Coming into the 2024-2025 academic year, SNU’s band, the Sound of the Storm, experienced a change of directors. With change comes fear and anxiety of the unknown, but this change has brought forth happiness, love, and family. Will Fairbanks, Director of Bands, and Robin Sweeden, DMA, Assistant Director of Bands, showed up to the plate to provide a Christ-like environment for their students to thrive in. The pair together use their differences and communication skills to find ways for their students to flourish instrumentally, spiritually, and purposefully.
Fairbanks has worked in both high school and collegiate bands all across the country. When asked what finalized his decision to come to SNU, he states, “There are a lot of factors in that. I knew coming in that it was going to be a smaller program, and I want to help build that up with students in a setting where Christ is a major part of all the classes in the students’ lives.” Fairbanks teaches his students to love music, and he strives for them to want to hold onto it forever. “We are given a gift from God that He calls us to use. Not everybody can do what we do, and I strive for my students to use that gift when they can’t find the words to express themselves,” he explains. Fairbanks goes about his journey at SNU with the hope of encouraging and supporting his students.
Mikey Butenof, a junior instrumental major, states, “I am grateful he came in when he did. This way I get to see the program grow, and I am really excited about that. I am a big fan of the way he emphasizes improving what we are doing rather than just what someone is doing. It brings us together as an ensemble greatly.”
Sweeden expresses her own experience with a director change during her college experience in graduate school. “I got to watch a studio be completely decimated overnight and then regrown. Going through that was very eye-opening, and now that I am second in command to a group that is experiencing that change, it allows me to understand how to help my students. Change is hard, but we can make it better in order to look forward and see a brighter future.”
Sweeden has been on a journey to find her voice as a young director, but she does not fall short in any shape or form. Maddy Wilson, a senior music education major, shares, “Dr. Sweeden is such a good teacher. She pays attention to us and cares for us to strive to be good players. It is a treat to be able to study with someone who does her job as well as she does.” Sweeden is an extraordinary musician and teacher, and the students within the program appreciate her so much.
Change is good; the SNU Sound of the Storm navigated change with great guidance, compassion, and grace. Fairbanks and Sweeden are on track to build a program filled with Christ-like disciples who have a love for each other and music. Power does not come in numbers–it comes in dedication.
Photo by: MaK Wilkerson