By Grace Hooley | Echo
You are walking out of the library after a brutal two-hour study session on Wednesday afternoon. You made it through your day, including: a class where you forgot to read chapter ten (and the professor gave a pop quiz), chapel (where you saw your crush holding hands with someone else), lunch at the DC (during which you spilled ketchup on your shirt) and two more classes filled with lectures and assignments (like you weren't already stressed enough).
With all of this weighing on you and a headache forming, you reluctantly trudge back to your dorm. Suddenly, you hear a gentle jazz chorus playing, like a silver lining, somewhere past the Taylor vegetation. You continue walking only to find this wonderful melody's origin is from none other than Wengatz 209. You soak in the sounds as you approach the building. You pass Wengatz as your worries fade away, and you feel as though you can take on the rest of the week.
Seniors Matt Thornburg and Evan Miyakawa developed Woodshed Wednesday, during which they play smooth jazz from their open dorm window from 11 a.m. until midnight every Wednesday. Woodshed Wednesday emerged while Thornburg and Miyakawa were preparing for Techno Night on Second West Wengatz last year.
The word "Woodshed" is a term used in the music realm for practicing difficult sections of music, and Miyakawa and Thornburg thought it would be a great name for jazz nights. The name stuck.
The one-year anniversary of Woodshed Wednesdays is October 5. Miyakawa and Thornburg are amazed at how big the event has become across campus. They have seen students relaxing on Wengatz lawn sunbathing, doing homework and, of course, enjoying the jazz. Miyakawa and Thornburg have also started greeting people on Wednesdays by saying, "Happy Woodshed."
"In practice, it is basically an overhyped event of us playing jazz out our window . . . but there is more to come," Miyakawa said.
Thornburg and Miyakawa have also started a Woodshed Wednesday Board of Directors. This group consists of three other people from Wengatz including: seniors Patrick Hubbard and Grason Poling and sophomore Michael Granata. The founders consult the Board for all things Woodshed.
The two seniors thought of creating a real-life Woodshed Wednesday event this year with live music, but they are not sure if anything will take place.
With Thornburg and Miyakawa graduating this year, they don't know what will happen with Woodshed Wednesday. A few people have mentioned taking it over and have also thrown around the idea of forming a radio show, but they have not solidified any plans yet.
"We had no idea when we started what it would look like," Thornburg said. "Just seeing the process has been fun. If God said, 'Stop everything and woodshed,' I think that would be the order of the day."
Over the past year, Woodshed Wednesday has become an event Taylor students look forward to each week. Whether it will continue after this year or not, no one knows.
One thing is clear, though. Woodshed Wednesday has impacted Taylor University faculty and students, and it has definitely found its way into the hearts of Evan Miyakawa and Matt Thornburg.
"Woodshed Wednesday has the potential to change your life," Miyakawa said.
Thornburg and Miyakawa choose most of their music from personal research, but students can also send requests to evan_miyakawa@taylor.edu and matt_thornburg@taylor.edu. To listen to the Woodshed Spotify playlist, visit: http://spoti.fi/2d25RAZ.
