Growing up just up the highway from BU in Plano, I was familiar with some of Baylor's traditions as I had a number of high school friends who were destined for Baylor and came from Baylor legacy families, but All University Sing was something totally foreign to me until I was working full-time at another university. I worked for a woman who performed in Sing as a member of the sorority Chi Omega. When she talked about her experience, it was one of those moments when the sky opened, the clouds parted, and a beam of light shone down from the heavens. The reverence she had for the entire experience made me even more skeptical. 

To explain All University Sing is an act of futility. On the face of it, the entire event shouldn't work. Even the concept of an "All University Sing" has a sort of 1950's quaintness to it. "Hey, are you performing in Sing? Man, that's swell. It's gonna be real nifty this year." You get the idea. That was what went through my head until I found myself in early 2017 sitting at my first Baylor All University Sing. 

The program for the show was odd. There were 18 or so acts. How is that possible? I'm going to watch 18 different acts tonight? *In fairness, that was actually an accurate assessment. It's incredibly long. 

I settled into my seat in Waco Hall. The lights dimmed. The curtain raised. And my jaw dropped. By the time the first seven minute act was done, I was looking for some sort of real-life rewind button to try to assess what I'd just witnessed. Normal college kids dancing, and maybe more impressively singing a mashup of music that told a cohesive storyline dedicated to their chosen theme. They were legit singing it all themselves. With a live band in the pit. And the lights were legitimately as good as anything I'd ever seen in Broadway productions. And the backdrop was hand painted. And the costumes were really cool. And the dancing. Wait. 200 people choreographed together on one stage? It still makes me sit here and shake my head. 

What on earth is a Sing? What did I just witness?

Fast forward four years. I just finished shooting photos at my fourth All University Sing. Even multiple years into it, it doesn't lose its charm. What's more impressive, it still hasn't lost the ability to make the hair on the back of my neck stand on end during a few moments of sheer "I can't believe what I'm seeing. WAIT! These are college kids who did this in their free time." 

Over my four years, there have been a few standout acts. A few groups seem to rise to the top of the heap consistently. That said, it's not always the case. This year's performance lacked any acts that were utterly bombastic or audacious, but raised the overall level of all of the performances to a point that I never once looked at my watch. That's pretty impressive considering it's a 4+ hour show and I saw it twice last week (once at dress rehearsal and once as an audience member with my young niece, who also never once got bored.) Every group this year was excellent.

All University Sing at Baylor University is special. It's a tradition that is impossible to explain unless you've seen it for yourself. I remember in 2017 or 2018 being told at one of the shows that there was a group of administrators from another university in attendance just to experience it for themselves, to "learn how Baylor does traditions." There is no argument that Baylor does traditions as well as any university out there...I might argue better than universities 100 years older than us. This is one tradition that I look forward to every year now. It hasn't really gotten old for me...I kind of doubt it will. 

​Here are just a few of my favorite shots from this year (based on the quality of my photography, not necessarily any preference for a given act...they were ALL outstanding!)

Giving back some of what your employer pays you has always felt a bit strange to me. Working for an institution that I WANT to give back to is not only strange, it’s a real rarity and a sizable blessing! That is my experience at Baylor University. I’ve run it through my head occasionally that if I ever won the lottery, I’d make a “naming gift” for a new Student Center. The “Tom At Baylor Student Center” has a nice ring to it. Then I’d forgo a salary and continue showing up to everything. Rumor has it that Bill Daniel used to ride his horse onto campus just to hang out with the students. That sounds about right to me. I just need a horse…and a sizable lottery win.
 *Yes, that was total silliness. I'm not sure I'd actually ever be comfortable with my name on a building, or owning a horse for that matter.

Seriously, though, why should I give part of my salary back? I’ll tell you why…because Baylor University is an investment that pays immediate and life-changing dividends in the lives of students. Every dollar I contribute is one that is taken off of the student loan of a current or future student, or it is an investment into a program that will directly benefit them.
 
There is a popular misconception about Baylor University students. It is so popular that I’ve had to correct even my own family members. The belief is that Baylor students all come from wealthy families who simply write a large check to the university each year. If that were true, I’m quite certain that we’d have little need for an annual giving day. Baylor is most certainly a private institution, which makes its brand feel more elite than most state schools. That’s true, but it's not the whole story. Baylor provides millions upon millions of dollars in scholarship funds each year that open the door for students who otherwise likely could not afford to pay for their education here. More than 9 out of every 10 students receive some form of financial aid at Baylor. 
 
Over my 3+ years at Baylor, I have met many of our students. Every one of them, without fail, is a young person that I believe will change the world. I don’t see them as merely capable of changing the world. They have the hearts and work ethics to actually do the work! I believe so strongly in our students that I am proud to make a donation tomorrow on Baylor’s annual Giving Day. Me personally? This year, I’m giving toward Line Camp Financial Aid. There isn’t a program that I know about at Baylor that has a more lasting effect on our students’ engagement and excitement about being a Bear!
 
