Class member: Brenda Odom

Hello! I am sending you the information you requested. Although we have not met, I would introduce myself by telling you first that I am not a traditional graduate student since I am returning to complete my master’s degree after seeing both our children through college. It has always been a goal of mine to earn a master’s degree and I am finding that my experience as a church musician is a valuable thing as I resume my studies. I may also be somewhat different than most of the others enrolled in this class in that I am not a conductor or a singer, but an accompanist, and if my other classes in church music are any indication, most of the others pursuing this degree are ministers of music.

a brief professional bio about you - your education/employment history
I received my B.S. degree in Music Education and piano from Judson College. It was while I was in college that I realized God was leading me into music ministry. Even in the years I was home with my children when they were small, I was always active in the music ministry of my church. Last August I celebrated my twentieth anniversary on the staff of First Baptist Church Pleasant Grove where I currently serve as worship associate.
I am the church pianist, accompanying worship, the choir, soloists and ensembles. In addition, I coordinate the children’s choir ministry. I also work with the worship pastor in every aspect of the music ministry by administrating and planning, working with committees associated with the music ministry and basically handing details that make the music ministry run effectively.

what times are best for you to take the class (since it is TBA)
Mondays will work. Tuesdays are not good for me. I have an 8:00 Beeson class on Tuesdays and after that I have staff meeting which usually lasts until lunch. Wednesdays are not great because of preparation for choir rehearsal at church that night, and Thursdays after my 8:00 class will work, although that is not my first preference. Friday is my off day so that is good.

your professional outlook - where do you want to be in 5 years, where do you want to be in 15 years
I hope in five years to be doing at least some part of what I do now. Because my responsibilities are so varied, it’s possible that at some point I could focus on just a couple of them and move away from some of the others. If so, being a worship accompanist would be the main thing I would want to continue. I also enjoy the people aspect of music ministry-the relationships and ministry opportunities-and I would want to be in a position to continue that, whatever that looks like.

your most meaningful choral experience
My training and experience is as a pianist and not a vocalist or conductor, so to relay my most meaningful choral experience would be to talk about the years of experience I have in accompanying our choir. I have been privileged to work with skilled and experienced ministers of music-several have been Samford graduates and all have had seminary degrees-so I have many experiences with our choir that were not only meaningful musically but also spiritually.

If you would not mind providing a list of the book(s) we'll need, I think I would like to see if I can find them on amazon or something rather than the bookstore.