For Trent Wagler ’02, lead singer and songwriter for the folk-rock band The Steel Wheels, music is a powerful way to bring people together.

“Anybody who’s been around music has had that experience,” he said. “Go to a music festival in some country far away, where you don’t speak the language, and listen.”

“The words don’t matter so much anymore. You’re not concerned about whether or not they’re on your side of the political aisle or on the team you root for. Instead, it’s just a rhythm we can all move to together.”

For more than 20 years, Wagler has toured with , performing about 100 shows each year across the United States, Canada, and Europe. During that time, the band has released more than a dozen studio albums, founded the annual , and earned several Independent Music Awards.

The banjo- and guitar-strumming frontman, who earned degrees in theater and peace, justice, and conflict studies (now peacebuilding and development), credits his 91���� education with inspiring him to create music that invites people in, offers fresh perspectives, and leaves room for listeners to find their own meaning.

“Together, we create something special in a given night, on a weekend, and hopefully, over time,” he said.

That commitment to building community through music has earned Wagler 91����’s 2026 Alum of the Year Award. He shares the honor with fellow alumnus and Steel Wheels bandmate Eric Brubaker ’01.

“Being recognized for the work that Eric and I are doing, in bringing music that we believe in to people, it means a lot that people have noticed,” Wagler said.

At 91����, Wagler sang with the Chamber Singers and participated in the Washington Study-Service Year (now the 91���� Washington Semester). For his intercultural experience, he spent a year in Gaza teaching English and guitar lessons in a refugee camp.

“I got to know quite a few really amazing young Muslim Palestinians who were primarily my peers as I lived over there,” he said.

That experience continues to shape his approach to songwriting and storytelling.

“These are people who love to play games, sing songs, enjoy the taste of fresh fruit, and joke, laugh and cry together,” he said. “To me, our job is to remember, even when it’s difficult or unpopular, that the basic human impulses, needs, desires, and joys are universal.”

Long before that formative year in Gaza, Wagler grew up in rural Indiana and later graduated from a small high school in south-central Kansas. The son of a Mennonite pastor, he remembers singing harmonies in church from an early age.

His parents, Howard ’71 and Cathryn ’71, met at 91����, but Wagler said it was a campus visit and conversation with Professor Emeritus Dr. Kenneth J. Nafziger, longtime director of the Chamber Singers, that convinced him to enroll.

“That one visit to campus made all the difference,” Wagler said. “There were a lot of little steps that brought me here. They may not be the reasons I value 91���� most today, but I’m very grateful I ended up here.”

When he’s not touring, Wagler builds community through music in the Shenandoah Valley. He teaches at , a four-day strings camp for youth and adults held at 91����, hosts and performs at Red Wing Roots Music Festival, serves on the board of the nonprofit , and has taught in 91����’s music department since 2002.

He said he’s passionate about helping musicians of all ages grow and creating more opportunities for people to make music together.

“I think that makes a better community and a better world,” he said.

The Steel Wheels will perform a live show on campus at the annual Royal City Celebration from 4-6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10, during Homecoming 2026.

Wagler will share his story at 91���� TenTalks, held on Saturday, Oct. 10, at 2 p.m. in Martin Chapel, also during Homecoming. For a full schedule of Homecoming events and activities, visit emu.edu/homecoming.

Eric Brubaker ’01, fiddler and founding member of the folk-rock band The Steel Wheels, jokes that he owes his touring career to 91����.

The social work major performed in the 91���� Orchestra and choir and toured Cuba with the Chamber Singers. Music had always been an important part of his life, but he never imagined it would become his profession.

When he and four other students formed a bluegrass band called Reuben’s Potted Ferns during his junior year, 91����’s Admissions Office sent the group on a 10-day recruiting tour during the spring of 2000. The band played 16 shows, primarily at Mennonite schools and churches throughout Pennsylvania and Ohio.

“So, I blame 91���� for starting off my touring career,” Brubaker said with a laugh.

After graduating, he quickly realized that a career in social work was not for him. He returned to music, joining fellow 91���� alumni Trent Wagler ’02 and Brian Dickel ’98 and Goshen College graduate Jay Lapp to form what would become .

More than two decades, two additional band members, and over a dozen studio albums later, Brubaker and his bandmates have carved out a successful career as musicians.

“I know that’s a hard thing to do, and 91���� gave me a great starting place for that,” Brubaker said. “I was allowed to find myself here. I didn’t know what I wanted to do or who I wanted to be, and here I was able to study different things but also continue to play music.”

He said his time in the Chamber Singers under Professor Emeritus Dr. Kenneth J. Nafziger taught him the importance of listening to the people he performs with.

“You can’t have a band that lasts for 20 years without truly listening to each other: on stage, off stage, musically, and relationally,” he said.

