This article was published in the EMU WeatherVane, a student newspaper.
Waking up at 3 a.m. every day is part of normal life for the new professor in the music department. Between the hours of 3 and 6 a.m. is the only time during his day that Ryan Keebaugh — husband, father to a 9-month-old little girl, and new professor here at EMU — has time to dedicate to composition.
Keebaugh is a new hire this year in the music department, and he is currently teaching seven credits hours: Class Voice — also known as Voice Proficiency — Elementary School Music, Men’s Choir, Women’s Choir, and Composition, all in Lehman Auditorium.
He came to EMU after receiving his undergraduate degree from Bridgewater College, his graduate degree from Shenandoah Music Conservatory, and finishing at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. with a D.M.A. in Composing and Conducting.
Prior to working at EMU, he worked at Clarke County High School, and balanced teaching schedules between Mary Baldwin College and Lord Fairfax Community College. Now his job is simply to be a husband, father, and professor here at EMU.
When the position at EMU opened up, he jumped at the opportunity. He had gone to Bridgewater and lived near EMU so he knew it was a good institution before he got here.
He came to EMU, “through Ken [J. Nafziger] and Joan [Griffing] — I knew them and when the position [became] open, I applied and just got lucky.”
Once he had accepted the position, he was surprised at the warmth and hospitality he was greeted with on his first day with the faculty.
When he arrived, everyone seemed to know him before they had even met him. “New faculty orientation [was when I knew that EMU was different]. Right away [it] felt like a community. Administration knew all [of the new faculty]. Our background, field, family… everything.”
Although he has been to many different colleges and universities as both student and faculty, he had never before experienced the instant feeling of community present at EMU.
Keebaugh started his path towards a career in music at an early age. He grew up with his mother, the organist, and his father, the minister of a Brethren church, so music was always surrounding him at home.
Because music was an integral part of his childhood, Keebaugh found a passion in music at a young age and began composing when he was four years old.
He started his undergraduate program with the thought that he would become a High School Band or Choir Director, but after going through the education portion of the major, he decided that it was too structured and did not allow him to teach the way that he wanted to.
Keebaugh, then, followed through in his focus on the composing and conducting aspect of his education, and the idea of working in high schools left him.
After he graduated, he was offered a position, with no prompting on his part, to teach at his local public high school. Despite his previous feelings that it was not really for him, he accepted the position and loved it.
Junior Katherine Graber has now had him since the beginning of the semester in both the Elementary Music and Women’s Choir courses.
Graber commented that Keebaugh is, “laid back but extremely bubbly and energetic.”
Sophomore Luisa Miller appreciates that, “he doesn’t ever get annoyed at us for messing up. He always has a good attitude about helping us rather than being upset with us.”
Graber also gives the warning that, “there may be moments when you are put on the spot and you feel embarrassed, but it is for your own good,” as a student and musician.
When teaching, he uses humor to keep his students interested while they learn their assigned music. Sophomore Jacinda Stahly, in Women’s Choir as well as Elementary School Music, “loves how he brings so much vitality to all of [his] classes.”
Graber agrees that Keebaugh is energetic—“there is never a dull moment in his [classes]. We are always interacting with him and the instruments [in Elementary Music].”
He is appreciative of getting the position here as an EMU professor because now, even though he has an hour commute each direction, he has more time to spend with his wife and child than he did previously.
Keebaugh’s suggestion for students is that they should “remain a dreamer, always be creative, [and] be like a child—always happy for the moment without looking to the future.”
– Carrie Wilkie, Feature Editor