Worship Bands Formed through Auditions

Teleah Moss, Blaine Bartlett and Cary Smith leading worhip in Chapel after the worship bands were announced. Photo by Jen Kollaer

A variety of talented and nervous musicians piled into the Psalm Center annex to put their talents to a test on Sept. 2-4.

Similar to “American Idol”, minus Simon and his unruly comments, these auditions gave students with an interest in the worship band a chance to play with their peers.

Rumors have swirled around campus calling these auditions tryouts with cuts.The music department as well as student worship leaders are just trying to improve the quality and performance of chapel music. With the amount of individuals interested, the selection process called for smaller worship band, which would not garner every musician a spot on a worship team.

“Since there are more students attending Corban, there are also more gifted musicians who want to use their gifts in worship” Campus Pastor Kent Kersey said. “Unfortunately there are only a number of chapel bands (5), and in those bands there areonly a limited number of band members (about 7).”

The auditions were open to the entire student body.  The musicians simply signed up for the worship band class, attended the Monday night audition and played with various band members.  The worship leaders selected band members based on their instruments and who they felt would work better together, based on their personal style.

“The atmosphere of the audition was very encouraging; everyone who came was there for the right reason,” said junior Jake Zufelt, one of the worship leaders. “They were servants, they were willing and we knew right away this was going to be a good year for chapel.”

This is the first year Corban has held worship team tryouts.  The team leaders evaluate how the impact being made by the chapel music affects those attending.  The purpose of the audition was to evaluate the different levels of talent among the musicians and to choose the talented and teachable members.

“We as leaders encourage people to continue pursuing a place to serve on campus and in the worship arts program,” said Zufelt. This was a new move for the worship team, but not a totally foreign process in Christian circles.

“This situation is similar to many larger churches,” said Kersey. “There are many talented musicians in the congregation, but only a certain number can be on the platform at one time.”

With little to no comparison to the outcome and future of “American Idol” winners, the new worship band members now have a concrete place to serve the Lord through their musical talents.