If there’s one thing Director of Choral Activities Matthew Potterton wanted to do when he came to Baker, it was raise the bar, and looking back over his first year here, that’s exactly what he’s done.
When Potterton came to Baker last year to interview for the job he now holds, he left the campus with a positive attitude, hoping Baker would be the one to call him back.
“It was a ‘for-sure’ that this is where I wanted to be,” Potterton said.
Potterton said he felt comfortable here after talking with the administrators, students and faculty, including then-retiring choral director John Buehler.
“You just have a feel, there’s just the right click,” Potterton said.
Hearing the choirs perform was one of the selling points.
“Dr. Buehler had brought them a long way, and I was excited for further growth,” Potterton said. “I heard great potential for further growth.”
Improving on successes and building a stronger choir is something Potterton has tried to capitalize on.
"I think he's infused the program with new energy," Trilla Lyerla, professor of music, said.<br/>Potterton thought the students were ready to keep getting better, and seemed to want what he had to offer.Potterton thought the students were ready to keep getting better, and seemed to want what he had to offer.
Potterton thought the students were ready to keep getting better, and seemed to want what he had to offer.
“The students had an energy, they had a passion to do better,” Potterton said.
Because of the talented students he works with, Potterton has been able to make positive changes this year.
“I think that he’s worked really hard to make the choir closer to each other and make it feel more like a team,” junior Courtney West said.
This year’s Vespers concert, which took place in December, went from being strictly a choral concert to a concert including more of the music department, like the band and orchestra.
Potterton spearheaded the Baker University Community Choir, which formed this year.
He said its creation was an idea he had after he heard there might be a need and interest for something like that in the community. The choir performed its first concert earlier this month.
“Our last concert was extremely difficult,” Potterton said. “The students did well.”
For West, the future expectations are high.
"We've set the bar really high for where we're going to go from here on out," West said.<br/>Potterton knows he can't take all of the credit, though.Potterton knows he can't take all of the credit, though.
Potterton knows he can’t take all of the credit, though.
“I think we’re raising the bar,” Potterton said. “That’s the only direction I feel we need to go.”
But, Potterton said, the students get credit for that.<br/>&#160;