{"id":56221,"date":"2024-04-16T10:28:17","date_gmt":"2024-04-16T14:28:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=56221"},"modified":"2024-04-16T10:28:18","modified_gmt":"2024-04-16T14:28:18","slug":"senior-maggie-garber-mcclary-set-to-become-first-music-and-peacebuilding-grad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2024\/senior-maggie-garber-mcclary-set-to-become-first-music-and-peacebuilding-grad\/","title":{"rendered":"Senior Maggie Garber McClary set to become first music and peacebuilding grad"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After her first two semesters at EMU, Maggie Garber McClary<\/strong>, who was then undecided in her major, had an idea for a program that would combine the two areas she loved studying most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI found that I really enjoyed both my music classes and my peacebuilding classes,\u201d McClary said. \u201cSo, I approached [EMU Music Professor] Benjamin Bergey<\/strong> and asked him, \u2018What would it look like to pair them?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her question couldn\u2019t have come at a better time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe told me, \u2018This is crazy, but there\u2019s this major I\u2019ve been working on,\u2019\u201d McClary recalled from her conversation with Bergey. \u201cIt was this moment of total serendipity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2019, Bergey began developing the music and peacebuilding program, a passion project of his, following his dissertation work on the topic. He had been seeking approval to add the major when McClary approached him with her idea. The first-of-its-kind major, available only at EMU, trains students to creatively transform conflict by using music to build common ground, facilitate healing and create a space of storytelling. It was formally added to EMU\u2019s list of programs in 2021. Learn more about the music and peacebuilding program by visiting emu.edu\/music\/peacebuilding<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, McClary, a senior, is set to become the first graduate of the program. Three other EMU students, junior Reah Clymer<\/strong> and sophomores Eli Stoll <\/strong>and Miriam Rhodes<\/strong>, are following her lead as music and peacebuilding majors. Bergey said McClary is \u201ca wonderful first graduate as she exemplifies the ethos of the program.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMaggie is deeply empathetic, seeking to listen and care well for others,\u201d he said. \u201cShe cares about justice at any level of life, and she infuses music into all she does.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McClary said it means a lot to her knowing she\u2019s able to set a good example for others to follow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of the hardest things about being the first major is that I didn\u2019t know what it would look like,\u201d she said. \u201cPeacebuilding is such a broad umbrella that encompasses so many things, and music is the same. I feel like I\u2019ve been holding out my arms and soaking in as much as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"
Maggie Garber McClary sings “Put Your Records On” by Corinne Bailey Rae at the Student Union on April 1. <\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Her path to music and peacebuilding<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Feeling burnt out in high school, the Broadway, Virginia, native had been planning to take a gap year after graduating in 2020. She visited EMU during Honors Weekend and said coming here to study \u201cjust felt right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI thought, \u2018You know what, maybe a gap year is not for me,\u2019\u201d she said, \u201cand I turned around and decided to come to EMU instead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McClary grew up with music all around her. She learned to play the piano at a young age, performing hymn melodies at Grace Mennonite Fellowship Church, and then mastered the guitar. At Broadway High School, she was part of the auditioned choirs, participated in musicals during each of her four years, and competed in the marching band and color guard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As she sharpened her musical abilities, she was becoming more active in peace and justice causes. McClary participated in the March for Our Lives (2018) in Washington, D.C., to oppose gun violence, attended Mennonite Convention and was one of the first members of the Virginia Mennonite Youth Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a student at EMU, McClary has been active in events with Mennonite Action, a grassroots movement committed to public actions to bring about a lasting peace in Israel and Palestine. She took part in a recent march and hymn-sing outside City Hall in Harrisonburg, calling on city leaders to support a cease-fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s music and peacebuilding in action,\u201d she said about the event<\/a> held in February.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McClary, who spent her intercultural in Peru, is also a member of the Chamber Singers, an auditioned touring choir that uses music to build connection and community. She said one of the most valuable skills she\u2019s learned in music and peacebuilding is constant self-evaluation. She asks herself: \u201cWhat is my perspective? Who am I talking to? What is the context and the history? What am I trying to do?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve become better at moving through the world by examining myself and asking these questions,\u201d McClary said. \u201cThey can be hard questions sometimes, but I feel like I\u2019ve grown so much by doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"
EMU students Afton Rhodes-Lehman, Will Blosser and Maggie Garber McClary perform music at a “Musical Haven” space in the Student Union on April 1. <\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Moving forward<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For her senior capstone project, McClary hosted a \u201cMusical Haven\u201d space in the Student Union. From 1 to 4 p.m. on April 1, students, musicians and anyone else could join her in playing one of the many instruments available. Music could be made with singing bowls, gourd rattles, a mandolin, two guitars and a cajon drum. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMusic is powerful as a healing tool,\u201d said McClary, who presented on her capstone on April 10. \u201cIt can be emotional, social and even physical healing. I fell in love with this idea of using music to heal and promote well-being in peoples’ lives. … The semester was wrapping up, so there\u2019s greater stress among students. I think it was valuable to have this space.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After graduating in May, McClary plans to work one last summer at Kenbrook Bible Camp in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, with her husband. Other than that, her future plans are wide open. But, before she leaves EMU, she\u2019s been working on a duet from the musical Little Women<\/em> with friend and fellow music and peacebuilding major Clymer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all about saying goodbye,\u201d McClary said. \u201cIt\u2019ll be cathartic … a good way to feel those feelings and then let them go.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said she would like to see the music and peacebuilding program grow to eventually host regular events, bring in guest speakers and become a greater part of campus life. Donors can support the program by contributing at emu.edu\/donate<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking back, she isn\u2019t sure what she would\u2019ve studied had the major not been an option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHonestly, if I didn\u2019t major in music and peacebuilding, I might\u2019ve dropped out,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m not really sure. I think it was a special time for the major to come together.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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