His songwriting has grown with him toward his journey at Taylor.
Sophomore AJ Whitby is a marketing major with a songwriting minor at Taylor University. Music has been his passion since a young age and he hopes to make a career out of it in the future.
“I started doing music when I was very young, about three, that’s when I started singing,” Whitby said. “I would do church plays, or I would do little, tiny performances for the family. Or in fifth grade, I would do a talent show. But I’ve always been a songwriter. ”
In fifth grade, Whitby performed at a talent show, singing “Hello” by Adele. In seventh grade, he sang “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran.
Whitby has finished two songs and is currently working toward an extended play (EP). An EP is a small collection of songs he hopes to make into an album.
Whitby performed in this past MyGen with his roommate Elijah Gutierrez. Their band name was The 327, which is their dorm room number, he said. Their song was “All of Me” by John Legend. Whitby sang while Gutierrez played the piano.
“We wanted to do something that was fun,” Whitby said. “It’s such a fun time to work with him and to be able to do stuff with him. It’s just a gift to be able to share what I have with the Taylor community as far as my talent and my roommate’s talent on the piano. So it’s just such a blessing to be a part of it, to be chosen for the show.”
Whitby is in a chapel band at Taylor, helping lead worship on chapel mornings. He performed in Nostalgia Night the past year, singing “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” which he would consider his biggest performance yet. While he had a decent amount of performances prior to Taylor, Whitby has had many more opportunities here, he said, especially in a worship setting.
Whitby has also collaborated with Todd Syswerda, professor of music composition, in Taylor Music Collective. The first song that they wrote was called “Wait On You,” which was Whitby’s first work to be featured on streaming services.
Some of the challenges Whitby faces include struggling with creativity in his songwriting and overcoming performance anxiety.
“Sometimes it’s slow,” Whitby said. “Sometimes you can really write something, and you can be on a roll, and you can write plenty of things. However, there are times as a songwriter when you kind of get blocked, or you don’t know where to start, or you don’t know new things to put out there, as far as performing and singing for people.”
Whitby’s most difficult challenge has been learning to calm his nerves. He has become more accustomed to performing music in front of crowds during his time at Taylor, which has helped him master his nerves.
Some of Whitby’s mentors growing up were his father, who sang in church choir, and his high school choir teacher Mrs. Pratt, who always pushed him to be greater than he already was. Another mentor was his vocal teacher for the past two years.
Whitby’s message to music students is to use their God-given gifts as a way to worship him. This mindset has helped him calm his nerves during performances.
“I just want to say that I’m very blessed to be a part of everything I’ve been a part of,” Whitby said. “God has done many amazing things, and I would have not been able to do all that I do without the help and support of Taylor.”
