Mott Community College: MCC Music Prof Pens Original Song For Commencement 

Press release from Mott Community College:

Dawn Hibbard

Apr 28th, 2021

MCC Choir Director and Music Professor, Dr. Matthew Packer, has been commissioned to compose and sing the graduation song for Mott’s Virtual Commencement Ceremony taking place on May 1 at 2 p.m. via livestream at https://youtu.be/Z1n8cWpiZy8.

Packer, a MCC Faculty member since 2010, has written and arranged several songs that have been sung by the MCC Choir at previous graduations. Because the ceremonies will be virtual this year, the College extended the opportunity to Packer to record an original song.

The song Packer composed is entitled, “My Time To Shine.” The past year with the pandemic has presented uncharacteristic challenges, both personally and academically, for MCC’s students. “We are living in and experiencing the world in a new way,” Packer stated. “This has brought about the necessity for adaptation and doing things differently than our common patterns.”

These changes have not been all negative. “I watched the mood when the pandemic first struck,” Packer said. “I watched the mindset shift from gloom and doom scenarios to a sense of, OK, here’s where we are; now where do we go from here? When that shift occurred, innovative ideas leading to positive actions emerged.”

With this in mind, Packer structured the song around several hope-filled themes. “I want this piece to reflect a positive mindset and share a message of resilience, because I believe this is an essence of the human spirit. I may be down now, but I have no intention of remaining that way. This resolve is an inner light that will shine to lead us into a brighter tomorrow, and the time is now for all of us to shine that light.”

Both verses of the song begin with the words, I found my voice.  Packer said, “The necessity of virtual instruction meant new ways of learning, and some students thrived in this setting. For other students, distance education required discovering inner strength and perseverance, making the most of less-than-desired circumstances to realize their goal of obtaining a degree.”

Prior to the chorus, the song features a repetition of the words, turn it around. “The thought behind this,” Packer states, “is that sometimes the obstacles we encounter require turning and moving in a different direction. There is more than one way to a goal. Our graduates were resourceful when course corrections had to be made.”

The title of the song is found in the chorus. “There may have been dark days along the path,” Packer states, “but these students found a way to access the light within, as well as the light offered from others. One milestone was achieved as a result, and many more lie ahead, waiting to be attained.“

Packer hopes that “My Time To Shine” will serve as a celebration of accomplishments fought for and won, and an inspiration to continue pressing upward and onward in the next steps on the life journey

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This press release was produced by Mott Community College. The views expressed here are the author’s own.