Each year, the Maricopa Community Colleges sponsor a districtwide music competition to encourage and recognize student achievement. This year, Mesa Community College student Madison Franklin was selected as the Instrumental Solo winner and performed Cantabile et Presto by George Enesco on the flute at the recent Artists of Promise event.
Franklin, 21, of Mesa, graduates from MCC this spring, with an Associate in Arts, Fine Arts degree. She plans to complete a bachelor's degree in music education and perhaps a master’s degree. She has been accepted into the music program at Brigham Young University and will be transferring there for the Fall 2022 semester.
She said she became interested in music at age eight, when her parents introduced her to the piano.
“I can't say I loved it at first, but I definitely grew to love it,” Franklin said. “In fifth grade my elementary school opened up the option to join the band on a wind instrument. While I was previously learning the violin, I just knew I wanted to play the flute.”
Throughout high school she had many opportunities to play the flute and those experiences led her to become more involved in music, including MCC’s Summer Band Camp.
“I spent a few summers before high school graduation at MCC's Summer Band Camp,” said Franklin, who enrolled at MCC in 2019. “After I graduated from high school, I didn't know what I wanted to study at college. Because of band camp, I was familiar with MCC and knew I could join the band and flute choir, so I decided to start there.”
She said during her first semester at MCC, she had no idea what she wanted to study, or where she wanted her career to go.
“After signing up for band and flute choir, there were several people who helped me decide to study music,” she said. “Christina Steffen encouraged me to sign up for private lessons with her, which kickstarted my choice to take music more seriously. Because of those lessons, I was able to grow and improve as a musician, while having opportunities to play alto and bass flutes in the community flute choir.”
She became a member of the Desert Echoes Flute Project program, a nationally recognized flute choir based in Phoenix and sponsored by the MCC Music Department of MCC.
Additionally, Franklin said she learned a great deal from band rehearsals with MCC music professors Rob Hunter and Paul Brewer.
“They also helped me graduate with an associate degree through advisement and encouraging the idea of studying music education,” she said. “I also learned key concepts for music performance in orchestra rehearsals with Professor Brian Murphy.”
Franklin said it's amazing that she has had the opportunity to be involved with so many performing groups at MCC and study music full time.
As for future career goals, Franklin hopes to manage her own private lessons studio, play in orchestra pits and perform in small ensembles at events. She would also like to teach at an elementary or high school.
Franklin, whose mother also attended MCC, said she will never forget the skills she has learned through the many performing groups at MCC.
“I have learned so much from the directors of the band, orchestra, and flute choir, as well as the players around me,“ she said. “I will never forget the sense of community that exists in the performing arts building. I really think Rob Hunter, Paul Brewer, Brian Murphy and Christina Steffen have all created positive playing environments that foster improvement and friendships.”