Aquinas College is often noted for its service-based outlook, which encourages students and faculty to engage with one another in projects that are people-centered. There are a variety of ways to do so, but one of the most universal is through the sharing of music. Music can bring people of diverse backgrounds together in ways that no other language or belief system can. Moreover, many of the individuals at Aquinas College create music of their own. Ask Roger MacNaughton, a music instructor at Aquinas, composer and musician.

"I’m a full-time musician. I do a little bit of teaching… at Aquinas, and a couple private students. But anything else is pretty much music-related," MacNaughton said. "My wife and I are in business together; we own a recording studio. My main gig is writing, composing music… Right now, I’m working on a line of mostly instrumental CDs that I’ve released. And that’s what I use the studio mostly for."

MacNaughton’s work with music is wide and varied. His impressive output of albums and compositions reflects that diversity. “I like to play New Age-types of music, blues, jazz - I like so many different styles of music. Some of my CDs are strictly New Age. (…) I have a partner that plays a cello. He and I have a couple CDs released.” MacNaughton was also a recent recipient of an Individual Artist Grant Award from the Arts Council of Greater Grand Rapids. The Arts Council of Greater Grand Rapids is an organization that aids arts programs and minds within the city - from creation to education.

“I studied music at Michigan State University. My goal then was to become a band director - instrumental music in the schools,” MacNaughton said when asked about his creative journey. “I did that for a while, and decided that I would rather play music than teach it at that point. I got a job at a recording studio, and learned my way around recording. I was also in a - for lack of a better word - rock band, for several years, touring the country back when you could five or six nights a week. I made a living doing that.”

He composes music of all types and tones, but the creative process is a familiar one to MacNaughton, who is intimately familiar with the inner workings of a studio, and how to get the best out of his own musical imagination. Having recently finished a project, he described the process: “I started out about six months ago, actually working up the parts on the computer with fairly sophisticated synth instruments that come as sound modules in the computer. I do a lot of my composing like that, with a computer. (…) I printed out the parts and hired musicians to come in and play them. So that was my process in the particular project.”

MacNaughton said he was trying to communicate “pure joy” on his latest album, “Michigan Morn.” He quickly added, “I know it sounds kind of corny, but [I have a] thankfulness for living in a state that’s so beautiful. I thought that for many years. You know, you travel around, and you see all the natural beauty. And I’m not just talking about Lake Michigan… although, I certainly think that’s the best, but just taking a walk on a spring day or a summer morning, while the sun’s still coming up.” Reflecting, he concludes, “It’s just a great place to live and grow up. So that’s what I was communicating on this particular CD. All the songs are inspired by places - mostly places that I’ve visited.”

For more information about Roger MacNaughton, visit his website. MacNaughton’s latest project, “Michigan Morn,” will release following a live performance at the Kretschmer Recital Hall on Sunday, April 29, at 3 p.m.