Senior music major leaves her mark on Eastern

At the age of one, senior Bailey Pretak exhibited a love for piano and could often be seen playing around with the keys in her home. Now, 21 years later, Bailey showcased her countless hours of hard work at her senior recital on Dec. 1.

Her recital consisted of eight different numbers, including pieces by Beethoven and Chopin and two duets that she played with fellow senior Julie Dunkelberger. Bailey’s roommate, senior Natalie Cisternas, also sang the show tune “Astonishing” from Little Women during the performance.

According to Bailey, the senior recital serves as an accumulation of her entire musical process. “It’s even more important than graduation,” she said. “It showcases everything we’ve done.”

As any music major can confess, there is nothing easy about pursuing music. From the eight to nine course workload to daily practices, the secret to survival is figuring out some kind of balance.

“We don’t really have free time that much,” Bailey said. “We probably wouldn’t know what to do with it if we got it.”

Nevertheless, *Bailey has been involved in her share of activities on campus, from serving as a chaplain for two years to joining the singing group Turning Point. She also plays accompaniment for school musicals and even found her spot front and center in last year’s production of The Jingle Man.

“It was the first time I was on the stage here,” she said of her performance, which included acting, singing and dancing.

However, Bailey’s true passion is in the non-profit organization she and Natalie founded, called GODCHA. GODCHA is a performance group that sings and dances to popular show tunes. “Our goal is to preach the gospel to underprivileged kids through the performing arts,” she said.

Bailey and Natalie started the ministry during their sophomore year and have since held a benefit concert each semester to help raise money. After graduation, the girls hope to make it an official non-profit organization.

“We were trying to figure out how to combine our interests together and God gave us the idea,” Bailey said. With Natalie’s love of performing and Bailey’s piano expertise, it was a perfect fit.

The group has had a lot of success thus far and received a lot of support. “The music professors really believe in what we’re doing,” Bailey said.

One professor in particular, Dr. Frost, the university choir director, has come to every single concert. “The music department is like a family,” Bailey said.

There was a period of time where Bailey did not want to play the piano but is now glad she stuck with it. Her only regret is that she wished she would have practiced more. “It’s worth it in the end to hang in there,” she said.