee who funded part of my project.

As a first time director with little to no background in filmmaking, I was inspired by the amount of overlap between the film and post audio disciplines. My experience is in post audio sound and music.

It has been a special time in my life to get to work on such a fulfilling project, honed in on important issues alongside passionate creatives and good friends. Our private premiere event was a defining moment for our team to see and hear our work be enjoyed by our closest friends and family on the big screen. It was an absolute joy to see everyone that was able to make it, including our own BYU SoM director Shawn Smith and professors Jihea Hong Park and Nathan Hofheins and, a special shoutout to The Filibusters for their original song that we were so blessed to use for our end credits

This project has brought together people from all over— here in the States, South Korea, and Japan, across five universities. BYU students from all of our creative disciplines were up for the challenge and ready to learn and work in professional spaces. It was so surreal to finally celebrate all of that with everyone there.

In July I attended the international WASBE (World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles) Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. WASBE is the largest international band organization in the world. There were bands and conductors from five continents in attendance.

I was invited to conduct the Wind Orchestra of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in one of the featured concerts at the conference. I conducted a work by famous Brazilian composer, Heitor Villa-Lobos with professional soloists from Brazil’s Villa-Lobos Quintet. It was a thrill conducting music by Villa-Lobos on the historic stage where he, himself, conducted many of his own works over a hundred years ago.

I spent my summer in Nauvoo, Illinois as a Performing Missionary! I was invited to be part of a new instrumentalist group to debut live music for historical vignettes all around old Nauvoo.

As performing missionaries we usually had a morning parade, up to three morning vignettes, lunch, three more vignettes, dinner, and then our show, “Sunset by the Mississippi.” During July, we also performed in the Nauvoo Pageant after that. We performed these vignettes all over Historic Nauvoo, in locations like the visitors centers, the 70s Hall, Cultural Hall, the backyard of the Heber C. Kimball home, and other outdoor venues. All of our vignettes were based on the Gospel and the Saints experiences in Nauvoo. We performed for over 7,000 people over the summer with our cast and staff of around 45 people.

A performing mission isn’t the same as a proselyting or service mission. We audition August-October of the previous year, go through a round of callbacks, and find out in March who is in the final cast. Although it’s a bit unconventional for a mission, the Lord is in every step. It’s a calling and setting apart into service to the Lord and the ministering to His children. It’s amazing that the Lord provided such an opportunity to share our god given talents, and it inspired many of us to continue on to serve a proselyting mission as well.

We rehearsed for 3 weeks and then opened up 9 shows that ran for the summer. The Instrumentalist group worked on fiddle songs and underscore type music for all of them. There were a lot of pieces to learn but that was part of the growth I experienced. It was a challenge to work with the different soundscapes in the venues but it was a valuable learning experience.

I loved the environment and especially the people. The veil is so thin in Nauvoo, and the spirit is so strong. My testimony has grown incredibly, and I am so grateful to have been able to serve the Lord with talents that He has blessed me with. I’ve progressed as a musician, and look forward to continue that trajectory in this coming school year.

I went to Le Domaine Forget de Charlevoix! I went to the woodwind session. We had a lot of masterclasses, lessons, and opportunities to perform. It was amazing to meet musicians from other parts of the world and learn from professionals. We were in one of the most gorgeous areas of the world. One of my favorite parts was that we got to practice in little huts every day!

This summer I had the opportunity to attend the InterHarmony International Music Festival in Piedmont, Italy. Our daily schedule included lessons, orchestra rehearsals, masterclasses, chamber coaching, faculty performances, and nightly concerts in historic churches. On our free days we explored Turin and the Italian Riviera, which made the experience even more memorable.

One of my favorite moments was performing with the orchestra. It was really exciting to see the program come together in such a short time; I learned how to practice more efficiently and confidently. Another memorable moment was stopping for gelato with friends after rehearsals, the best treat in the summer heat! Overall, the festival was an unforgettable experience filled with new friends, great music, and fresh perspectives on performing.

It was such a privilege to travel to Vietnam this summer with a handful of talented musicians from BYU! We had the pleasure of staying in Hanoi, the capital, for 7 days. During that time, we collaborated with the Military University of Culture and Arts (MUCA) in orchestra rehearsals, a concert, and masterclasses. Each BYU musician was paired with a Vietnamese musician in rehearsals, where we were able to learn first hand about their musical background and their culture!

