By Lauren Koski
ASST. NEWS EDITOR
Leather shoes. Guitar. Flip-phone. The Avett Brothers softly playing from a laptop on the coffee table.
Jonny Pickett, junior music composition major, is reclining on the couch in the village apartment’s resident adviser lounge, making multifaceted conversation with other residential advisers.
With a unique musical style and organic outlook on life, Pickett has made his statement at California Baptist University as a gifted and versatile artist.
Growing up with a father who had “wicked musical talent,” it only made sense for Pickett to catch on as well. With help from his father, he learned the art of music and discovered a passion for music composition.
Today, Pickett uses his musical talent in CBU’s chapel band and in the School of Music’s Symphony Orchestra. Pickett is a familiar face for many students on campus. Playing double bass, banjo, guitar or percussion, Pickett said he enjoys staying out of the spotlight so he can focus on worshiping.
He finds his inspiration from artists with allegorical poetry in their lyrics, such as Sufjan Stevens.
It is not just Pickett’s “musical testimony” that makes him unique, but also his passion for finding more in life and his honorable character for which his friends know him.
“Jonny is a very free-spirited man who intentionally uses his talents to praise God,” said Trent Ward, junior business marketing major and close friend of Pickett’s.
Ward, who met Pickett through the Residence Life Office, said that through Pickett’s many roles—RA, musician and friend—he has always shown unswerving integrity.
Pickett said every opportunity and every person you meet provides a chance to learn—everyone is different and has different opinions.
“I think he knows how new and diverse experiences transform you into a better person,” said Daniel Dominguez, sophomore violin performance major.
Dominguez, Pickett’s friend in the Symphony Orchestra, said Pickett is always willing to try new things and this is reflected in his music as well—it is a way of transforming his music and making it unique.
Pickett’s amazement with the world and his belief in constant learning is clearly paralleled with his deep love for music. He considers music to be just as complex as life itself.
“It is like the ocean; there is so much and no one will ever know everything about music, you know?” Pickett said. “There’s just so much to do with it.”
Nurtured by his talented father, inspired by the world around him and fueled by unique character, Pickett’s music is more than just entertainment. Behind it all is a young man who is simply driven by his love of seeing the world differently and of living differently. It is the product of a mind that is open to discovery.
