BREAKING: Lipscomb announces new immersive music program with MercyMe’s Bart Millard

BREAKING: Lipscomb announces new immersive music program with MercyMe’s Bart Millard

Tonight, during IMAGINE “The Soul of America Today”, President Lowry officially announced a new opportunity for those pursuing a future in the music industry.  The lead singer of MercyMe, Bart Millard, has joined forces with Lipscomb’s George Shinn College of Entertainment & the Arts. This partnership will create the Imagine House.  According to Lipscomb’s press release, “Imagine House is the only initiative of its kind in the country that offers students with varying artistic interests, an innovative education, real market entertainment experiences and a nation wide mentoring network.”  Imagine House will serve as a teaching facility and place for students to get hands-on experience in their field.  The branches of the program will include an opportunity for online degrees, a production studio with a house band, and ways to create contacts and relationships with experienced musicians.  Some of Lipscomb’s own will contribute to the leadership team. Both Brown Bannister, the director of the School of Music, and Steve Taylor, the director of the School of Theatre and Cinematic Arts, will work closely with Imagine House.  Millard reached out to Lipscomb with this idea and after much planning and energy, the initiative will launch this fall. Many members of the Lipscomb community are excited about the potential of this new program.  “Imagine House is the place where you can dream about your future, ignite the wonder of your faith, apprentice under successful pioneers that have blazed a trail ahead of you and collaborate with other multifaceted artists to create what’s next,” said Mike Fernandez, dean of the College of Entertainment and the Arts. ...

Dove Awards find success for second year under Lipscomb lights

The sound of banging drums, clapping hands and joyful praise filled Lipscomb’s Allen Arena once more as the Dove Awards returned to campus for their 46th ceremony. The event, hosted by Christian hip-hop sensation Lecrae and MercyMe frontman Bard Millard, made its grand return to Nashville last year after spending time in Atlanta and chose Lipscomb as its new nest. University president Randy Lowry addressed the show crowd by sharing a thought he had – that, 123 years ago, Lipscomb once used to be the farm of school founder David Lipscomb. To Lowry, the ground that Lipscomb founded his school on now holds a new purpose. “I don’t know what he had in mind, but he could not have possibly have imagined this evening with this entertainment and this worship and this crowd in this place,” Lowry said. In the audience was Lowry’s 95-year-old father, whose attendance was applauded by the crowd. The Dove Awards being hosted on Lipscomb’s campus holds even more significance because the group that runs the show, the Gospel Music Association, now calls the university their home. With a year of hosting the event under Lipscomb’s belt, the school – including its security team – was better prepared to deal with the ins and outs of hosting such a massive undertaking. Lipscomb’s Assistant Director of Campus Security Patrick Cameron provided some insight into how the security staff was better able to facilitate the ceremony. “[Having already prepared for a Doves show] really helps,” Cameron said. “We were very fortunate to experience it last year, so we kind of worked out a lot of the bugs we...