By: Dianah Hidzir
Art is known to be an idea of the expression or application of human creative skills and imagination, typically in visual forms producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power. Dr. Nathanael May, an associate professor at the department of music, knew exactly how to execute this concept not on only in Missouri Western, but also other places across the globe.
Dr. May is a festival producer, concert organizer, recording artist, consultant, educator and pianist. He has had a passion for music and art ever since he was nine years old. Starting off by playing the piano and other brass instruments, he ventured himself into the educational field with the aim to follow the footsteps of Jerry Bramblett, his music professor and his mentor from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
“I’ve always known that I wanted to teach in a university setting,” May said. “When I was in high school, I studied with a professor from a university [Bramblett]. I was enamored with everything that he did, and really how passionate he was about music and sharing that with younger people. “
One of the things that Dr. May feels crucial in teaching music is to show how beautiful the cultures of different places can intertwine with each other, which produce magnificent works to be both celebrated and appreciated. Accompanying this appreciation, May founded soundSCAPE, an annual composition and performance exchange festival where people from all over the world attend to meet up at one place and trade their multicultural ideas and knowledge as a process of collaboration within the field of arts and music.
“I had the whole idea when I was living in Cyprus, which was very isolated because there isn’t much of the Western classical music tradition there,” May said. “Revisiting my late professor [Bramblett], who brought several students across the state into our school for a piano camp, I felt the need to do the same. Although I recreated that opportunity on a different scale, which was going international, I just had so much love toward my vision seeing people from all over the world come together in a same place to share the same passion.”
Most definitely, his visions came true. The 12 soundSCAPE festivals that have been held throughout the years have received participants from all over the world. People are able to attend several workshops and masterclasses, perform their respected music in front of crowd and witness famous musicians play their most appreciated pieces.
Besides representing himself as the founder and artistic director of this phenomenal music festival, Dr. May has also represented Missouri Western to perform and teach music in various countries such as Serbia, the Netherlands, Italy, Cyprus, Turkey, Kazakhstan, England, Ireland, Panama, Germany and Canada.
One of the great musicians that he is glad to have worked with is Rebecca Penneys, his teacher at the Eastman School of Music, who used to study with the famous pianist, Arthur Rubinstein.
Throughout his experience as a musician himself, Dr. May has received awards of distinction, has been recognized for his contributions to university scholarship and service and was named the 2011 Outstanding Recent Alumnus of his alma mater, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Richard Yeager, an adjunct professor of clarinet, also appreciates Dr. May’s contributions to the music department of Missouri Western.
“May does an excellent job at being flexible while teaching the students here,” Yeager said. “Having his presence in the department in general is just a delight.”
And that’s not all; international student Kevin Yang, who majors in piano performance, claims Dr. May as one of the best mentors that he has had since he set foot at Missouri Western from Burma.
“Dr. May is wonderful both as a professor and a human being,” Yang said. “Not only does he teach extremely well in class and has always believed in me, I also actually feel that he sincerely cares about his students as if we are his own children. He also spends a lot of time with us outside of class to discuss about our future career plans, and I’m just really grateful to be studying under him!”