HIGHER EDUCATION
TRAINING RENAISSANCE MUSICIANS: A CONVERSATION WITH TOM BROOKS
by Bruce Adolph and Alex MacDougall
Tom Brooks is a longtime friend of both [WM] [WM] Tom, you have a storied music record in turning our workshops into books, training
Worship Musician and The Christian Musician the industry. Tell us about your role in this new videos, and other resources.
Summit conferences. A multi-Grammy award music program at California Baptist University?
winner, Tom tours and records with many of
We soon found that we loved mentoring and
today’s biggest artists. He has also produced [Tom
well over one hundred worship albums over Commercial
The
new
for inspiring young musicians as much as we loved
we playing! Our passion for it was running high, but
the years, including 6 RIAA platinum and 18 created together with Dr. Lance Beaumont, there was a catch. For the most part, we only
gold record recordings, in addition to creating Associate Professor of Music and Associate got to spend one day, maybe two, with our
numerous
videos,
something
students. There really was no way to go very
Development. really deep. We knew that the training was valuable,
enthusiastically sat down with us to announce something that my music pals and I have but we couldn’t offer any kind of ‘degree’ or
the new ‘Center for Commercial Music’ (CCM) been conceiving and brainstorming about for credit for the work our students were putting in.
at California Baptist University. Tom articulated years. We’ve had the great privilege to tour We all really wanted to plug into an established
that this new program is "completely the world and make music with great players university where we could offer in-depth training
‘mainstream’, open to all flavors of musicians; all over the planet, and we’ve always loved plus a respected degree to our graduates. We
secular, and to share our experiences and ‘talk shop’ were amazed to find how out-of-touch most
everything in between". CBU's new program with young, upcoming musicians. At first, we universities are to real-world practical music
is a bold vision within evangelical Christianity, started by coordinating workshops with local training. Many are hanging on to methods that
having a potentially huge impact upon the universities in towns where we were playing. are extremely out-of-date and out of step with
entertainment industry and the broader culture But the demand quickly grew it into multi- modern music technology. It’s like they are
that it influences. day seminars and conferences. Before long, speaking “King James” English to musicians in
many of us were sought after as clinicians, the 21st century.
Vegan,
training
is
Dean of Graduate Studies and Program
Christian,
dvds,
Music
Center
choral and orchestral arrangements. Tom
54
concert
Brooks]
Martian,
June 2019
This
program
is
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