Jessie Bullock is currently the Choral Director at Carlsbad High School and Calavera Hills Middle School. He graduated in 2008 with a degree in Music Education.
Bullock did not plan on studying music. He always wanted to be an astronaut and worked throughout high school to get into the Air Force Academy to pursue that career. However, he says, “During my senior year of high school I went to a meeting with many candidates in which I met the General of the Air Force Academy. He told us about needing to be warriors who wanted to kill. I knew I was in the wrong place.”
He then asked for God’s guidance. He knew he loved leading worship at his high school and church youth groups, and when he arrived at Azusa Pacific, he found his love for choir. He soon changed his major to Music Education with a Choral Emphasis.
When Bullock started in music at APU, he realized he needed to follow a career in what he did best. By his senior year at APU he was in 6 different performing groups: Men's Chorale, Chamber Singers, Oratorio Choir, Jazz Choir, Celebration, and a Barbershop Quartet.
Men’s Chorale was his first experience being around new people at APU. The first thing he remembers doing was getting his feet washed by the leadership of the group and participating in a time of prayer. That time of prayer became what Bullock describes as the most meaningful experience for him at the start of every year.
APU has helped Bullock succeed. He joined the niche of directing Show Choir. He says, “To most of the world, people think ‘white gloves’ and ‘step touch while singing’. This is not Show Choir. What I do is create and produce a 20-25 musical with professional choreography. It's pretty intense and there are very few schools that participate. In that small group there are even fewer that do it well.”
The advice Bullock would give to future and current students is to find what you do well and find where that fits into what you enjoy. “Work hard. Don't slack off. If you can find something that you are good at that you love doing, work hard to make that your career. Finding that and having talent is not enough. If you don't push yourself to be excellent at whatever that is, you aren't giving God your first fruit in life.”