I hope you’ll join me. A donation to Baylor University is a direct investment in the lives of very deserving young men and women. I'd recommend considering any program in Student Life as being a program worthy of investment! I'm a little biased toward the work of this division, but I can vouch for it. 

Just go to www.baylor.edu/GivingDay at any point tomorrow and be a part of Baylor Giving Day! 

Beethoven was on the precipice of complete deafness when he began to compose his 9th and final symphony. His hearing had been diminishing for many years and when his 9th Symphony premiered in 1824, despite not being the principal conductor, Beethoven stood beside conductor Michael Umloff and also conducted the orchestra, though they followed their principal conductor and not the deaf composer. By the time the crowd was applauding, Beethoven was so far off the tempo of the primary conductor that one of the soloists had to stop his conducting and turn him around to accept the standing ovation his work had elicited. The crowd was largely aware of his deafness and, according to lore, made their praise of his work as visual as possible, waving handkerchiefs and hats. 

I often visualize these Vienna premieres in my mind when I get to hear Beethoven's works performed. After listening to primarily Karajan's Beethoven cycle for many years with his manic last movement of the 9th, it was refreshing last night to get to hear the 9th Symphony performed at a tempo that I think Beethoven would have himself appreciated. 

It is difficult to attempt to walk in Beethoven’s shoes for any length. There is a sad irony of Everest proportion to the thought that the greatest composer to ever live wrote what many today consider to be one of the finest works ever written...and he did it while deaf. This is made ever more profound when considering the piece is themed on “Joy.” I thoroughly enjoyed reading Robin Wallace's notes in the program last night. (They provided an explanation of much of the music, that the joy comes out of chaos, and give hope that even he had found peace...) I have to imagine that "chaos" has to be be exactly how Beethoven felt in the latter years of his life. I often wonder if the wellspring of music inside of him actually ever stopped, or the symphony in his head simply continued becoming ever more personal. How many works of genius is it possible were lost because, in his depression, they simply didn’t get scribed? This work conclusively proved that the music never stopped, and maybe after a few hundred years of analysis, we can say that it was actually profoundly more genius and more personal than his previous works. 

This year is Baylor’s 175th birthday, but it is also Beethoven’s 250th birthday and the whole world is celebrating. Baylor University’s School of Music added to the symphonic worldwide celebration in concert last night performing a full program of his material with the addition of a piece by Kevin Puts that is a musical tale of Beethoven’s life, followed by Beethoven's Romance No. 2 in F with a faculty violin soloist, Patricia Shih, that was, in a word, perfect. The entire night's performance, in preparation to perform it at the Texas Music Educator's Association,  was masterful and as I often find myself at Baylor School of Music events, I had to forcibly remind myself that I wasn’t listening to a major metropolitan symphony, but a group of students in Waco, Texas. Baylor is always a place of surprises. And I don’t mean that as any sort of slight to our students. I simply don’t expect students anywhere to perform to the level that we get the honor of witnessing here. The faculty vocal soloists were also jaw-dropping. It's no wonder our students are this good! 

Whether walking the halls of the art department, watching our athletes score point after point, or listening to the absurdly good performances emanating from Jones Performance Hall, “Baylor” should be on the mouths of anyone looking to synonymize “excellence.” And I should probably realign my expectations. I've been to enough concerts now in my almost 4 years here to know better. Bottom line: you never need to leave Waco, Texas, to find an evening that is filled with this much talent...and joy. 
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Congratulations to the Baylor men and women who would have made Beethoven proud last night! Here is the fourth movement of Symphony #9 in its entirety, recorded in Jones Hall on the Baylor campus, February 8, 2020: 

You are in the right place if you love Baylor University! Follow me on Instagram @TomAtBaylor if you don't already!! You can click the little instagram icon on this page and it'll take you right there or search for my handle. 

I'm going to keep this introduction brief. If you'd like to read about why I began my Instagram account or a bit about who I am and the work I do for Baylor, click HERE or on the "About Me" tab in the main menu. 

My reason for beginning this blog is that with more than 17,000 students, there are hundreds of unique stories around every corner. There have been so many times here at BU where I've met someone new or experienced something that is worth talking about, but an Instagram post just didn't provide the room for context. SO. I created this blog as a place to just throw some words down about the greatest university in the world. I think my aim is for a post a week. I just can't visualize in my mind yet how much I have to say. We shall see! 

In the meantime, enjoy this video of the incomparable Golden Wave Band singing That Good Old Baylor Line that I shot this last Fall after the Spirit Rally. If you are an alumnus, be prepared to get the feels.