<\/p>\n
Some students might feel a bit of uncertainty and trepidation at the prospect of being the first to enroll in a completely new academic program.<\/span><\/p>\n But after researching and visiting successful, established programs at other schools, Ross Earl felt confident in choosing East Tennessee State University\u2019s Master of Music degree program, which opened its doors this fall with concentrations in performance, conducting, music education and composition.<\/span><\/p>\n From early musical talent to lifelong passion<\/b><\/p>\n Earl, who grew up in Knoxville, got his start in music at the age of 5, when his family noticed him singing along with the radio perfectly on pitch.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe knew early on that would be a direction my life could go,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n Since his middle school did not have a vocal program, Earl began his music education playing flute in band. Later, his high school band director suggested that joining choir could make him a more well-rounded musician. He did so, and soon found a home in chorus.<\/span><\/p>\n Building a strong foundation in music education<\/b><\/p>\n Earl studied at Pellissippi State Community College and earned his bachelor\u2019s degree in music education at Maryville College. He then taught high school music for five years at The L&N STEM Academy in Knoxville, where he won the school\u2019s highest honor for teachers \u2014 the Lampbearer Award \u2014 in his third year.<\/span><\/p>\n Earl loved his time at L&N and enjoyed his hardworking students who gave their all to everything they did. And after careful consideration, he decided to pursue his master\u2019s degree.<\/span><\/p>\n Joining ETSU\u2019s new Master of Music program<\/b><\/p>\n Earl took a chance on the new program at ETSU and just completed his first semester studying choral conducting as a member of its inaugural class.<\/span><\/p>\n He said he was impressed by the growth and momentum demonstrated by ETSU\u2019s Department of Music over the past decade and by the quality of the university\u2019s Martin Center for the Arts.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhen I came to audition, I had two professors working with me the whole time,\u201d Earl said. \u201cThey really wanted to learn about me as an individual \u2014 where I was coming from and what my goals were. They gave me a full, hour-long rehearsal with a choral ensemble. It was a very personal experience.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Gaining hands-on leadership and conducting experience<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cI am really excited to be working with high-level musicians,\u201d Earl said. \u201cThe faculty have really focused on us as grad students and made us feel like we\u2019re a very high priority. They\u2019ve put us into leadership positions, and they push us hard.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Earl\u2019s leadership role involves conducting BucsWorth, ETSU\u2019s tenor-bass choir, under the guidance of Dr. Alan Stevens, professor, director of choral activities and chair of the Department of Music. Most recently, he had the opportunity to conduct in the university\u2019s annual Holiday Concert, a perennially popular show that expanded to three performances this year. He also sings as a member of the ETSU Chorale.<\/span><\/p>\n Looking ahead: Career goals in music education<\/b><\/p>\n Whether he pursues a doctoral degree after completing his master\u2019s or takes a position with a high school music program, Earl hopes to focus on the role of music education in the community.<\/span><\/p>\n Earl said that in the mid- to late 20th century, many high school music programs played a larger role in the community than some do today.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s easy for educators to be tempted to look inward,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2018What can I do with my students in my rehearsal room, with my program? And maybe every once in a while, I\u2019ll do a concert and the parents will get to see it.\u2019 I think that\u2019s a huge mistake, and we need to swing the pendulum back in the other direction.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYour ensembles have to be in the community. You have to win people over and play an active role and work with people outside the school. That\u2019s how music programs grow and become important to people.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Not only would Earl like his choirs to perform more in the community, but also to work on projects as his students at L&N did, such as participating in a home build, organizing fundraisers for various causes, or helping English-as-a-second-language students learn to read.<\/span><\/p>\n A creative life beyond music<\/b><\/p>\n Outside of music, Earl is a published author of fantasy stories. Spurred by ideas from playing \u201cDungeons & Dragons\u201d with friends in high school, he published two short stories, which may be read at Calliope Interactive and Fairfield Scribes. He also writes novels that have garnered positive reviews from early readers, and he is now seeking representation for their publication.<\/span><\/p>\n In addition, Earl and his fianc\u00e9e enjoy hiking in the East Tennessee mountains, and he takes a strong interest in historic preservation. A descendant of a family that settled in the region in the late 1700s, he appreciates the artifacts and land that have been passed down in his family through generations.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source elizabethton.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Some students might feel a bit of uncertainty and trepidation at the prospect of being the first to enroll in a completely new academic program. But after researching and visiting successful, established programs at other schools, Ross Earl felt confident in choosing East Tennessee State University\u2019s Master of Music degree program, which opened its doors […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2220580,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25179],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2220579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Ross-Earl-thrived-in-ETSUs-new-Master-of-Music-program.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2220579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2220579"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2220579\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2220581,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2220579\/revisions\/2220581"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2220580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2220579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2220579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2220579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}