WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - Ezra Blackwell: Music at Hillsdale College

Episode Date: May 7, 2025

Graduating senior Ezra Blackwell joins Peter Ansrews on WRFH to discuss his experience at Hillsdale and the music department at the College.From 05/06/25.

This is Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. I'm Peter Andrews. With me today is Ezra Blackwell, a senior music student who will be graduating this weekend. Today we're going to be chatting a little bit about music at Hillsdale in general and about your experience, Ezra. To start off, what was your favorite part of pursuing a music degree here? I think for me, it definitely built over the four years. I had a lot of musical like involvement in high school and before

but what I didn't have which Hillsdale provided was people of all sorts of different musical experiences and skills and levels who I could get like immediate feedback from and or who was like interested in like what I was doing and then vice versa and I could go listen to them and so I think like musical community

one of that might or one reason for that might be because the campus is so small and the music building isn't super massive either. Just the idea that the music people especially are always around each other, kind of whether they want to be or not, ends up being a big plus

because you create this little sub-community within the already big community of Hillsdale or small community of Hillsdale. And that really helps you grow musically when you're seeing these people on the same track as you every day. Yeah.

And do you feel like other professors and other areas of the music department like besides your area of study were interested as well and that was also part of it? Interesting or interested like interested in your musical study

even though they weren't like in your area of expertise specific niche. I think I've had a lot of support and maybe that's because Oregon's like somewhat of a niche instrument compared to most other ones. I think

yes I think I did feel a lot of support from the rest of the faculty and I got a lot of like cool feedback that you don't always get from like just organ instructors or sacred music people. But I think it also went the other way where I was exposed to a lot of musical facets and ensembles that I had had experience with, especially orchestra. Like I never really had orchestra friends. I just had like organ friends and choir friends. And so like learning how string rep works and how the mechanics of different instruments work through like composition class, but also just having friends.

outside of the Oregon studio was a big benefit. So I think it definitely, yes, I got a lot of support and inspiration from non-organ faculty, but also the other way around. Yeah. Do you feel like it'll, yeah, do you feel like it'll be helpful for you if you want to direct someday to like have that background knowledge? And do you feel like, like I guess at the end of the day, probably most music students experience that?

I guess what I'm trying to get is like, do you feel that Hillsdale's more indirect approach to like music socialization was successful or do you feel like prepared? Yeah, I think so. I think at first I thought it was like a con of the music like situation at Hillsdale that it's not very competitive and that it's very like, oh, you did great, like good job, which is important. Like you do want that in whatever skill or trade or trying to learn.

But I'm a very competitive person. And so I kind of want like, I don't. I want in a weird way to be the worst one. Like I want to get better and I want to not do better than other people, but I need to see that in order to be like, okay, this is what I need to do to be there. And I was kind of struggling to find that.

But I realized the value of a supportive community when that comes first. Because eventually you get comfortable with people and that allows a very natural, like, oh, you could do this better without the whole thing being like super cutthroat. what was the original question No, you're good.

Do you ever wish that Hill'sdale was like more competitive and like a little bit more cutthroat? Yeah, yeah. I think that would be good for a lot of people. It's difficult because there's not a lot of music majors and not even necessarily all that music majors who wanted to perform or being a more performance-related category

or career. It doesn't work for everyone. It does work for me. But also like a lot of people are, some of the best musicians on campus aren't music majors. And so what that implies is that they're doing what they can with the time they have. And that's a very hillsdale thing. And I think that's awesome.

But so that shouldn't necessarily apply to them. But I think a competitive nature should be an option. And I think once you find your friends and your music community here, you get the support and you get the push and you get the critique you need. but you do I think need to find that community and comfort first which is good

it just was new for me yeah so when you first started music at Hillsdale like how do you think your expectations changed over time what did you expect coming into it and then looking back do you feel like your expectations were met

or did they just shift in a in that sense I think in terms of classes and faculty, the expectations were all, like, surpassed. Like, I don't, there's no way I could have known how capable and supportive, like, all the faculty and staff would be at Hillsdale. I knew they were going to be good, just because of the Hillsdale vibe, but it was, it wasn't good surprised, I guess, to be like, oh, wait, like, they really want you to succeed.

