Dr. Beth Everett Joins the Music Department Faculty at Mississippi College

Teaching life through music is her motto and personal mission statement.

Dr. Beth Everett is Mississippi College's newest Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities. "I feel as though God has given me this responsibility. I am grateful that God has provided me with this amazing place,” she remarked of her coming to Mississippi College. She graduated from Palm Beach Atlantic University with a bachelor's, Southern Methodist University with a master's, and Southern Mississippi with a DMA, but her passion for music started young.

When she was little, the professor’s front yard had a lot of trees, and she would go outside to gather all the branches and leaves. One day, her parents peered out the window to see Everett directing the trees, while holding a stick in each hand. She was quite active in the children's choir at her church and later joined the choir in junior high school. Everett also served as a stand-in for her conducting teacher while she was away and oversaw the school choir's practice sessions in her ninth-grade year. She learned to play the piano and choral music at the same time. By her senior high school, she was able to perform advanced choir concerts.

Her choir also performed Christmas songs in the mall over the holiday season. One year, the director of the women's choir had to accompany, because the pianist was absent. She asked Everett to conduct. As a high school senior, she had never previously witnessed music of that caliber, but she took the stand. She gave the music a quick glance before deciding, Okay, let's go, and then took action. "I had to take my intuition and develop it. I wasn't good all the time. I had to go to school and learn and get better so I could teach people here. But I think in many ways I was born with the ability to organize groups,” Everett said.

She enjoys working with college students. "Hearing music and being inspired by it, I believe music can help people," Everett said, "I work hard, and my rehearsals are not a place of stress, but a place of release and relaxation."Sarah Jeong is a South Korean exchange student enrolled in her conducting class. “She is professional and kind, and she is very passionate about teaching music,” she said

The next thing she wants to do is recruit as many individuals as she can to join her choir. She wants people to know that joining a choir doesn't require proficiency on an instrument, as is the case when playing in a band or orchestra. Anyone who can open their lips and sing may do so, regardless of their level of skill. " I don't think there are any people who are just tone-deaf. They just need to work a little more,” Everett said. “I hope as many individuals as possible participate. In the future, I hope there will be more choirs and more diverse activities and I feel like I want to accomplish it.”

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