Beyond performing, Brubaker uses music to bring people together and build community. He is a co-founder of the , hosted annually by the band in nearby Mount Solon, Virginia, which has featured artists including Old Crow Medicine Show, Lucinda Williams, and Steve Earle.

He also hosts , a four-day music camp at 91���� that teaches roughly 140 students ages 5 to 19—adults joined the program for the first time this year—to play string instruments. Participants perform on stage with The Steel Wheels during the music festival.

“Music creates a moment where everyone is focusing on the same thing,” he said. “It’s not politics. It’s not religion. It’s just a gathering of humanity that wants to celebrate something beautiful.”

Brubaker’s commitment to connecting communities through music has earned him 91����’s 2026 Alum of the Year Award. The award recognizes alumni for significant achievements in their profession, community, or church and serves to inspire others to lead lives of service and vocational excellence.

“I’m honored,” he said. “There are so many people who have done amazing work, and so many people working hard behind the scenes who never receive acclaim.”

The community Brubaker has spent years helping build became especially meaningful in 2019, when he and his wife lost their young daughter, Norah, to a sudden illness.

“We were surrounded not only by our artistic community, the people who loved the band and the music we made, but also by the community surrounding 91���� and the larger Mennonite community,” he said. “They were incredibly supportive.”

Today, Brubaker and his wife, Peggy ’00, are continuing their commitment to making music accessible. They recently formed the nonprofit Red Wing Academy Foundation, which provides scholarships for students to attend the camp.

“It’s been amazing to connect with people who want to help pass music on to a younger generation,” he said.

The Steel Wheels will perform a live show on campus at the annual Royal City Celebration from 4-6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10, during Homecoming 2026.

Brubaker will share his story at 91���� TenTalks, held on Saturday, Oct. 10, at 2 p.m. in Martin Chapel, also during Homecoming. For a full schedule of Homecoming events and activities, visit emu.edu/homecoming.

The traditional final concert on campus will also take place, but what better way to show off new skills and enjoy new friendships than to hop on stage with fellow violinist Eric Brubaker ’01 and one of the finest Americana roots bands in the country in front of hundreds of fans at a music festival.

The Steel Wheels Fiddle Workshop is a new addition to the program’s Suzuki Strings Day Camp, now in  its eighth year and typically attracting approximately 30 youth violinists. The strings day camp, from     July 29-July 2 on the 91���� campus, has a range of classes depending on age and skill level.

Children ages 3-7 have two-hour lessons, while intermediate and advanced students can participate in a longer Day Camp, for ages 12 and under, or Multi-Styles Teen Camp, for pre-college musicians. Both of these camps include the special afternoon workshop, which youth musicians can also sign up for separately.

The collaboration between 91����’s preparatory music program, The Steel Wheels, and the Red Wing Roots Festival “came about very organically through a shared vision,” said Megan Tiller ’07, who teaches in the program and has been on the festival staff since its inaugural year in 2013.

Tiller also teaches Brubaker’s daughter in the preparatory music program, and Brubaker himself is an alumnus of the same program, which makes his participation all the more meaningful to young musicians, she said.

Benefits of camp participation are multifold, says preparatory music program administrative director , who also teaches violin. Playing for several hours each day with friends and with different teachers not only motivates and inspires students, but also causes “a new familiarity with their instrument that takes them to a new level,” she said.

The Steel Wheels workshop “will provide a window into what a band does and how they do it,” she said. “And just being around professional musicians, hearing their sound and watching their technique inspires students.”

During the workshop, Brubaker will guest instruct, joined by Trent Wagler ’02 and Brian Dickel, class of ’98. A special performance will be Thursday on campus with The Steel Wheels, followed by a jam session and performance on July 10 at the Red Wing Roots Festival (where fourth band member Jay Lapp joins). Admission to the festival and a t-shirt are included in the fee for students. Parents are offered a reduced-price day pass to the festival.

The deadline for registration is June 4. For more information, visit .

A yo-yo pattern was developing.

“I just didn’t feel like I was doing what I was supposed to be doing, so I would drop out,” says Wert, who went on to spend time in South Texas and Central America during subsequent dropouts from college.

But Wert couldn’t quite shake 91���� altogether. A 1996 to Ghana blew his eyes wide open. He made some close friends, got involved in peace and justice activism on campus, and was inspired by a handful of professors who raised provocative, poignant questions about what it meant to be Mennonite (he was raised in a Mennonite family and congregation in Florida).

By 2001, Wert had cobbled together enough credits to graduate with a and a slew of minors, including one in . As a freshman, he’d considered studying viola performance. By his super-super-super senior year, he was playing genre-bending shows around campus and Harrisonburg with The Red Wagon Band, alongside classmates Trent Wagler ‘02, Jaime Miller ‘01, and Nick Hurst ’01.

Fittingly, music will bring Wert back to campus once more on. He performs manic, foot-stomping folk, country and Americana music as a one-man band under the name .