Mm-hmm. Same with the classes. Like, I did learn a lot. and that's kind of what I expected. I think any music major would have classes similar. I wasn't let down anyway. I learned a lot. I think the only thing I was expecting was to be pushed more

in terms of like technique and like the actual performance aspect externally. And what I realized, it probably took me two years to actually realize this, is that because of, I mean, I realize I'm tying Hillsdale to college into this a lot, but I think it is a big component where the music faculty realize how much we have to do. And so they, because they are already so capable,

they will match you wherever you are, which is an awesome trait for them. But if you want to find personal growth, especially in music, you have to be self-motivated. You have to plan your own things. You have to pick rep that you want to play that you think will challenge you.

Yeah. Or add an extra performance because you want to perform. And they'll support that, but almost in like a caring way, they're not going to push that on you. Yeah. And so I think what I didn't expect

was to have to be so self-motivated. Yeah. And it sucks that it took me two years to figure that out. But I'm glad I figured out when I did because I think I've been able to accomplish a lot more in the past two years than I would have had I just done only what was asked of.

Yeah. Yeah. I think that's interesting because that, yeah, that fits really well with the Hillstale framework of, you know, we want the student to be motivated into chasing for themselves and to not be forced into stuff. But, you know, I think I've experienced something similar even just in my first year here. And obviously having a different instructor on cello than you would for Oregon. But there is definitely this idea that if you want to get better, you kind of have to take that for yourself. Yeah. Yeah.

I was thinking another thing that was kind of new for me was in high school because you have to have access to an organ. This is very like Oregon specific. Yeah. But like I had like an hour or two hours every day plotted out for me at my church. So I knew I had to be there every day. And so practice was like almost enforced, which was at the time annoying. But now I was like, oh, that's so helpful. Like I have to go then.

And I didn't think it was going to be so hard to practice coming in here. It is. but it's like, oh, by the end of classes and doing your assignments, like, that's kind of the last thing you want to do. Yeah. And so I think a big challenge coming in was like, I have to do this myself. So again, yeah, you have to be very motivated. I think there's something too about it, though, that's valuable in that you kind of have to learn executive functioning as a musician during your time in school. Yeah.

Because, I mean, once you graduate, if you want to get better, that's like completely on your own teacher. Exactly. So yeah, and I guess it's interesting. That's kind of what I was scared of and I'm less scared of now is like, will I do what I need to do after this? Like, will I put in the time that I know is necessary in order to grow? And I'm fairly confident I can because that's what I've had to do. Yeah. It's be like, I'm doing this because I recognize the necessity myself.

And yes, like performance deadlines work. Like deadlines usually work. Yeah. In general, but especially music because you can't rush it. Right. So realizing, yeah, that you just have to want it. Yeah. You have to want it for yourself.

Yeah. Once again, this is Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. And I'm Peter Andrews talking today with Ezra Blackwell, a senior music student here. I guess on a lighter note, like, what is some of your favorite rap that you've performed here at Hillsdale? I mean, Box's my favorite. I think that's the obvious. organ-nist choice. I mean, he's the goat for a reason.

I think something that I didn't, I always liked him and I always like playing him because there's so much depth. This is like, generally speaking, but especially, I think it's just so awesome in organ to be able like, oh, like this fugue has five, six voices and I can play all of them, which is like a super awesome

and like privileging feeling to be like, I can actualize this counterpoint, how it's meant to be actualized by myself. And that's very awesome once you actually can achieve that. What that does mean is that it takes 10,000 years to actually do well. And I don't know if I've ever done it perfectly,

but I know what I'm supposed to be doing. Yeah. And but like taking theory courses here has definitely been like, oh, Bach's just not cool because it sounds cool. It works cool. Mm-hmm. Like how it's interesting.

Yeah. It's interesting. Yeah. But I think besides Bach, my favorite was probably doing some movements from Messien's nativity just because I feel like playing non-tonal

to I haven't played anything like purely a tonal I guess I kind of depend on your definition is a very not Hillsdale thing to do like Hillsdale people love yeah like the romantics and classical periods but

I think not only was it like fun to play something that I'm unfamiliar and kind of uncomfortable with but I had to develop a whole new learning process. Like you can't practice it like you practice really anything else. Yeah. And the same, the same thing really goes for minimalism. Yeah. Where you have to have a very functional, systematic and like borderline mathematical approach right to your practice in order to like create

the effect. Yeah. Which is fun. Yeah. One thing that I know was like whiplash for me coming here was the fact that Hills students are really into romantic and classical music. It is something that I experienced. Do you ever feel like on reentering the music world, like at large, outside of Hillsdale, especially in a professional setting, that that might set you behind or set you back? I mean, I don't think so only because, I mean, especially in like... For organ, I imagine it's different. In a way, but also like all of, a lot of my organ friends...

