Revitalizing the Music Department: Introducing New Faculty Aaron Barnhart
By: Honor Tamminga
Photographed by: Victoria Prieto
This year, the music department at George Fox University (GFU) welcomes several new faculty members, including Aaron Barnhart, who has taken the position of Assistant Professor of Worship Arts and Music Industry.
The department is returning to a sense of normalcy in the wake of COVID-19 performing arts restrictions with these new-hires. Dwayne Corbin, chair of GFU’s performing arts department, said that welcoming Barnhart into the music program has been a smooth transition. “We knew that he would hit the ground running, which is why it’s just so great to have him,” Corbin said.
Barnhart cited that the welcoming attitude at George Fox has helped ease this transition, saying, “that ‘Be Known’ kind of attitude extends to faculty.”
Being able to combine his passion for music and his love of teaching in a Christian setting was certainly a draw to this job. “It just felt so tailor-made to what I had been praying about and wanting to do,” Barnhart said.
Aaron Barnhart photographed by Victoria Prieto.
Diving into this next year, Barnhart has goals he hopes to achieve. First, he hopes to extend the reach of the music program to more students at GFU. He wants to make clear that getting involved in music is not exclusive to music majors, specifically in the area of musical worship. Barnhart is very excited to welcome people of all majors who have interest in writing, performing, and learning more about music.
Secondly, Barnhart wants to develop GFU’s voice. Through writing and recording original music, Barnhart looks forward to hearing the kind of music that GFU students want to get out into the world. He even hopes to put out the first GFU original song this semester.
After the music world was brought to a sudden halt with the arrival of COVID-19, GFU’s music department looks forward to many opportunities that were missed last year. On Oct. 22, the choir and orchestra will be performing for the Family Weekend concert. Following this, there are several more concerts scheduled, and the worship team will serve during chapel.
Both Corbin and Barnhart want to bring music more into the life and culture of GFU. As Corbin said, “We want people in this building, having fun, doing worship, doing choir, doing band, doing orchestra, doing jazz band, being part of the life of the campus.”