BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — When Benjamin Killey '99 learned that Matt Wells '27 had been selected to perform a piano solo at Illinois Wesleyan’s annual Henry Charles Memorial Concerto-Aria event, he booked a plane ticket.
“That sort of performance needs to be seen,” said Killey, who lives in Seattle, Washington.
Wells, a piano performance and physics major, was one of three students who earned a solo
spotlight in the concerto on Feb. 13 at Westbrook Auditorium. Wells is also a two-time
recipient of the Benjamin J Killey, M.D. '99 Annual Scholarship.
Killey, a doctor who studied biology and piano performance at IWU, established the
scholarship in 2021 for students studying music performance.
“I created the scholarship because I feel strongly about the value of pursuing a degree in music, whether it be the primary area of study or combined with a second degree in a different field. One of the great benefits I experienced at IWU was the quality of the other students around me. I wanted to help recruit the best music students to IWU and felt that providing a scholarship would be the most effective way to achieve that,” said Killey.
The Concerto Aria is an annual event held by the School of Music. Students audition to perform, preparing a 20-minute music concerto. Matt Wells played Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Major by Dimitri Shostakovich.
Also selected were instrumental performance and physics major Benjamin Heinz ‘27, who played euphonium, and instrumental performance major Connie Kim ‘25, who played flute. Each of the three students were accompanied by the IWU Symphony Orchestra, led by Director of Large Ensembles Logan Campbell.
Killey had the honor of being selected as a Concerto Aria performer during his time at IWU as well.
“Nobody sees the slow, deliberate, tedious hours of daily practice that are necessary to play the piano well, let alone to play the monstrously difficult Shostakovich piano concerto,” said Killey. “The very least I can do as an audience member is sit back and enjoy the show and marvel at the effort that went into it. It was worth the flight from Seattle to hear the three winners that night. There is so much talent in the School of Music.”
Wells said after putting so much time and effort into learning his piece, it was rewarding
to be selected as a Concerto Aria performer and to “share the stage with some wonderful
musicians.”
“It was very kind of Ben to travel all the way from Seattle to witness the performance.
That really meant a lot to me,” said Wells.
He added that receiving Killey’s annual scholarship for the second year in a row gave him a stronger sense of connection to the decades of musicians that studied at IWU before him.
“It is very encouraging to receive this scholarship from someone who had the same major as me and who I was able to connect with,” said Wells, who hopes to continue improving his piano skills and study piano performance in graduate school.
Killey said Wells was awarded the scholarship because of his hard work ethic.
“Just watching him play those crashing octaves in the Shostakovich piece, there was no doubt why he won a place in the Concerto Aria,” said Killey. “I do feel strongly about supporting students like Matt who are taking advantage of the opportunities that IWU provides. Everybody benefits from our students making the most of their education and lives.”
After graduating from Illinois Wesleyan, Killey completed his residency at Cook County Hospital in emergency medicine and later served as a volunteer ER doctor in high-need areas during the COVID-19 pandemic.
His lifelong love of music has not waned, thanks to the interdisciplinary education he received at IWU. Now that his career in medicine has become more routine, Killey said he has extra time to devote to those black and white keys. Most recently, he took up the role of principal accompanist with the Seattle Men’s Chorus which he said has satisfied the need to make music again.
“Although I went into medicine after IWU, the skills you learn practicing music definitely translate well to any other field. Music requires repetitive practice and digging deep mentally to make something sound good over time. You can apply that to any field of choice and be successful,” said Killey. “You can't succeed at IWU without learning how to learn, and that's helped me in my career over and over.”