Hope Quarles '17
When Hope Quarles ‘17 auditioned at Illinois College, she quickly fell in love with the music department and couldn’t wait to start working toward her longtime dream of becoming a vocalist.
However, the young singer had to switch gears sophomore year after a surgery unexpectedly left her vocal cords paralyzed. Rather than abandon her love for music, Hope worked with IC faculty and staff to develop a new dream. She worked closely with professors to switch her major focus toward fine arts administration and an instructor helped as she practiced to build her skills playing the clarinet, she has played with the Muni Opera.
“The music program at IC is small, but that’s one thing that I liked about it. The individual attention that I had with my clarinet instructor was absolutely phenomenal. He really pushed me, encouraged me and believed in me along with all my other professors who were always supportive of my path in music.”