Editor’s note: This story was originally published in April 2022 ahead of Dr. Pew’s retirement.
By now, you’ve likely heard: After 43 years of leading the music department at The Master’s University, Dr. Paul Plew is set to retire.
While true, this doesn’t tell the whole story.
This summer, Plew is retiring as the dean of the School of Music. He is not, however, leaving TMU. In fact, he plans to continue in roles such as conducting The Master’s Chorale and The University Singers, two of the school’s most prominent performance ensembles.
This means Plew will continue to do many of the things that have so endeared him to TMU’s community over the past four decades. He’ll make Christ-honoring, soul-stirring music. He’ll remind college students of their daily need of God’s Word. He’ll radiate endless joy and energy, rooted in a deep love for his Savior.
In other words, he’ll continue to be Paul Plew.
***
The following is not an exaggeration: Paul Plew has come to be synonymous with music at The Master’s University. His influence, both inside and outside the classroom, has been that profound.
As a professor, Plew has taught everything from Music History to Advanced Conducting to Worship & Songs of the Church.
As an administrator, he’s hired a long list of distinguished faculty members; overseen the department’s move from a relatively small one-story building into the spacious Music Center; and, in 2007, helped TMU receive accreditation from the National Association of Schools of Music.
Then there’s the ensembles.
For more than three decades, Plew trained Majesty — a small, highly skilled singing group that traveled on weekends to bless Sunday gatherings across the state and the country.
Plew’s University Singers have often performed major works at Forest Lawn to rave reviews. And during annual summer tours, Plew and The Chorale have visited roughly 40 states and 15 countries, singing in small-town churches and prestigious venues like New York City’s Carnegie Hall, alike.
Impressive, yes. But none of the above can fully define Plew’s legacy. For that, you’d have to examine the spiritual influence he’s had on hundreds of students over the years.
When it comes to engaging an audience during a performance, no one does it quite like Dr. Plew.
The music department’s mantra spells out Plew’s mission: God, Family, Craft. The word order is by design. In a discipline that requires so much time and focus, Plew reminds students that their musical abilities are foundationally a means of glorifying Christ. Music is not an end unto itself.
Plew practices what he preaches. He often asks students where they’ve been in God’s Word in the past 24 hours. And his door is open for unscheduled talks about theology, classes or relationships.
Taylor Arnone, a 2014 TMU graduate, says Plew has been one of the most influential men in his life. Specifically, Arnone says he’s watched Plew’s example in the areas of music, marriage, fatherhood, church service and love for Scripture.
“When you’d see him read a passage, you could see in his eyes that he believes what he reads — and he cares that you do, too,” says Arnone, who as an alumnus still drops by unannounced for chats with Plew.
Christopher Enloe, a 2018 TMU grad, echoes Arnone.
“Dr. Plew demonstrated what it looks like to love music but love the Lord more,” says Enloe, who in 2020 witnessed Plew’s care for students and alumni in an especially concrete way.
Enloe and his now-wife, Becky, were scheduled to get married in Romania, Becky’s home country. But shortly before the wedding, COVID travel restrictions forced them to plan an improvised ceremony in Santa Clarita. “We were thinking, ‘Who is someone who knows both of us, who we love and respect and know would do a good job?’” With only a few weeks’ notice, Plew agreed to officiate the wedding.
This is not an isolated incident. Few figures in TMU history have earned as dedicated a following of alumni as Plew. To many, he feels like family.
“Once you’re a student of his, you’re always a part of his life if you want to be,” Enloe says. “Every time I’ve interacted with him after graduation, he’s shown a vested interest in my life and told me he’s been praying for me.”
Plew’s influence extends beyond the music department, says TMU Chancellor John MacArthur.
“Dr. Plew’s exceptional leadership has touched every staff member, faculty and student who has ever been a part of the University through his mastery of music, which is such a universal part of Christian community,” MacArthur says. “He has truly been a gift from the Lord to all of us.”
Plew’s colleagues would agree.
Members of the music department’s faculty and staff, past and present, describe Plew as warm and welcoming. “You aren’t a stranger with him for very long,” says Dr. Ken Mays, a longtime piano professor. Plew provides constant encouragement, regularly shining the spotlight on others, and, even as dean, he refuses to micromanage. Instead, he defers to his colleagues’ expertise and empowers them to pursue new ideas.
“He never left you feeling wishy-washy about whether he supported you,” says Dr. Kimberlyn Jones, TMU’s director of vocal studies from 1986 to 2017. Jones remembers a conversation she had with Plew shortly after she arrived at what was then The Master’s College.
