Exploring Creativity Through Music

Musical groups and outlets abound on JBU’s campus. Chapel bands lead students in worship every Tuesday and Thursday, Red Steps shares the gospel through music around the country, and the small-yet-mighty jazz band performs a rendition of a classic folk song in Jones Recital Hall. The one thing these musical opportunities have in common — they are all under the umbrella of the music and theatre department. However, there are students pursuing other academic interests who are also passionate about creating and performing original music.

Julianne Petersen, a senior English major, was, quite literally, born to make music. One of five full-time members of The Petersens, an American folk family band with a residency in Branson, Missouri, Petersen has been performing for as long as she can remember.

“My family has always played music. I have been on stage since I was about four years old,” Petersen said. “My mom used to have us singing a cappella songs in the car on long road trips instead of watching movies, so making music has always been a part of my life. I also started writing music independently in high school and put out my first song, ‘May Baby,’ in college.”

Growing up on stage, Petersen is no stranger to the immense pressure of pursuing a musical career, much of which now overlaps with her education. The Petersens have spent most of their lives traveling the world to perform gigs at churches, competitions and festivals while maintaining their several-times-a-week performances in Branson. At first, this proved challenging for Petersen, as she suffered from intense stage fright. To conquer this, Petersen learned to view performing from a new perspective.

“When I started to realize that [performing] was a gift and it’s not about me, it allowed performing to be a rather beautiful thing,” Petersen said, “I was able to just close my eyes and focus on the Lord instead.”

Petersen also balances her music career, education and social life by finding time to spend alone with the Lord.

Petersen’s degree and music career complement each other greatly. She saw an English degree as a unique opportunity to study multiple subjects at once by learning to read and engage with different texts and strengthen her creative writing skills. Petersen is currently blurring the lines between poetry and music for her capstone project by creating a concept album. She plans to continue to utilize her literary education and pursue music full time after graduation.

Petersen is not the only musically gifted student who started making music at a young age. Senior graphic design major Matthew Campbell has been doing music solo since elementary school.

“I started recording and making music when I was 11 years old,” Campbell said. “When I was first exposed to Christian hip hop in 2011, that was the shift for me that really made me want to try creating my own work.”

The creation of all of Campbell’s projects follow a specific regimen.

“My process always starts with a concept,” he said. “I have to have an idea, theme or concept that I want to write about before I start anything — usually something happening in my life or [that] I am learning. From there, I start producing the music for the song and writing the lyrics simultaneously.”

This approach proves effective, as Campbell’s career has soared, amassing hundreds of thousands of streams and releasing several projects under his name, “Matthew Campbell.” Notable singles include “Meraki” and “Lemonade.” In November 2021, he released his debut album, “FROM DEATH TO LIFE,” a self-produced collection released under his personal record label, Parental Approved.

While Campbell’s music is well-known at JBU, he also has listeners around the globe. Campbell has performed live in the United States, Costa Rica and Thailand.

He credits his time in Thailand as a milestone in his career, seeing firsthand how his music impacts others.

“This concert [in Thailand] was for a ministry that was an after-school program for kids in Chiang Mai, Thailand,” Campbell said. “These kids did not speak much English, but I got to see them connect with my music and even sing along with the songs. It really showed me the power of what I was making and that even a language barrier couldn’t even stop [people] from connecting with it.”

Unlike Petersen, Campbell’s music career is purely a side hobby while he continues to pursue a career in graphic design. He says that while he will always have a passion for creating original music, it is not where he feels the Lord is leading him. Still, he cites music as a significant source of therapy for himself and hopefully, for others.

You can listen to The Petersens at youtube.com/thepetersens or on major streaming services. For Julianne’s solo project, search “Julianne.” You can find Campbell on all major streaming platforms and on his website, matthewcampbell.co.

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