Matthew McCrary is a junior student at Western Carolina University. A fan of classical, 50s, and 60s music, McCrary majors in Music Education and plays the trombone.
He is a part of the School of Music, which is a program that provides student musicians with academic, performance, and recording experiences that prepare them for careers in the profession.
McCrary performed a recital on Friday, April 22. According to McCrary, this would be the last recital he would perform. Not just for the spring semester, but his last ever in the WCU School of Music.
“I do six semesters of lessons (at the School of Music),” McCrary said. “At the end of junior year, we do an end-of-year recital. Some students call it a ‘senior recital.’ It’s done to prove that you are capable of what’s expected of you and so you can complete your degree.”
Hear more about him and why he picked the trombone as his instrument in this video below.
Originally, he wanted to play the French horn because he thought it “looked and sounded cool.” He also felt the instrument had a wide range, meaning it could play notes that trumpets and tubas can play.
In middle school, he started playing the trombone. When he realized the French horn was too expensive and did not want to wait to pick up the French horn by seventh grade or in high school, he decided to dedicate his time to the trombone.
“The (trombone) is a cool instrument, too,” McCrary said. “It has different abilities because of its slide, can do baritone notes, etc.”
McCrary has talked about possibly forming a quintet of musicians to play various types of music. But right now, McCrary is focused mainly on obtaining a music educator job. He says that it would be better teaching music in a high school environment rather than a college environment.
If you are passionate about music like McCrary and want to learn more about the School of Music, visit the School of Music section of the WCU website. For more upcoming events like recitals, visit the WCU events calendar.
