Faces of DePauw

Building Community with Music

As a relatively small institution we have the luxury to get to know every student and learn more about their backgrounds, their goals and their hopes. This individual attention allows me to challenge and to support students more effectively. It also has allowed me to learn at least as much from them as they hopefully learn from me. 

Above all, to me, DePauw students seem to be curious and motivated. It has been impressive to see how many projects they are involved in outside of their curriculum. Many constantly look for new learning experiences and take full advantages of what DePauw and the Greencastle community offer.

What I love most about making music with ensembles is that, when you are on stage, titles and positions do not matter. Everyone is in the same boat and contributes to the bigger whole. So music is this equalizer that allows us to come together, put any differences we may have aside and sing with one voice. 

Music also can show us a way to listen to each other and bring beauty to our community. For me, beauty particularly emerges when we create music in the moment, when we as an ensemble connect both on a cognitive but also on an emotional level. The foundation for all of this is trust, which needs to be gained through hard work together. Trusting my students and seeing them rise to the occasion in shared musical experiences has been one of the most meaningful privileges of my job.