Students in the Ashland University Music Department are raving over the devotedness and enthusiasm of their professors.

Two AU students, Eileen Navratil and Jaylynn Buchmelter, are working hard week to prepare for their junior recitals coming up on Feb.18. Navratil and Buchmelter have been practicing for this moment for their entire college careers.

Navratil has been playing the euphonium for nine years.

“I’ve been playing the euphonium since I was in the 8th grade,” she said. “I’ll also be performing on trombone, which I’ve been studying for two years.”

The euphonium wasn’t Navratil’s first choice when deciding what instrument to play. She started out playing trumpet in Honors Band from sixth to eighth grade and ended up playing the euphonium by chance.

“My 8th grade year, we barely had any low brass and had 16 trumpet players,” Navratil explained. “Our conductor hand-picked me to learn baritone to supplement our two trombones. I completely fell in love with the instrument and continued playing it throughout high school and college.”

Navratil emphasized how helpful and supportive every single faculty member in the department has been in her growth as a musician. She says the faculty members have helped her to grow as a person as well as a performer.

“I take lessons with Dr. Scott Garlock and he has been instrumental, no pun intended, in my growth as a musician,” Navratil joked. “I have learned so much over the past four years with him as an instructor. Dr. Reed, the chair of our department, truly cares for all of us and is always willing to assist us when we need help,”

She even has several of her professor’s personal cell and home phone numbers to contact them if she has questions or needs assistance. The department’s emphasis placed on building relationships and dedication to personal progress is what Navratil says one of the many aspects that appealed to her when she joined the Music Department.

“I can talk to them about anything,” Navratil noted. “They’ll talk to me about politics and current events, and I’ll talk to them about their experiences as musicians.”

Garlock, who happens to be a professional practicing musician in the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra as well as a professor at AU, assigns his students a few pieces of music to work on at the start of each semester and then each student decides which of those pieces they would like to continue working on.

“One of the pieces I’m performing, I have been working on since sophomore year,” said Navratil.

Junior recitals are about an hour long and performed in combination with another player, meaning each player will get to show off his or her talents for about 30 minutes.

Buchmelter, who will also be preforming her junior recital on Thursday, shares Navratil’s admiration for her professors. She says they have been extremely encouraging while helping her prepare for her recital.

“They expect us to be expressive and musical in everything we play or sing, even just a short little melody for music theory class,” said Buchmelter. “They guide us in our lessons, and they are fantastic musicians themselves and are solid examples for us.”

Buchmelter has been playing the trombone since the fourth grade. Incidentally, she shared the desire to play the trumpet with Navratil, which is apparently a popular instrument for students just starting out. However, after some trial and error with different instruments, Buchmelter discovered that she favored the trombone.

Playing the trombone and developing her skills at AU has come to be a meaningful learning experience for Buchmelter in many ways.

“I’ve learned how much music can be an outlet for self-expression,” she said. “I’ve found that as I’ve experienced more of life and gone through more good and bad times, the way I hear and play music has changed because I’ve changed. Your experiences, personality, and emotions are all projected through your instrument. It’s very freeing to be able to express yourself like that.”

Buchmelter attributes a portion of her progress and self-discovery through music to her professors as they have encouraged her to be her best self in every aspect during her time at AU.

Both Navratil and Buchmelter have family and friends attending their junior recitals, including faculty members from the History and Political Science Departments.

Navratil and Buchmelter’s unwavering commitments to the quality of their performances are sure to be exhibited this Thursday at the Elizabeth Pastor Recital Hall at 7:30 p.m. when they can finally demonstrate to their professors, family, and friends the excellence of the Music Department and it’s students.