at other places like Eastman or Yale or like Michigan are I mean like the Bach overlaps that's really it and I don't know if that's like a skill issue if I'm like just not there yet that's a possibility but they're playing like very different stuff um it's a decent amount more of like 20th century 21st century like French stuff or um a lot more American stuff stuff. Yeah. I don't think I've played anything American since I've been here. Wow. Yeah. Um, and part of that's like personal taste. Like it's not my favorite. Right. Um, but I think a lot of other Oregon studios push newer rep, um, at least from what I've noticed. And the students seem to like it. Yeah. Though I was very proud of it. Um, I don't think it says me back because there's

studying the foundations. Yeah. And the roots of where things came from is never a bad idea. Like, that's never going to hold you back because all that does is strengthen your understanding. That being said, I'm excited to try new stuff. Yeah. And we'll see where that goes. Yeah. I think my hypothesis, like my diagnosis, mostly revolves around how, like, musical training, when our professors, who again are amazing, when they were trained, is very different than what it looks like today. And so teaching the kind of rep, which is commonly performed in the music world outside of Hillsdale is just something that they were never taught how to do

and so it doesn't get passed on to the average Hillstale student. I think it's possible, but that might also depend on the individualistic preferences of the faculty also because there is a lot of variety from what I can tell. I think what's definitely the case though is that it's the instructor matching the students. student again. Yeah. Which is fine. Yeah. But I think it's probably more so the student. Like, this is what I like. That's interesting. Yeah. I like Beethoven or Rockmona Off or whatever. There's a certain kind of student who comes to Hillsdale. And that's genuine with their music taste. I think so. Yeah. That's interesting. Okay. Last question. Do you see yourself pursuing a career in music in what capacity? What does that look like for you? I think that like the simple vague answer is music in any capacity.

Like, it all interests me. Like, the only thing I haven't really got into is like reggae. I don't really know why, how, or for what reason that exists. Yeah. Everything else, I get it. Yeah. So whether it's like, I mean, I don't know. I don't think I'm at a point now where I could be like an organ performance person.

I think I could get there. If I'm like really set on that, like, this is when. I want to do like I want to perform this way. Yeah. But as of right now, I would be equally happy, like, working on, like, figuring out how to conduct better and just, like, building those fundamentals, like leading, like, choirs, performing organ. I mean, obviously, like, the church job is always going to be, like, an easy hop in for me.

Like, people always need that. And I can provide that service, which is awesome. That's a nice, like, foundational career to have. but if there's ever an opportunity where I can be a keyboardist in any capacity with a band on tour and go travel that way, I would do that. Yeah. Yeah, there's a lot of things. Or if I take some time learning more like digital audio workspaces and like how to produce,

that's a super practical field. Yeah. I think a lot of the music world is connections, a lot of any career connections, but I think especially in music. And so if I take this next year while I'm home, and like obviously working as many jobs as I can. But to try as many new musical things as I can and put into practice all the stuff that's in my head now

over the past four years, I think I'll be able to grow enough that my preferences for a long-term career can hopefully be like siphoned. Like, oh, all of these things which I'm really interested in, point to this. And then hopefully by that point,

I've built enough skill and experience to like jump, into that and be accepted there. Yeah. Yeah. So, scroll directing, Lori performance. Yeah. Yeah. I think it's cool though that like you feel prepared after graduating Hellsville to like pursue

any one of those options. I think so. It wasn't like, it wasn't like, okay, I got me for a degree. So now I'm going to do Oregon performance. Right. Right. There was never only one option. Right. And some of that might just be like, oh, I don't feel like I'm good enough. That's super possible. Yeah. But I think it's just

yes, Oregon is awesome. That is my vehicle towards the beauty I want to create. Yeah. But music as an art and as a concept is a lot deeper. And that is something that I will never fully understand and therefore I want to understand more. Yeah. Well, thank you.

I very appreciate it. Thanks for having us for having us for one on today. Our guest has been Ezra Blackwell and I'm Peter Andrews on Radio Free Hillsdale, 101.7 FM.