Some people are born with a gift for creation. It lives inside them waiting for an opportune moment to burst forth for all to enjoy. Nineteen-year old junior Colin Holter is one of these people. A talented singer and composer, Holter is a music major who exudes enthusiasm about his years at UMBC. "I think that the musical climate at UMBC is really improving," he says.

Holter emanates a passion and a contentedness about the state of the music department. "It's a really good one that specializes to a great extent on new music," he says, adding, "There are a lot of talented students."

Holter says he also benefits from the way the music department is formatted. "We have four faculty composers so I can study under a different professor each year," he says, adding, "That's rare among schools this size." These composers have helped to guide his growth and development through intensive classes and working on compositions.

One of Holter's compositions was performed in The Commons twice last semester. Entitled Common Music for Public Spaces, the changes that occur in the music reflect the changes in the environment. Because the music and the environment change together, the piece of music is never played the same way. Holter explains, "It's in a constant state of revision."

Outside of the classroom and studio, Holter is a member of both the Task Force on the Arts and the Student Task Force for Arts and Humanities. "The Task Force currently is in the middle of preparing a report for the administration that expresses the school's position regarding the arts -- what it already has and what it needs." This differs somewhat from the Student Task Force, he says, adding, "The Student Task Force is more of a grassroots type of group that promotes arts to students on campus and promotes more student activities." Holter feels that UMBC's student newspaper played a key role in the attention that the arts are currently receiving on campus. "I have to credit The Retriever Weekly quite a bit -- I think that they are highly responsible for the attention the arts are getting now."

After graduating, Holter hopes to continue his training in a graduate program. "I want to get my Ph.D. in Composition," Holter says. He is considering programs at Rutgers, Stanford and the University of California, San Diego. But while looking toward the future, Holter is not rushing through the present and the time he has left at UMBC. "I really couldn't be happier," he says.

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- Jennifer Leigh Gibson