Brian Mast ends a successful year of conducting GC Orchestra

Staff Writer

There are few people who would agree to take on a full-time job, especially without quitting their current full-time job, with only a few days’ notice.  Last Fall, however, this is exactly what the music department needed, and it is exactly what Brian Mast agreed to do.
As August neared its end last summer, the atmosphere at Goshen College was filled with the annual anticipation of students returning and classes beginning for the Fall semester.  For the Music department, the audition pieces for placement in orchestra had already been sent out to orchestra members when the conductor and department chair at the time, John Graulty, announced that he would be leaving Goshen College and taking a job at the University of Delaware.
    This left a hole in the music department, which was already trying to quickly find a replacement for choir director Jim Heiks.  Heiks, who was one of the leaders in initiating Goshen’s Christmas concert, Festival of Carols, announced earlier in the summer that he would be leaving the college to take a job as the Fine Arts Administrator in the Appleton school district in his home state of Wisconsin.
    Along with the summer resignation of choir director Jim Heiks, Graulty’s departure put a sizeable dent in the number of music faculty for the Fall semester. While Scott Williamson was set to fill the position for choral director, Graulty’s resignation left his position open with only one week remaining before the start of fall classes.
    On the Friday before students moved back onto campus, Brian Mast agreed to fill this position.  While taking on a conducting role with such short notice would not be a light task for anyone, Mast was already employed full-time as the Performance Venue Production Manager and the Technical Director in the Music Center.  
    Mast’s job already put him in charge of coordinating audio/visual and training staff for events in Sauder Concert Hall as well as some events in Rieth Recital Hall and Umble Center.  In addition to this, Brian is the father of two children with a third child due at the beginning of June.
    Before beginning his job at Goshen College, Mast conducted both the high school and middle school orchestras at Bethany Christian School.   For the past six years, he has also conducted the Maple City Chamber Orchestra, a local orchestra that performs four concerts each year.  Together, these past experiences gave him some of the preparation that allowed him to accept the position with such little notice.
    Students in the orchestra appreciated Mast’s willingness to step in. Leslee Smucker, the orchestra’s concertmistress, said, “Orchestra with Brian was a lot of fun.” Along with being enjoyable, she believes the orchestra improved quite a bit under Mast’s leadership this year.
    While the fall semester provided a less intense opportunity for the orchestra to become acquainted with their new conductor, Mast wanted to make sure that the orchestra had a chance to shine in the spring.  He was pleased with the challenging repertoire that was featured in February’s Concerto-Aria concert.