Jamie Wikso

Having grown up in a musically talented family, it was only natural for Jamie Wikso to study music in college. “Music is something that God has really gifted me with,” she says, and this also influenced her decision to do a concentration in church music, which is preparing her to lead and perform music in a church setting. This too is something that Jamie has been interested in since a fairly young age. “Since middle school, I’ve helped with worship at church,” she says. With worship music, people come together and “there’s a common goal that is more than just to have fun; you’re doing something as an offering.”
Jamie has spent her time at Eastern studying saxophone, though she also plays guitar and piano, and sings, though “I see myself more of an instrumentalist that a singer.” Her senior recital, which will take place on April 20th at the First United Methodist Church of Phoenixville, will consist entirely of her work with saxophone. She also hopes to highlight her family’s musical abilities by doing a piece with her two older brothers.
One of the challenges that Jamie has found with music is resolving the tension between the requirements of the discipline and the requirements of the faith. “Music in the world today is all about how you perform,” she says, “but your faith is about trusting God, so it’s hard to do both sometimes.” However, she’s found Eastern’s music department to be a supportive environment in dealing with this. “The staff are all ridiculously talented, but also really humble.”