The Belmont University School of Music presented the 2013 Encore Award Thursday evening to worship pastor/songwriter/Christian artist Travis Cottrell during a concert in his honor. The Encore Award was created in 2008 to honor a Belmont University School of Music alumnus for achievement in the field of classical music. During last night’s award presentation in McAfee Concert Hall, Cottrell performed a selection of classical and sacred pieces as well as two original compositions: “Forevermore (Psalm 145)” and “Christ Be With Me (St. Patrick’s Breastplate).”
Cottrell, a native of Boone, North Carolina, graduated from Belmont (magna cum laude) with a degree in Church Music in 1992. His vocal talent was evident during his student years at Belmont. He became a Metropolitan Opera competition finalist and sang the role of Tevye in Belmont’s production of Fiddler on the Roof in 1992.
He currently serves as Worship Pastor at Englewood Baptist Church in Jackson, Tenn. A prolific songwriter and sought-after performer, Cottrell has performed or recorded with artists such as Amy Grant, Garth Brooks, Melinda Doolittle and CeCe Winans. He has also recorded several solo projects, including Found, Ring the Bells, When the Stars Burn Down and the Dove award-winning Jesus Saves Live. In 2010, Zondervan Press published his first book, Surprised by Worship: Discovering God Where You least Expect It, and in 2013 a journal version of the same book titled He Knows Your Name. Travis has been married to his wife Angela (a Belmont alumna) for 19 years, and they have three children – Jack, 16, Lily Kate, 13 and Levi, 10.
Previous Encore Award honorees include Clifton Forbis (2008), Daniel Weeks (2009), Drs. Daniel and Sharon Lawhon (2010), Maestra Teresa Cheung (2011) and Dr. Alfredo Colman (2012).
