Marietta College inducts three students into music honorary

by Tom Perry

Marietta, Ohio (05/10/2019) — Marietta College's Edward E. MacTaggart Department of Music recently inducted three musicians into the music honorary Mu Psi Kappa. This was the third class to be inducted into Marietta's chapter of the honorary.

The musicians who were inducted included Vocal Performance student Megan Ross '19 (Parkersburg, West Virginia), Physics student Ryan McGuinness '21 (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio), and Music Therapy student Hannah Miller '21 (Marietta, Ohio).

Ross, a student of Dr. Amy Yekel, is a soprano and while at Marietta College has been in the Concert Choir and Opera Workshop. Miller, also a student of Yekel, is a soprano and a member of the Concert Choir, the Women's Choir, the Presbyterian Church Choir and a leadership student at Marietta College. McGuinness, a student of Rockland Wiseman, is an upright bass and electric bass player. He is a member of the Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble, and the Jazz Combo.

"Those chosen for initiation into the music honor society are evaluated by the full-time music faculty on a set of 10 criteria," said Marshall Kimball, Chairman of the Music Department. "Included in that criteria are grade point average, scholarship, dependability, ability to take guidance and corrections well, being a strong member of a music ensemble, setting a proper example for fellow students, leadership skills, good decision-making skills, going beyond the expected, and acceptable musical growth in both ensembles and applied lessons. In order for a student to be chosen the student must average 85 percent of all these areas from all of the full-time faculty members."

Kexin "Coco" Shao '19 (Beijing, China), Sadie Johnson '21 (Bloomington, Indiana), and Lauren Eakle '20 (Whipple, Ohio), conducted the initiation ceremony. All three are previous inductees. Each new inductee was presented with pink and navy blue honor cords, a membership certificate and a pink rose. A celebration reception was held following the initiation ceremony.

"Each year we start with a long list of students who meet the grade point average but this is only the starting point," Kimball said. "From there the other categories are rated by the faculty. We want to make certain the students chosen for this honorary feel like they have to strive to become a member and include it on their resumé. We are proud of our new inductees and wish them the best in their future endeavors."

Located in Marietta, Ohio, at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio rivers, Marietta College is a four-year liberal arts college. Tracing its roots to the Muskingum Academy back in 1797, the College was officially chartered in 1835. Today Marietta College serves a body of 1,200 full-time students. The College offers more than 50 majors and is consistently ranked as one of the top regional comprehensive colleges by U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review, as well as one of the nation's best by Forbes.com. Marietta was selected seventh in the nation according to the Brookings Institution's rankings of colleges by their highest value added, regardless of major.

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