His mom was a teacher and his dad was a minister of music, so naturally, Phillip Stockton set out to be … a pharmacist?
“That was the plan,” Stockton said.
It wasn’t the plan for long, though.
On Dec. 5, Stockton will again conduct the annual Columbus Sings Messiah at Annunciation Catholic Church, a natural fit for the Mississippi State music professor who had previously taught music at Mississippi University for Women.
“The whole reason I went to Auburn was to be a pharmacist,” Stockton said. “In addition to my pharmacy classes, I took some music classes as electives. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I hated my pharmacy classes and loved my music classes, so that’s when I changed my plans.”
His parents were not enthusiastic about the decision, at least not initially.
“They questioned it,” Stockton said, “My mom was a teacher and she knew how difficult the job was, but at the same time, she knew that once I’m interested in something, I go all-out to get it. I told her that I didn’t want to be just a music teacher, that I wanted to be a professor someday. That seemed to satisfy them.”
It’s hard to imagine Stockton’s parents were all that surprised that their son would migrate toward music as a career, though.
It was an interest Stockton nurtured from childhood, taking violin lessons beginning at age 6 and piano at age 8. His attention soon turned to singing. As a high school freshman, he was a member of the 200-member Decatur (Alabama) chorale, as well as the school’s chamber choir, the only freshman to successfully try out for the elite choir.
The chamber choir director seemed to know what neither Stockton nor his parents knew at the time.
“When I graduated, he told me, ‘You’re going to be a music teacher,’” Stockton recalled. “I remember just laughing when he told me that.”
After quickly abandoning his pharmacy studies, Stockton devoted himself to his music studies. After earning his bachelor’s degree at Auburn, he went on to get a master’s at Florida State and his doctorate at Ole Miss.
Stockton taught music education at MUW from 2013 until 2019, then moved over to Mississippi State, where serves as the interim director of choral studies and assistant teaching professor of music education. He conducts multiple choirs and teaches courses ranging from choral methods to conducting.
“I am so fortunate to be able to get up every day and go to a job I love,” he said. “There are good days and bad days like any profession, sure, but I really love the teacher-student mentorship part. I love working with college kids and training them to be teachers.”
As a teacher, Stockton has followed in his mom’s footsteps. He has also followed the path of his dad, who served as a church minister of music for 40 years.
Stockton serves as director of music at Beersheba Church in New Hope.
“That’s the spiritual aspect of my life in music,” Stockton said. “I have a wonderful church that loves to worship. I don’t like to be out front. I enjoy facilitating, putting the pieces in place.”
Stockton and his wife, Amy, have been married 16 years. They have two children, Wade (11) and Molly (9).
As a child, Stockton couldn’t articulate why music seemed to resonate so powerfully with him. Now, at age 39, he understands.
“Music is how the soul expresses itself,” he said. “When you think about it, you realize that in every great milestone in life, there is always music. There is music at weddings, but at funerals, too. Music is inherently human.”
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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