One composer I particularly admire is Johann Sebastian Bach, who wrote all of his music to the glory of God, which is also my goal in my capacity as a performer of music. I find that he understands and communicates ideas central to the Christian faith so well. You can hear in his music themes such as contentment in the sufficiency of Christ, the humble grief of repentance, or the reassurance of God’s mercy and forgiveness, just to name a few. Bach’s music communicates so well about God, and can inspire us to experience God’s character in a deeper way, thus transforming our capacity to love and forgive.

During World War II, French composer Olivier Messiaen was taken captive by the Germans and interned in a prisoner of war camp. During his time there, he composed a work titled Quatuor pour la fin du temps (Quartet for the End of Time) and premiered it with other musicians in the camp at the time. While much of the music depicts the devastation going on around him, there are two beautiful sections of the piece, one of which is titled “Louange à l’Éternité de Jésus (Praise to the Eternity of Jesus)” and “Louange à l’immortalité de Jésus (Praise to the Immortality of Jesus).” It is truly inspiring to hear the music of someone who understood deeply what life is all about and who communicated this through his music. Even when the world around him was going to pieces, the only thing of truly everlasting value was to praise the name of Jesus. This work has become essential to the 20th century repertoire and has inspired countless numbers of musicians and music- lovers for the past seventy years.

My personal values have transformed my creative life. I want to give glory to God through my life, not only in regard to myself as a musician, but also in all of my other activities. For musicians, there is often an obsession with making a career and reaching the pinnacle of success. I aim to work at my music diligently and faithfully to God’s glory, rather than trying to be the best musician I can be.