I arrived a few minutes early, but Josiah Bojanowski still beat me to our meet-up at Traveler’s Coffeehouse. He had selected a spot in a black leather armchair, so I selected its twin as my own seat. Just past him, a light fire flickered in the fireplace. All around us, the day was moving forward. People were studying, chatting, and soaking in the day with special beverages. Josiah and I abstained from ordering drinks of our own.

      Josiah had donned comfortable clothes to brave his long day of classes. His light-based graphic sweatshirt was hugged by a dark jacket, which matched his similarly dark pair of pants and pair of shoes. Josiah’s got brown hair that’s just a little shaggy but not too long either, and his face has its own small scruff of hair. As he spoke, his light eyes trailed off into the middle-distance, like if he concentrated hard enough, the sheet music to his own thoughts would appear in front of him.

      Josiah is wrapping up his sophomore year at Missouri State University. He’s been studying music composition. Vocal performance serves as his main instrument, although he has dabbled a little in piano. Homeschooled for most of his life, Josiah didn’t get into music until his freshman year of high school when he joined his new school’s choir. He started to dip into composing his own music the next summer, which helped cultivate his new interest despite not being able to attend school in-person his sophomore year. Still, Josiah identifies a moment during his junior year as the moment he truly got into music: as the moment an interest grew into a passion. He was at a concert when the emotions of the piece hit him harder than a student’s anticipation for summer break, and he teared up. “It just meant too much to be in that moment of pure joy,” he described, “and I want people to feel that. I’ll do whatever I can to get that feeling.” I know from my own experience that, if an interest gets you so happy that you’re crying, that’s probably a route to pursue further.

      In the past, Josiah wrote slower pieces, but this year has seen an uptick in tempo within his work. He writes for all sorts of settings. “My main thing is small ensemble or choir,” he explained, “so I read a lot of choir stuff here and there. I also love writing some piano and solo instruments, but then I also like just kind of miscellaneous stuff.” His love for creation is evident, even beyond his love for singing. “I think a lot of composers prefer their main instrument over composing, but I’m not that way,” he said. Composing is such a competitive field, that his dedication to it is a testament to his ambition and unwavering passion for generating music.

      Josiah only just recently joined First & Calvary’s Scholar’s Program this semester. He sings bass in the choir on Sundays, and looks forward to expanding his duties to include composing next year. In fact, one of the biggest perks for him is the possibility of working with our resident composer, Faith Zimmer. For most sermon sets, Faith puts together original songs expressing the recurring theological threads of the series. “She is a great composer,” Josiah said, “and I really look up to her, especially because she’s an alumni from Missouri State [University] as a composer. And, I would love to, you know, have a little mentorship with her.” Josiah has now reached a level of skill with music that his attention has turned to its application. Part of his hopes in working with Faith is that she will help him learn to combine his creativity into his Christian walk.

      We’re so excited to be able to provide Josiah with space to experiment, learn, and grow over the course of his future at First & Calvary. Mastering faith as it interacts with the arts takes both time and space, which is exactly our aim with the Scholar’s Program. If you’re interested in cultivating your Christian creativity further, make sure to apply to our program today: https://www.firstandcalvary.org/scholars-application. 

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Written by Jocelyn Squires