5 Things: Maia Brower

Heidelberg came to Maia Brower long before she ever set foot on campus. During her sophomore year in high school, she began taking voice lessons from ’Berg music instructor Dr. Renée Claire, who went on the road for the lessons. One of the stops was Maia’s high school in Oak Harbor, Ohio. “I really enjoyed having her here every time she came,” Maia recalls. She has continued voice lessons all four years with Renée, also pursuing her interest in instrumental music with flute instructor Lori Akins.

A MUSIC TRAILBLAZER

Maia is believed to be the first music student to complete her dual emphasis degree in vocal performance and instrumental in the history of the School of Music & Theatre. On top of that, she is a music education major, which means she had to incorporate all of her education courses, too. “There’s not much down time,” she says. But she likes it that way. “I love learning, so it never seems like it’s too busy.”

AMBITIOUS CAPSTONE

All music majors are required to give a senior recital prior to graduation. With her dual emphasis, Maia will be giving two – on back-to-back nights this December. A soprano, her voice recital – a full 45 minutes in length – will be comprised of 18 fully memorized songs. There’s a set in German, one in Italian, one with violin accompaniment (by sophomore Julia Zucker) and a set by 20th century composer Jeff Blumenkrantz. And that’s just the first night! Her flute recital is an Honors recital, which she was selected for by audition. It’s also a full recital that will consist of smaller pieces representing different countries and different time periods with a solo flute piece. With her recitals getting closer, Maia finds herself rehearsing in Brenneman at least 3-5 hours, 6-7 days a week.

STRIKE UP THE BAND

Maia comes from a family of musicians and teachers. Her dad sings, her mom is a preschool teacher and her stepmom is a high school band director. So it seemed natural that Maia would join the Marching Band at Heidelberg. “The first year, our band made me miss my high school band,” she says. How things have changed in four years! She’s gratified to be part of the growth of the Marching Band, both in quality and numbers. She credits Band Director Jon Waters for “pulling things from us that we were sure we weren’t able to do. He challenges us, and we always think it’s too much, until we do it!” As the band’s vice president, she spent the summer on campus, helping Jon prep for the season – selecting music, finding arrangements, recruiting members, ordering apparel, instruments and uniforms. So the last home game on Nov. 9 will be the seniors’ swan song, and it’s going to be both rewarding and bittersweet.

EXCITED FOR STUDENT TEACHING

“I want to work in the inner city, so I specifically asked for a placement similar to that,” Maia says. In the spring semester, she is assigned to Fostoria High School for her student teaching, where she’ll be working with the band. That’ll be excellent practice for her ultimate goal, which is to teach band. “It’s strange,” Maia says. “I like to sing more than I like to play, but I want to teach band instead of choir. Band kids are usually a little bit weirder … they throw themselves into it and don’t care what anyone thinks because they love what they do so much.” She’s super excited for her student teaching experience “because I’ll be doing what I want to do.”

A ‘HEIMONIC’ CONVERGENCE

In addition to performing with the Marching Band, the Symphonic Band and the Concert Choir, Maia and 13 students took on a new challenge last year when they formed the a capella group, the Heimonics. The group sang one song at last year’s Christmas concert and it was a huge hit. So the Heimonics have expanded their repertoire to a full set and will be performing at the Jazz Ensemble and HeiNotes fall concert on Nov.15.