Asbury Orchestra gives back to community with elementary school concert

The Asbury orchestra continues to find ways to be involved and serve the Wilmore community
with music. However, its most recent outreach was a little different: The orchestra took its
concert to some of Wilmore’s smallest citizens at Wilmore Elementary School on Feb. 19.
“The run-out concert was a great way to expose the kids in our community to good music,” said
sophomore Ellie Blanton. “I remember experiences as a kid where I’d see musicians play and
would have this moment where I’d think, ‘Woah, I want to do that, too!’ And now I am, and it’s
super thrilling to be able to give that moment to the kids in our local community!”
The hour-long performance included several short pieces showcasing different instruments, and
it incorporated the elementary students’ participation in learning about the instruments that make
up an orchestra.
“When you do surveys of students, concerts they appreciate are concerts that have some sort of
outreach or missional component,” said Asbury orchestra director Professor Nathan Miller. “It’s
important that we don’t feel isolated or make music for just ourselves. It’s important to take the
music to people who are excited about hearing it.”
The Asbury orchestra performs several different outreach concerts a year with concert venues
like Wesley Village and schools in the surrounding area.
“As a Christian community, Asbury orchestra sees serving as part of our role,” said senior Ali
Stiefel. “I’d say that collectively and individually, we all have a passion for serving. Performing
at Wilmore Elementary was a great opportunity to put our serving into motion.”
Moving forward, the orchestra hopes to continue to serve the community with music.
“The hope with going to Wilmore Elementary School is we want to encourage more kids in our
area to play instruments and be excited about orchestra,” said Miller. “Hopefully, that’s an
inherent good in their lives. And maybe more kids will want to play in the orchestra if they come
to Asbury.”