Trumpet player mentors students on and off the field

While most students spent their Friday nights watching a movie, senior music education major Austin Funkhouser ’20 was on the sidelines of a high school football game.

Funkhouser spent his final fall semester at Messiah working with the Carlisle High School’s music program and helping the marching band with Friday night football games.

Arriving two hours before the game, he helped students prepare for their halftime performances, even joining them in the stands to play alongside them.

Funkhouser has his heart set on teaching music. Prior to working at the high school, he served as a trumpet and ensemble mentor and resident assistant at the Csehy Summer School of Music at Cairn University.

“Csehy has such a unique culture, and it makes camp feel like a second home for me,” he said.

His favorite part of the experience? Working with students. The goal of the six-week camp is to help students grow in musical training and faith—a combination Funkhouser says he believes is of utmost importance.

“I recognized that by submitting our talents and abilities to God, He is able to use them to reach the hearts of other people—something I believe music is especially powerful in accomplishing,” he said.

At Messiah, Funkhouser participates in the Messiah College brass quintet under the direction of Messiah Professor of Music Mike Harcrow. “Austin is an observer, quiet by nature, but he leads by an outstanding example,” said Harcrow. “He is honest and even-keeled, and he has a great sense of humor.”

Thanks to his Messiah experiences on and off campus, Funkhouser says he can’t help but feel prepared for life post-graduation. He plans to find a job teaching music in Pennsylvania or Maryland and work toward a master’s degree in music education or music administration.

“You never know what moments will have a lasting impact on students,” he said. “As a teacher, I want to always strive to have the best influence possible on students—and the memories of band to shine the brightest.”

— Molly McKim ’23 and Jake Miaczynski ’20