Music was not a big part of Cassie Phillips’ life until one fateful day in the fifth grade.
“We had a chance to try out all of the different instruments,” said Phillips, a native of Springfield who attended the Morrilton School District. “I tried the flute and Mr. (Mark) Shumate taught me how to get a sound out of it. That was the instrument that I played the best, so I picked it.”
More than a decade later, Phillips is still playing the flute and preparing for a career in music education.
Phillips, a senior instrumental music education major at Arkansas Tech University, will offer her senior flute recital at Witherspoon Auditorium in Russellville on Thursday, March 29.
The performance, which will include works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Darius Milhaud, Arthur Honegger and John Rutter, will begin at 7:30 p.m.
Dr. Tim Smith, associate professor of music at Arkansas Tech, will accompany Phillips on piano. Admission will be free and open to the public. Phillips says that she chose Arkansas Tech because of the reputation of its music program, and that her experience as a student on the Russellville campus has met her expectations. Her time at Arkansas Tech has given her an opportunity to become active in Sigma Alpha Iota, an international music fraternity for women. She has also been a member of the Visual Arts Association, joined the National Association for Music Education and participated in theatre productions during her undergraduate experience. “I would like to become a band director in sixth through 12th grade,” said Phillips when asked about her future plans. “My first choice would be to work in a small school district.”
Click here to learn more about the Arkansas Tech Department of Music.
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