The winter 2017 issue of Wheaton magazine fills me with eager anticipation for the future and helps me to reflect on the past. As a former participant in Conservatory of Music ensembles including the Symphonic Band and Jazz Ensemble, I have been thrilled to watch the construction and progress on the Armerding Center for Music and the Arts on campus.

My involvement with the Conservatory of Music shaped my Wheaton experience. I made some of my best friends through my involvement in the Conservatory of Music as a liberal arts major who enjoyed playing in ensembles and taking private lessons on a weekly basis. The practice rooms in McAlister Hall and concert halls like Edman Chapel quickly became my favorite spots on campus. They were places for relaxation and offered a freedom from pressures that piled up outside of the Conservatory’s walls.

Participating in Conservatory concerts was a highlight of my Wheaton experience. In fact, one of my favorite moments was playing alto saxophone in “An American in Paris” by George Gershwin as part of the Wheaton College Symphony Orchestra during their spring 2008 concert (you can watch our performance at this link). The bold, harmonic melodies filled me with joy, as did many other pieces I played with the Wheaton College Symphonic Band conducted by Dr. Timothy Yontz (you can watch our performances on Wheaton College’s YouTube channel at this link). On one occasion, we were even able to perform the world premiere of an original composition, “O Greening Branch,” under the direction of Dr. John Nelson ’63, D.Mus. ’89—in conjunction with all of Wheaton’s choirs. This was wonderful. (Watch at this link.)

So, as Armerding Hall—a place where I participated in a pre-med biology lab during my freshman year in 2008 and attended many Wheaton Improv shows—becomes the new home for the Conservatory of Music, I will look forward to the day the building is filled with the sounds of music! Like our featured Conservatory student Willey Lee ’17, I am thrilled for the future students who will thrive in this new space on campus. I hope you share in this excitement for our student musicians and will prayerfully consider giving financially to the Armerding Center for Music and the Arts’ From the Heart, For the Kingdom campaign priority!

As always, continue to send your stories, letters, photos, comments, and class news updates to editor@wheaton.edu, and share your favorite Wheaton magazine articles with friends and family using the social media icons at the top of each article page. This magazine wouldn’t be the same without you!

For Christ and His Kingdom,

Allison Althoff Steinke ’11