By Ethan Wenz

As the church crowd files in bright and early Sunday morning, he sits down behind a throne of drums and symbols, preparing to keep the heartbeat of the musical worship about to take place. He pounds strongly, keeping the band together and on track. As he moves along in the songs, he settles into a “focused but relaxed mindset” letting him control the tempo with ease. This is the process that Trenton Baty goes through every service, every Sunday.

Baty, 17, plays drums for the United Methodist Church of Mount Vernon. The church offers two services every Sunday, the first being a contemporary style and the second a traditional style. Baty plays in the first service and has done so for almost three years.

Baty has played drums and percussion starting in the sixth grade Mount Vernon Band. “My parents told me to do band. Percussion was the only one that didn’t take musical skill,” Baty said. In the years that followed, Baty has participated in a variety of bands and performances in his 6 year career. He currently plays for the school’s jazz choirs,  choir concerts, and his weekly commitment to the church.

Baty received an opportunity to play for the church for the first time during the beginning of his freshman year. The previous drummer left the church due to another opportunity. Baty joined his father, Jim, who plays guitar and his brother Trevor on bass guitar.  Until Trevor left for college, the three Baty men played weekly for the church. Every week, the band comes together on Wednesday night to prepare for their worship set on Sunday morning. Anyone can come on Sunday morning to see the trio happily worshiping together and laughing between songs.

The Baty family has strong roots at UMCMV.  Because of this, Baty is familiar with many people who attend the church, making the music he helps create even more meaningful. The instrumental section of the church band consists of Clint Stanerson (electric guitar), Rick Schwiebert (electric guitar), Denae Stein (piano), Jim Davis (bass guitar), and of course Baty and his father. Between their worship on Sunday and rehearsals on Wednesday nights, these members get to know each other very well. Baty says he loves playing with such a great group of talent and each member pushes him to become a better musician every time they work together.

Baty has put a large focus on playing the popular praise music that can be heard on Christian radio and is consistently performed by the church band. The band does not create original pieces, but rather, plays covers of many different artists in the Christian genre, such as Hillsong, Casting Crowns, and Lincoln Brewster. Out of the band’s large library of songs, Baty doesn’t have a particular favorite, but says he can’t recall any he dislikes.

Baty enjoys the praise band over a regular band for many reasons; the primary two reasons are his faith and the ease of scheduling. Baty has been raised in a strongly faithful household his whole life. That faith has become a pillar in his life just like it was for his parents before him. “My faith helps guide me, so playing praise music feels like a great way to express my gratitude,” Baty said. Along with faith, Baty enjoys being able to fit the band’s rehearsals and performances into his schedule. He said that the schedule of a typical band would be too much for him to manage, on top of the lack of meaning to him.

Baty, although not easy to open up for an interview, has depth in his character.  He is confident in his beliefs and shares his convictions with others through the talent that he believes was blessed by God. In the future, Baty intends to continue to share his talent as he goes off to college and into the world.