Date of Award

4-30-2020

Document Type

Honors Thesis

Department

Music

First Advisor

Karl G. Bailey

Second Advisor

Karin Thompson

Abstract

What is the experience of a Seventh-day Adventist professional classical musician? Both Seventh-day Adventists and classical musicians have been the subjects of numerous studies in past decades; however, few to none of those studies have focused on individuals who identify as both. The current study seeks to better understand the experiences of Adventist musicians within their church and within the wider classical music community. Interviews were conducted with five musicians using an initial and a follow-up set of questions. Themes were identified from interview transcripts by a content analysis. Several predicted themes were confirmed such as the experience of one’s career as a ‘calling’, as well as Adventist musicians’ value of excellence and service. Contrary to expectations, Sabbath observance was not seen as a major obstacle. The discovered primary themes included a tension of values, identity realization, caution towards the broader Adventist Church, and a suppressed vision of connection and collaboration. Some limitations on the results and conclusions of this study were the small sample of subjects and the large number of different topic categories addressed. Further research is suggested to explore if the current study’s findings remain consistent when more subjects’ interviews are added to the data pool, and if further understanding can be gained by refining or modifying the interview questions.

Subject Area

Musicians; Music--Religious aspects

DOI

https://dx.doi.org/10.32597/honors/236/

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