When we weren’t preparing for the concert or participating in masterclasses, BYU students and faculty bonded through touring the vibrant city of Hanoi, including the Train Street, Hoàn Kiem Lake District, shopping and trying Vietnam’s unique food, and hanging out with the MUCA faculty! Several of us were able to spend an extra day outside of the music-specific days at Ha Long Bay, and most of us had a layover in Seoul, Korea on the way home! We all had a great time exploring this corner of Asia this summer, and feel so much more connected to musicians across the globe because of it. It’s such a cool opportunity to share the universal language of music with so many interesting and devoted people through BYU’s Experiential Learning program!

I had an amazing time at the Bowdoin International Music Festival this summer. It was held in Maine and was 6 weeks long! We had private lessons, chamber rehearsals/coachings, new music solo and ensemble works (written by both established and student composers), and, of course, orchestra. There were masterclasses held by guest artists such as the Ying Quartet, Bretano String Quartet, Jupiter Quartet, Frank Huang, and many more. Even as a harpist, I learned so much from watching these masterclasses.

As a harpist at the festival, I got my own practice room where I got to focus on my solo and ensemble repertoire. I had 2 lessons every week with Dr. Han, who is the harp professor at Yale, Peabody, and Julliard Pre-College. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evening, we would get free tickets to see the professionals/teachers perform. It was so inspiring to see the teachers live what they teach! On the other days, students had the opportunity to perform their solo and ensemble works. It was amazing to see my friends perform and feel the support they gave when I performed.

The festival also offered community concerts where we would leave campus to perform concerts for the public for free. One particularly memorable day was when the entire harp studio put on a concert for the community. It was a full house! It was amazing to see the support the community gave to the festival and the students.

I got to meet so many amazing musicians. The ages ranged from 15-38 years old, from undergrad to doctoral degrees. The environment was amazing and I got to meet so many new friends. When we weren’t busy practicing and performing, we loved walking around town and getting gelato. And at the end of the festival, we had a huge party and celebrated all night!

I am so grateful for this experience. It would not have been possible without the help from my current professor, Dr. Nicole Brady and BYU’s Experiential learning program.

This was the global Jazz workshop 2026 located in Austin, Texas. It was a week full of masterclasses, rehearsals, jams, and performances. The staff were some of the biggest names in jazz currently including Chad LB, Russel Hall, Wycliffe Gordon, and more!

We had a fabulous time at the Addicott Chamber Music Festival in July! In just 11 days, we had 3 Masterclasses, 4 performances, and 10 coachings with members of the Viano, Verona, and Euclid quartets. It was such a privilege to work with the faculty, who are all active professional chamber music players.

With our own dedicated rehearsal room and lots of time to practice, we were able to learn more rep, and faster than before. Working on the Imogen Holst Phantasy Quartet (go give it a listen!) was a highlight of our time; it was very special to introduce this work to audiences, especially as an all-female group. In previous semesters at BYU, we played works by Jennifer Higdon and Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, and it was lovely to continue to uplift a lesser-known female composer at Addicott.

Outside of rehearsal, we explored South Bend, IN with fellow students from across the country! It was a privilege to get to know our future colleagues, who are all very accomplished musicians! Some of our favorite adventures were a visit to “Touchdown Jesus” at Notre Dame, the Addicott arcade trip, and a group visit to the Joshi residence (the generous sponsors of the festival).

Performing at venues across South Bend was such a wonderful way to connect with the community! Our final performance of Addicott was an incredible experience, and felt like a culmination of all the work we’d put in together over the past 11 months. Our true final performance together as a quartet came the next day, in a local ward. As people of faith, it only felt right to end on a prayer of thanks with an arrangement of “I Feel My Savior’s Love.”

We are so grateful to have had this experience! It would not have been possible without the support of our teachers, our coach Dr. Michelle Kesler, BYU’s experiential learning program, the hard work of the Euclid quartet, and the generosity of Joan and Yatish Joshi.

The BYU Honors quartet 2025-2026
Emily Lambert, Ellie Wirthlin, Madi Bowen, Clara Gunnerson

I had a great time performing at the FAMES institute this summer in Skopje Macedonia! I loved meeting so many amazing people and learning the ins and outs of studio recording with professionals in the industry like Tim Redmond and Alastair King. Working with musicians from across Europe gave me new perspective, and unified us together.

FAME’S project, established in 2007, is a production company specialized in orchestral music recording production for the film industry. The company has a significant impact on the global orchestral recording industry, as over the past 17 years FAME’S has built an international network of composers and production companies and produced more than 4000 orchestral projects catering to markets in Europe, USA, South America, India and Asia.