Music has taken Prof. Melvin Butler to a variety of places before dropping him off at the University in the fall of 2005.
Butler currently teaches two courses -- African-American Gospel music for undergraduate students and a graduate course, Music and Ritual.
"It is a privilege to teach students who have such a passion for gospel," Butler said.
Two years into his professorship at the University, Butler said he never planned on becoming a University professor -- it's just been part of the journey on which music has taken him.
He said music had always been a part of his life, though, from playing the saxophone in his high school jazz band to applying to his dream college, the Berklee College of Music in Boston.
"It was a 'just in case,'" Butler said, "and I ended up getting a scholarship."
So, as a student at Berklee, he first majored in music education and then chose to pursue a degree in performance and jazz composition.
Following graduation, Butler worked as a professional saxophone player in Boston. He added that he was offered several gigs to tour, and in 1991, one of these gigs took him on his first trip out of the United States.
"I toured with this Greek pop star, Alexia," Butler said. "She was really a big star in Greece."
Butler ended his career as a professional musician in order to start a more "practical" way of life.
"I realized somewhere along the line that I didn't want to be a professional saxophone player my whole life," Butler said, adding that his dedication to a Brooklyn church and his career in jazz music were pulling him in different directions.
"I got married, and I wanted more financial stability," Butler said. "I was different from my peers on the jazz scene. I was never fully committed to the starving artist life."
After earning his master's degree in jazz ethnomusicology at New York University and completing field work in the Carribean, Butler applied for his current job at the University.
"It was a coveted position in the field," Butler said. "I was extremely blessed to get this position."
Butler said he is excited that student interest is so high in his African-American Gospel Music class, adding that there have been long wait lists both semesters that he has taught the course.
"It is different after being in New York, coming to the South where people have a passion for gospel and that students have gospel music on their iPods," Butler said.
Butler also said he has found University students to be very intelligent and hardworking.
In comparison to students at Dartmouth College, where Butler did a fellowship and lectured for several classes, he said University students are on par with the Ivy Leaguers.
"What impresses me is that students totally qualified for Ivy League schools come here," Butler said. "People know they are at a special place."
Fourth-year College student Tracy Clemons said Butler is "one of the most passionate professors I've ever had."
Clemons, a student in Butler's gospel class this semester, added that Butler's engaging personality makes the class especially enjoyable.
"The way he's able to make his research so applicable and interesting to the class shows how amazing a professor he is," Clemons said.
Currently, Butler is in the process of writing his first book on Pentecostal music in Haiti, which he said is based on his Ph.D. dissertation.
As both a musician and a music expert, Butler said he still enjoys playing the saxophone and seizes performance opportunities on University breaks.
Butler added that he has also developed a love for teaching and being a part of students' education.
"I love being an adviser, a role model and mentor," Butler said.
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