Celebrating excellence in performance, composition, and musicianship among Asbury’s rising artists
In April, Asbury University Music students received awards at the annual Peniston Honors Competition in the Jameson Recital Hall. Guest adjudicators assessed and honored AU students’ performances at this distinguished event. Category winners included:
Composition: Abigail Tingle ’27
Instrumental: Nathaniel Smith ’27, clarinet
Keyboard: Bramwell Carr ’28, piano
Vocal: Donovan Chung ’26, tenor
Semi-finalists included: Jessica Edwards ’28, horn (Instrumental), Emily Reed ’28, piano (Keyboard), and Gentry Osbourn ’27, mezzo-soprano (Vocal).
Lindsey Melhorn ’26 also received the 2026 Asbury Senior Music Scholar Award for Musicianship, Scholarship, and Leadership.
I am so proud of all the participants, and everyone performed extremely well and showed a very high level of expertise on their instrument.”
These achievements highlight the level of excellence and opportunity available to Asbury students, showing that their talent can be recognized, developed, and celebrated on a meaningful stage.
Asbury Music continues to provide performance opportunities for students, including the recent opera production of The Old Maid and the Thief. Every other fall, students can participate in the Opera Workshop class (VOC 300), which offers training with chamber operas, operas or operettas, and/or with opera scenes and performances.
The Asbury University Music Department offers a Music major (with emphases in composition and arranging, instrumental performance, pre-music therapy, vocal performance, and church music leadership), a Music Education major (with emphases in general music education, instrumental music education, vocal/choral education, and combined instrumental/vocal education), and a Music minor.