“He told me, ‘As far as I’m concerned, anytime there’s a question about voice, you’re the expert, you’ll do the answering.’ I liked the sound of that.”
Plew’s approach hasn’t changed, either.
“Dr. Plew has trusted me, stood up for me and given me opportunities that have shaped my path,” says Sarah Dixon, a former student of Plew’s and TMU’s current director of vocal studies.
Over the years, The Master’s Chorale has visited roughly 40 states and 15 countries during its summer tours.
***
Years ago, Plew and his wife, Pamela, would load their three young children into a Chevy Malibu station wagon and set off across the country, sometimes traveling as far as Florida or New York.
Along the way, Plew often pulled over to look at animals, mountain ranges or anything out of the ordinary, like a store with a car displayed on its roof. “He’s always up for an adventure,” says his daughter, Janelle. “Every little thing is so interesting to him.”
That sense of curiosity has not waned. If Plew learns something peculiar about a student, he wants to know all about it. Who? What? When? Where? Why? For instance, one student’s parents owned a river rafting company in Colorado. Plew peppered him with questions. Then Plew took his family to Colorado to river raft. Because, why not?
The fact is, Plew never seems to run out of energy. His idea of downtime is cruising around on his Honda Shadow motorcycle. “The man walks around like he’s in his mid-30s,” says one of Plew’s former students. Says another, “He’s a force of nature.”
This is essential during the holidays, when Plew conducts The Chorale and The University Singers at TMU’s Christmas concerts. In recent years, this consists of three shows in roughly 24 hours, followed by another performance Sunday morning at Grace Community Church. Plew has been known to cap the weekend by leading worship Sunday night at Santa Clarita Baptist Church, where he has served as music pastor since 1991.
Plew wouldn’t have it any other way. “I say, ‘Don’t tell anyone, but I get paid to do this,’” he says. “I enjoy it so much.”
Students find his enthusiasm inspiring.
“I think the students love him because he’s like one of them,” says Dr. John Stead, TMU’s executive vice president. “He’s always up, always projecting a Christian testimony that’s full of joy.”
The best part? It’s authentic. No matter where Plew finds himself – school, church, home — he’s the same. Joyful. Energetic. Positive. And humorous.
Plew is known for catchphrases like, “Now, folks,” or “You’re good people.” But Enloe, the 2018 graduate, says his favorite Plewism was uttered during a particularly powerful piece of music. “Loosen my suspenders and let me go,” Plew said. Translation: The music had so inspired Plew that he was ready to meet the Lord.
Jones, the longtime vocal director, says Plew once asked her to sing a duet at a faculty recital. Jones picked Duetto buffo di due gatti — “Comic Duet for Two Cats.” The only lyric, if you can call it that, was “meow.”
“It was hysterically funny,” Jones says. “He was all in for that.”
Says Plew, “I take the craft seriously. But I don’t take myself seriously.”
A highlight of every TMU basketball season is when Plew and The Chorale perform “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
***
To be clear, Plew takes his craft very seriously. He is passionate about the pursuit of excellence because Christ, he believes, deserves nothing less.
Growing up, Janelle grew comfortable around her father’s ensembles. When she graduated high school and officially joined The Chorale, however, her viewpoint quickly changed. “Once I got to rehearsal, I was like, ‘Oh, this is no joke. We’re serious about this.’”
She adds, “If he senses his choir can do better, he’s going to push for better. So rehearsals can be really intense.”
As vocal director, Jones remembers Plew keeping a group of altos on their toes. One by one, he’d ask singers to perform a line of music he’d assigned. They each needed to be ready. And it wasn’t just the altos. “No one was left out,” Jones says, laughing. “And they wished they were.”
There was always a purpose, though — something that Enloe, now a doctoral student at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, understands well.
“He knew what we’d be up against outside of Master’s,” he says, “and he didn’t want to leave us unprepared.”
***
Plew’s success certainly has not come as a solo act.
He’s thrived for 40-plus years on the strength the Lord has provided through daily times of prayer and Bible study. Says Jones, “One of Dr. Plew’s strongest suits has been his own commitment to making sure he’s right with the Lord every single day before he comes to school to deal with whatever God brings his way.”
Plew says he’s benefitted from the support of colleagues like Jones and Mays and many others. But none more so than his wife, Pamela, who, in addition to providing a listening ear and unconditional support at home, served as the music department secretary for 25 years. Says Plew, “Behind every good man is a better woman. That’s Pamela.”
Plew says he’s also thankful for the support of Dr. John MacArthur. “He could have had anyone lead music,” Plew says, “but he believed in us.”
That faith was well-placed.