Spring 2023 Grebel Now

Conrad Grebel University College is home to the University of Waterloo Music program. Tucked into spacious facilities on the lower level of the College “across the creek” from the sprawling campus of the University, the Department of Music welcomes a diverse student body to learn about and to make music. Over decades, hundreds of students have graduated from Waterloo with degrees in Music, and tens of thousands more have taken courses or participated in music ensembles. The Department of Music is large enough to create a vibrant and creative community of music-making and learning yet small enough that students get to know faculty, staff, and each other, personally.

Students choose to integrate music into their university life for various purposes—to pursue their musical passion, be part of something bigger than themselves, or to build meaningful friendships. We asked a group of students from all faculties at the University of Waterloo to tell us how Music connects with their other academic pursuits. Their answers reveal that Music has contributed to a stimulating interdisciplinary environment, revealing surprising partnerships between different fields of study.

In 2002, students Kirk Schmidt and Leigh McClymont had an idea that Grebel students could produce a full-scale Broadway musical. It was an ambitious and seemingly unrealistic dream. But they wrote a business case and pitched it to Student Council. One year later, Grebel’s production of Godspell opened for a four-night run. Asked about that first production, Kirk reflected that “When we sold out three out of the four nights, we knew we had tapped into something within the Grebel zeitgeist.”