| Faculty
“When we say Trevecca’s School of Music tagline ‘Nashville is your classroom,’ we really mean it.”
Recently, Trevecca faculty and alumni joined Nashville music professionals for a closed recording session in Trevecca Studios for “Jimmy,” an upcoming film about the life of renowned actor and war veteran Jimmy Stewart. The film is scheduled to release in theaters Nov. 6, 2026.
The opportunity came through Barry Landis, a Trevecca alumnus who serves as the music director and music supervisor for the film. Landis reached out to Craig Adams, dean of Trevecca’s School of Music and Worship Arts, to help recreate a musical moment tied to Stewart’s military service. “Barry contacted me not long ago and asked to help him put together a piece of the puzzle for the musical score,” Adams said.
Adams wrote a vocal arrangement for what is now commonly known as “The Air Force Song,” to go with the instrumental arrangement recorded by the Army Air Force Band in Germany. The group recorded vocals Aug. 27 in Trevecca Studios with Landis producing the session and Doug Beiden, who leads Trevecca’s audio engineering and production program, engineering the recording.
The session included Trevecca alumni Tim Pitzer, Jonathan Trees, David Diehl and Adams, who sang alongside Nashville session singers Carlos Santiago, Shane McConnell, Chris Chavez, Kirk Kirkland and Terry White.
Adams said the group spent a little more than an hour recording two arrangements of the song, with one expected to be used in the final cut of the film. Trevecca Studios and Trevecca alumni are expected to be credited in the film.
For Adams, the project was especially meaningful due to his personal relationship with Landis dating back to Landis’ time at Franklin House Publishing, where Adams’ father, Steve Adams, served as president and Landis served as vice president.
“My relationship with Barry goes back to the days when I was in junior high school,” Adams said. “That’s how long he and I have known each other.”
Landis owns Pivot Entertainment and has had a long career in the music industry, including work connected to Warner Brothers Music worldwide. While Landis’ connection helped open the door, the opportunity represents yet another connection to the music industry for Trevecca.
Adams said, “When we say Trevecca’s School of Music tagline ‘Nashville is your classroom,’ we really mean it.”
The recording session is one example of how the School of Music and Worship Arts can connect students, alumni and faculty with real opportunities in Nashville’s professional music landscape.
“There will be more expressions of that phrase throughout this school year,” Adams said.
One of those expressions involves students in Testify, Trevecca’s student gospel choir. Adams said students who sing in Testify are scheduled to participate in the recording of an upcoming worship album for Christian artist Tasha Layton.
Sometimes, Adams said, those opportunities happen when industry leaders bring their work to campus. Other times, students step into professional spaces across the city.
“We’re taking students into the heart of Nashville to participate in real world opportunities in the music landscape,” Adams said. “That’s the heartbeat behind it all.”
As the recently appointed dean of the School of Music and Worship Arts, Adams said this vision is personal as he looks to the future of the program. A 1991 Trevecca graduate who began working in audio production while he was still a student, he said returning to Trevecca after decades in the recording industry has allowed him to help students discover the same kind of professional world that shaped his own career.
“It’s a real thrill to be able to come back after all these years and provide those kinds of opportunities and that kind of training for our students,” Adams said. “I feel almost more at home in a recording studio than anywhere else.”
Adams said hands-on learning is central to preparing students for careers in music and worship.
“It’s invaluable for students to get that kind of hands-on, up front experience,” Adams said. “They’ll learn far faster and far more in that kind of situation than they ever would from a lecture or from a lab.”
For prospective students, Adams said Trevecca’s location isn’t the only thing that sets the School of Music apart.
“We’ve got an incredibly bright and passionate and creative staff inside the School of Music and Worship Arts that just happens to be inside a beautiful, authentic Christian community,” Adams said. “And I think that is a strong differentiator for the experience that students have here.”
More information about “Jimmy” can be found at jimmythemovie.com.