“Basically everything I’m involved in is music,” says Rose Lundy, a music education major at Geneva.

Rose is constantly trying new things: hand bells choir, tutoring for aural skills and taking trombone lessons from Professor Donald “Coach” Kephart, her faculty advisor. Another special experience has been participating in the traveling ensemble, New Song.

After being selected for one of the eight available positions, Rose spent a week in training memorizing 50 pieces of music and some skits. After touring during the summer, New Song continued to visit churches and lead music in chapel throughout the following school year. Rose says that these relationships are challenging and rewarding, both spiritually and emotionally.

She loved visiting different churches, getting to share the gospel in the psalms and songs of faith, and was blessed by ingesting God’s word and hiding it in her heart. Rose will have participated for two seasons by the time she graduates.

Because she is concentrating her studies in voice, Rose takes private music lessons with Dr. Smith, who also conducts The Genevans choir. Rose has sung in The Genevans for all three years of her college experience. Although this is a requirement for her major, Rose said she would do it anyway.

Over one Spring Break, Rose participated in The Genevans 11-day tour through the Midwest and Texas. The annual tour is the highlight of Rose’s year, other than the Christmas concert, she says. She also enjoys singing in The Genevans annual theme performances, Broadway Review and Movie Night, and participating in a women’s ensemble, The Grace Notes.

Last year, the choir travelled to the Philippines for a summer tour. And while in Manila, the students visited Faith Academy, a Christian school for missionary kids. Rose was impressed with the middle school teacher and students, and she has decided to student teach there, which will enable her to try teaching overseas as she considers combining music and mission work.      

Living abroad is no foreign experience for Rose. In fact, it was while abroad that the Lundys learned about Geneva. Because of her father’s position for the state department, Rose grew up in three different states and three different countries. When her family was in England, Rose’s older sister, Elise, took voice lessons from Katie (Copeland) Donaldson, daughter of Dr. Robert Copeland, Professor Emeritus of Music.

Elise committed to Geneva, and in 2012, Rose joined her. The two sisters live off campus, but Rose said that because she is so close, she doesn’t feel like a commuter. She knew that she wanted a personal connection with her professors and classmates, which has been true of her experience at Geneva.

She says, “The fact that Geneva is so honest about faith is very important to me, because Geneva challenged me to acknowledge that Christ is King in all areas of my life. All things are relevant to my faith. And my professors are clear demonstrations of that in the way they live and talk; they encourage those kinds of conversations that encourage you to understand how all of that relates.”

-Holly Vizino ’15