Staff Spotlight: Ethan Neal, Director of Music Ministry

Staff Spotlight: Ethan Neal, Director of Music Ministry

A trumpet fanfare to welcome our new Director of Music Ministries, Ethan Neal. Ethan is one of those people who come under the heading: Gifted. He plays trumpet, organ, piano, has a stunning baritone voice, conducts, composes, arranges, and that’s just his musical side. He’s definitely impressive for a guy whose work ethic was, in part, formed at the county fair where he escorted cows and pigs around the show ring and picked up a cache of ribbons in the process.

Tell me about the farm you grew up on.

There’s the big [extended] family farm in Mt. Orab, Ohio, that has been in the family since 1804. It has hogs and cows and several hundreds acres of corn and soy beans. My parents and I lived on our own farm about 15 minutes from that farm. We also raised corn and soy beans and, when I was growing up, cattle and hogs. I was showing crossbred cattle and hogs all over the place. One year, I was in the Top Three at the North American International Livestock Exhibition in Kentucky with my cow Coco.

When did music win out over farming and animals?

For the longest time, I was dead set on becoming a large animal thoracic surgeon. When I was about 13, I started working at a local vet’s office, mostly in the summer but sometimes during the school year and on weekends. We’d travel around to different farms and occasionally, I’d help with surgeries. I did that for about three years.  

What was going on musically in your life at that point?

I was playing trumpet. My high school [in Georgetown, Ohio] didn’t have a choir, but I performed with a community christian children’s theater group. I got to do musicals and sing in their choir. That continued through high school. 

So trumpet was your main instrument at that point?

Yes, during my junior year in high school, I began looking around for a trumpet teacher. I had been in touch with Jason Dovel, the trumpet professor at the University of Kentucky. He invited me down to take a lesson and then offered to teach me for free if I could get there. During my junior and senior years, I drove down often, usually on weekends. 

Was your family supportive of your music from beginning?

We honestly never had a full-fledged conversation about that. But the way in which they raised me, there was always the sense that whatever you do, do it at a high quality. There was no pressure, it was just the farm work ethic. I don’t think there was ever any worry that I wasn’t  going to be able to make a living.

When did organ and piano enter the picture?

 I had started piano lessons around age 11 or 12, about the same time I started trumpet. During my junior year in high school, my grandmother was in a rehab facility in Ripley. I would visit and play hymns for her on the piano. I met a couple there whose church was looking for a pianist to fill in for the summer before my senior year, so I did that and stayed on. The church had an organ that had been built in 1850, but it was in decent shape. That’s when I began to play organ. I started a piano and organ concert series there during my senior year in high school. When I got to the University of Kentucky [as a college student], my trumpet teacher connected me with the organ professor. During my sophomore year, I started studying voice formally. I don’t play trumpet anymore because it conflicts too much with my singing voice.

So ultimately, is singing your primary musical outlet?

I want to do it all. It’s feasible for me to do voice, organ and choral conducting all together. Teaching will always be a part of what I do. Longterm, I want to teach at a university. I like performing, but it isn’t what drives me. Teaching and connecting to people is really what drives me. I had a pretty substantial studio during college teaching piano, organ and voice. I won’t be teaching as much here, because I’ll just be too busy with grad school at CCM and All Saints.

What are your personal highlights so far? 

I’ve done a lot of work in New York. My voice teacher, Everett McCorvey is director of the National Chorale and the American Spiritual Ensemble. I’ve performed with them and through Dr. McCovey, did a handful of solo recitals there. During the Pandemic, we were in contract negotiations to do a solo recital in the small recital hall at Carnegie Hall, but it didn’t happen. But, I have all my emails from Carnegie Hall management.

Let’s talk about the future at All Saints. What are you looking forward to the most?

Cultivating joy by connecting with people through music. I look forward to finding the heart of the people I’m serving. My job at All Saints is to serve the people in front of me, whether I’m performing or conducting. We all lost a lot of joy going through the Pandemic. If I can ignite that flame again just a little bit, I’ve done something worthwhile. 

Have you read over the surveys that parishioners filled out?

The surveys were very helpful because I can’t make good decisions without knowing whom I’m serving. The biggest thing I can do right now is sit and listen. In looking at the choir, which is a broad demographic of people, one of the things I like to do is to lead them through an activity to find out what their heart songs are. I have everyone hum their heart song and by listening to what those songs are, I can tell what people value. Then it’s about breathing life into that through music in the context of a service.

What else can we expect?

A big thing for me is the flow of the service. Sometimes, I cant’ find the right hymn, so you’ll hear me improvise a piece. And I will incorporate all kinds of music into the service. We also plan to have four CCM students (choral scholars) who will come and support the 6 to 8 people we now have in the choir. Meredith and I would love to have more music-centric events, such as jazz on the lawn, maybe doing some things with the 4-Way Quartet. And, Meredith and I talked about creative ways we can incorporate some of the kids into the music before the end of the year.

Forget about music for the moment. What else do you do for fun?

I love to cook. I’m also a potter and have spent time at Queen City Clay since I got here. It’s nice to go in and throw on my headphones and work with the clay. I strive for musical excellence, but you can forget about being a perfectionist as a potter. The clay will fight back. It’s very therapeutic. I just finished a communion set for a minister friend who was recently ordained. I’ve been working on a whole set of dishes for myself.

Finish this sentence: People would be very surprised to learn . . . 

I showed three pigs at one county fair who were named Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato. I know, it’s a little cynical.

Were pigs easy to show?

The pigs were great. They love marshmallows and vanilla wafers. They weighed about 200 pounds apiece, and I trained them to sit and roll over. 

Did the farm animals like music?

I would practice trumpet at the barn, because it had the best acoustics. They loved the Tomasi trumpet concerto.