Posted November 10, 2014 by
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The Arts The Liberal Arts Student Activities My Wheaton
After three hours of discussion, we had gotten nowhere picking a name for our group. We argued through dinner, fought through dessert, and ended up in a dejected silence in the living room of Aunt Sharon’s Wheaton home. We had rejected puns, cheesy tag lines and anything having to do with Thor the mastodon. Our creative resources seemed to be exhausted. If we couldn’t find the perfect name, how would we create the co-ed, contemporary a cappella group that Wheaton so desperately needed?
Like many things, finding the name turned out to be a collaborative effort. As the fire dwindled, our minds rushed toward the same idea simultaneously: We needed a verb, meaning sound and power, calling to mind microphones, speakers, and opportunities to give the unheard a chance to speak and to sing.
We wanted to send a message to an audience: Amplify.
For the past three years, amplifying the voices of the voiceless is the mission we’ve stuck to. While we rehearse and aim for musical excellence, Amplify means more to its founders and members than a place to get the right notes or present the “right” appearance. Too often at Wheaton, and in Christian society in general, we manage our images, individualize our achievements, and place our value in perfection while performing. Amplify seeks to change that by giving people who might not otherwise sing the chance to love and be loved through music.
And because of that type of performance community, we have become more than a musical ensemble. We have become a family, the kind you both like and love.
The way we do this is summed up in Amplify’s most important rule: Don’t be afraid to sing loud enough for others to hear your mistakes. If you sing the wrong note, sing in the freedom of acceptance and with the humility to take constructive criticism. Being free to make a mistake changes what love means; because this love is unconditional, it’s safe.
So when you come to an Amplify concert, don’t expect perfection. Expect to see broken people expressing their brokenness, and finding hope in the truth of that performance.