College is for self-discovery. It is a time for students to explore the world and identify their place in it. However, it is also a time for 19 credit hour semesters and starting essays at 2 a.m. With the flux of responsibilities assumed when you cross the collegiate threshold, it is easy to let old passions perish.
Fortunately, for musicians, music lovers and people interested in learning music, the Music Club of Auburn will hold its inaugural meeting on Sept. 30 at 5:30 p.m. in room 2107 in the Melton Student Center.
The club is one of the newest ways Tigers can reconnect with a past version of themselves or break ground on a new path.
“It’s basically about the spirit of music and coming together as one,” said the club's first president, James Davis, sophomore in computer science.
The Music Club has room for you, whether you’re a veteran composition writer in a string quartet or struggled through hot-cross buns on the recorder.
“No matter who you are, no matter what you can do, no matter how you view music, we will accept whoever,” Davis said.
You can also find a home regardless of the genre of music that interests you most.
“We don't judge. No matter what type of music it is, we will always be there for you,” Davis said.
Davis, who comes from a family of musicians himself, has been playing and teaching the saxophone since middle school. He doesn't see music as something he "needs a degree in," so he chose to pursue a degree in a second passion instead. But he doesn’t want music to slip away.
“I love music," Davis said. "That’s what makes my life."
Though the Music Club is just starting, the 20-person Club has ambitious plans.
“We’re going to get a program where we’re going to teach students in Auburn that want to learn an instrument, and never picked up an instrument, and teach them how to play [it]," Davis said.
The club is also working with the music department through their faculty representative, College of Liberal Arts Academic Advisor Johnathan Hallford, to secure stock equipment for students who do not already own instruments. In the meantime, some of the club's members don't mind sharing.
Finally, the club wants to provide an arena for its members to perform their work.
"I want to, like, have one big performance just showcasing the things our music club can create,” Davis said.
The sheer number of responsibilities that emerge from balancing grades, friends, family and personal finances is overwhelming. As a result, some of life's greatest passions get packed up and stored under a bed or in a closet to make room for a grade point average and employment.
With the Music Club of Auburn, this no longer needs to be the case for aspiring musicians.
“Just come and show love. That’s all it’s about. Showing love, broadcasting music and teaching you new things that you didn’t know about music,” Davis said.
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Ethan Flynn, sophomore in journalism and finance, is the campus editor at The Auburn Plainsman. He has been with The Plainsman since Fall, 2022.
