Wheaton College

Wheaton College, founded in 1860, is an independent, nondenominational, Christian liberal arts college. The Conservatory of Music, established in 1882, exists to produce professional musicians equipped to pursue varied careers in music and the arts.

Wheaton’s historic campus is located 25 miles west of Chicago. The city is only 45 minutes by train or car. Among Chicago’s many cultural attractions are the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, many theaters, art museums, and jazz and chamber music performances. Wheaton is a residential college with shopping, trains, and churches all within walking distance. Representing more than forty countries and all fifty states, 200 Conservatory students, 2,400 undergraduate liberal arts students, and 500 graduate students form the Wheaton College community.

Program Facilities

Wheaton’s primary music facility is McAlister Hall, which houses teaching studios and practice rooms. Performances take place in Edman Memorial Chapel, with seating for 2,350; Pierce Chapel, with seating for 600; and the 500-seat Barrows Auditorium. The state-of-the-art music technology lab features sixteen Macintosh workstations for sound synthesis and digital recording. There are more than ninety pianos on campus, including six concert grands, and four pipe organs, including a 50-stop, 70-rank, four-manual, dual-console mechanical action pipe organ built in 2001 by the Casavant Organ Company of Canada. The music library holds more than 28,000 items that include recordings, complete scores, and reference books.

Faculty, Alumni, and Visiting Artists

Ninety percent of the full-time Conservatory faculty members have doctoral degrees. Faculty artists are in demand as performers and lecturers across the nation and abroad. Choral conductors Mary Hopper and Paul Wiens have led Wheaton College choral ensembles in appearances at the American Choral Directors Association national conventions in New York and Florida. Baritone Gerard Sundberg performed recently in New Zealand, as well as regularly with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Pianists Daniel Horn and Karen Redekopp Edwards are active soloists and collaborators both here and abroad.

Alumni pursue varied careers in opera and concert music (Stephen Morscheck, Sylvia McNair, and Wendy White), jazz (Deanna Witkowski), orchestral conducting (John Nelson, Ensemble Orchestral de Paris), composition (Marty O’Donnell, composer of soundtracks for the video game series Halo I, II and III), and orchestral performance (Douglas Yeo, bass trombonist, Boston Symphony Orchestra and Eric Carlson, trombonist, Philadelphia Orchestra). In addition, alumni actively and successfully pursue careers in schools, churches, and contemporary music venues all over the world.

The Artist Series at Wheaton College offers students an opportunity to attend performances by world-class musicians on campus (http://www.ArtistSeries.org). Recent performances and master classes include Pinchas Zuckerman, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

Student Performance Opportunities

Wheaton Conservatory has eight music ensembles, which are open by audition to the entire campus. For singers: Concert Choir, Men’s Glee Club, Opera Music Theater, and Women’s Chorale. For instrumentalists: Jazz Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, and Symphonic Band. In addition, chamber ensembles and soloists rehearse and perform regularly on and off campus. Large-scale productions, touring, and recording projects are a regular part of the Conservatory schedule. Five annual competitions—the Concerto Competition (winning soloist performs with the Symphony Orchestra), the Composition Competition, the Chamber Music Competition, the Nordin Vocal Competition, and the Foster String Competition—afford students additional opportunities to perform.

Special Programs

Off-campus study opportunities include Arts in London, a four-week program offered on alternate years in May. Course selection may include but is not limited to art survey, English cathedral music, musical theater, pop Shakespeare, songwriting, and world music. Wheaton’s music ensembles tour regularly both nationally and regionally. International touring opportunities exist as well, including Music and Ministry in the Great Cities of Europe, a three-week trip offered on alternate years.

Application Procedures

Deadline--freshmen: January 10; transfers: March 1. Notification date--transfers: April 1. Required: essay, high school transcript, college transcript(s) for transfer students, 4 letters of recommendation, audition, SAT or ACT test scores, portfolio for composition applicants. Recommended: minimum 3.0 high school GPA, interview. Auditions held 5 times on campus; recorded music is permissible as a substitute for live auditions when distance is prohibitive and videotaped performances are permissible as a substitute for live auditions when distance is prohibitive.