Gustavus Adolphus College offers experiences for students both on and off-campus, giving them opportunities often only available to masters’ students. This summer, students Joshua Newman ‘25 and Jack Asmus ‘27 got to take advantage and be a part of the Bayview Music Festival in Michigan. A prolific performing arts festival, the two participated in both a musical and an opera, working on growing their talents alongside other performers.
Newman ‘25, a Vocal Education major with honors in Performance and Conducting, and Asmus ‘27, a Music and English double major, sat down to share their experiences both at the Bayview Music Festival and at Gustavus Adolphus College.
“At first I asked what am I doing here, everyone is so good,” said Newman ‘25 upon his arrival to the Bayview Music Festival. “ There are a ton of people who are in doctoral programs and I am still in undergrad, but it was cool to see how far I have come from high school and my first couple years of college. I had an absolute blast and it was so cool to work with professionals there and make bonds with people I would not have met otherwise.”
“ I am young, so it is cool to get to do something this big so early on in my career,” added Asmus ‘27. “It was cool to be around people who are on this track and are loads more experienced than I am and get coaching from them and now that I am on the operatrack – it was a really surreal experience.”
The two attribute their time at the Bayview Music Festival to the connections that they have built up here at Gustavus Adolphus College.
Asmus ‘27 reflected “I do not think that if I came here I would have been on this track. I have known since high school that I wanted to be on the music path but it wasn’t solidified what it was going to be – jazz opera, musical theater, all that stuff – and to know it is firmly in the opera camp, and have that feeling out process that was my first year at gustavus and now I can say that I am on the opera track.”
“I would say I came into gustavus just thinking education, I wasn’t thinking about performance” said Newman ‘25. “I did theater in high school and it was always “what if” but i nerevr thought about it seriously but coming to Gustavus helped me grow. I joined voice lessons late but he helped me grow really quickly and he goes the extra mile to help me find the programs and look into grad schools.”
Although in different spots in their time at Gustavus, with Asmus ‘27 going into his sophomore year and Newman ‘25 looking ahead to the future post-graduation, both speak fondly of their time here so far.
“This was always my first choice,” said Newman ‘25, “ and coming in as music ed, [with Gustavus having a] really good music program and really good education program, this was a top choice right off the bat. I have gotten more out of it than I expected: with the choir going on tours, and singing in orchestra halls, it has been a lot of great experiences and I am grateful to give back to a community that has given me so much.”
Asmus ‘27 said “I think coming in I wanted to be a performance major because I wanted to perform. I feel very at home here, I love the choir program and the jazz, all the things. I feel very at home, very glad I am here. Gustavus was always the first choice.”