In an episode of America’s Got Talent airing tonight (June 27), Lachune Boyd, a Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary graduate student with a concentration in voice will be featured as one of the people auditioning. Like many talent-based televised competitions, AGT has an open audition portion during which Boyd performed.
“You know, let’s just do it,” said Boyd as she recounted how she decided to try out for AGT in Pasadena, California. “Being someone who has a lot of freelance work, this is a great way to work those opportunities that help move you forward. I am very excited about it.”
Boyd, who is one semester away from finishing her master’s degree in music, said Southwestern has helped provide her practical help with her vocal performance as well as theological and philosophical formation.
“There are certain standards and requirements that we have to have to see progress throughout the semesters, and that has helped greatly,” said Boyd. “The theological and philosophical classes have been very formative for me like the theology of worship and church music.”
Finding her calling
Growing up as a pastor’s child in South Carolina and attending North Greenville University in Tigerville, South Carolina, Boyd said she had heard about seminary before, but never really considered it as she did “not feel called to local church ministry.”
“I knew that music and being a creative person outside of the local church context is what I was called to,” said Boyd. “I love the core classes, but I really like the specific hours for music students. That is what led me to look into different seminaries.”
Boyd added that she heard about Southwestern through the School of Church Music and Worship’s academic journal, “Artistic Theologian.”
“The name caught my eye, so I began reading it,” she explained. Boyd also said that she was looking for places that gave her the ability to answer the big philosophical questions and grow in her ability. She found that Southwestern could provide that for her.
While pursuing her degree, Boyd performed with and participated in multiple School of Church Music and Worship ensembles, including the Cowden Hall Band and Southwestern A Cappella Choir.
“Unlike auditioning for an ensemble, you are really alone when you are auditioning for AGT,” said Boyd. “Because it is you, not a group, it was a bit lonelier of an experience for me compared to when I auditioned for a band.”
‘Excited about it’
Boyd added that with an ensemble, people are “looking at your individual skill set and how it lends itself to others in the group,” but that being alone simply looks at one’s skill and “it is totally different.”
As the show was prerecorded and has not yet aired, Boyd was unable to comment on the outcome of the audition, but she discussed how she felt about the coming premiere.
“I am excited about it,” said Boyd. “There’s a part of me that is so excited because my family, my friends, and my colleagues all know that I did this, so it kind of amplifies your personal life for a little bit.”
Boyd said she “is a little nervous because, as a musician, you always want to be received well. As awesome as it is to be able to sing on a big stage like AGT, it is one of those things where I want people to connect to the heart matter for me.”
Boyd’s AGT audition airs June 27, at 7:00 p.m. Central time on NBC.
To learn more about Boyd, click here.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This article was written by James Dugger and was originally published by Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.