The wanderlust that kept interrupting Wert’s college studies didn’t end with college. After graduation, he and his wife, Jenny, moved to New Mexico, then Texas. They lived in Maine for a time, then in Colorado, then back to Texas when their first son was born, to be closer to family. During that nomadic phase, Wert had mainly worked in the nonprofit world. After returning to Texas, he became a teacher – a career direction in which he’d always felt pulled. He is now a special education teacher at Curington Elementary School in Boerne, Texas.

Wert has been playing as Possessed by Paul James since 2006. He’d played a few dozen shows a year and thought it would always just be a side project. But then, to his surprise, his most recent album – – made a run on the Americana/Bluegrass Billboard charts (peaking at #12 in November of 2013). The following spring, Wert was , and at the end of 2014, a New York Times critic included a Possessed by Paul James show on .

“We were kind of dumbstruck with what the attention has been this past year,” says Wert. (It wasn’t the first time attention has been paid, though; Wert was featured in a 2008 documentary, The Folk Singer, by Slowboat Films, and a previous album, Feed the Family, won an Independent Music Award in 2011 for Best Alt Country Album.)

Wert’s friends from 91���� who have followed his music are less surprised by the critical praise.

“Konrad is pure energy, pure heart,” says former bandmate Trent Wagler, who now fronts the widely acclaimed Americana band, . “I have never been around a more passionate performer or artist. He is an inspiring, creative force.”

Professor recalls Wert’s large impact on 91���� “with his energy, commitment to peace, and outsized personality.”

“He plays with a joyful, soulful intensity. His stage name, Possessed by Paul James, indicates something of his out-of-left-field sensibility. Konrad does his music his way, following his own muse. It’s exciting to see him meet with success.”

As that musical success grows, Wert finds himself confronted with decisions about the future. He loves teaching, even though he gets “real rowdy” about the unrealistic demands placed on teachers and public schools across the country, and the growing gap between what’s needed in schools and the resources allocated to them – topics that find their way into much of his songwriting.

(Wert has also been recognized for his work in the classroom, having recently been named Teacher of the Year at his school.)

He and his wife have two sons now, ages 4 and 6, and the family loves to travel. Every summer they load up the van and wander. The recent success of Possessed by Paul James has them wondering whether they could wander more full-time from show to show, visiting schools along the way to perform, talk, listen and stay engaged.

“If you leave [education], you kind of give up on the process of changing it,” Wert says. “And if you stay in it, you internalize it, and it can make the quality of life pretty hard.… It’s hard to find a balance where you’re passionate and positive day after day after day.”

Maybe Wert’s unexpected recent musical success will offer a shot at that sort of balance, though there are lots of “ifs” to figure out. Wert and family are looking at Winnebagos, thinking about their next adventure. Wert plays a show in Washington D.C. on Friday evening. Then it’s back once more to 91���� on Saturday and quickly away again for class on Monday. The future is uncertain, exciting, but for now there are still lessons to plan and progress reports to write.

Close to 3,000 people attended each day of the festival, July 11-13, 2014, at in Mt. Solon, Virginia. First held in the summer of 2013, the Red Wing festival is hosted by , a nationally known roots music band that features three alumni: Trent Wagler ’02, Eric Brubaker ’01 and Brian Dickel, class of ’98. (The fourth band member, Jay Lapp, attended 91����’s sister Mennonite school in Indiana, Goshen College, for a time.)

After enjoying performing at other festivals across the country since they began touring seriously around 2010, members of The Steel Wheels began thinking about ways to create a new festival in the Shenandoah Valley.

Family friendly, honoring community roots

“We wanted it to be rooted in community and informed by our upbringing,” said Brubaker after Red Wing ended this year. “We wanted a family-friendly event where we would be proud to bring our own children and expose them to many different kinds of authentic musical expression.”

The band partnered with Black Bear Productions, a local event production company, and began planning well over a year in advance for the first event. Their vision was realized in a multi-generational, community-focused festival that has brought dozens of performers and thousands of visitors for a long weekend of music on four stages at Natural Chimneys, about 20 miles south of 91����’s campus.

“The exciting thing is that all [our] dreams and more are already being fulfilled,” Brubaker added. “It’s amazing that so many people from our community are investing time, creativity and resources to make the festival a true success.”

Jeremiah Jenkins, a managing partner of Black Bear Productions, said the welcoming, friendly atmosphere at the festival is one of its special characteristics.

“Red Wing has fans of all ages. This sets a certain tone of respect and appreciation among the crowd, and that collective enjoyment really fuels us all weekend,” he said. “Red Wing brings out both the seasoned festivarian and the first-timers, and together we create our own festival culture. We’re proud of the Red Wing fans, volunteers and staff that treat the park and each other with such conscientiousness.”

91���� was official sponsor

After noticing how many 91���� alumni attended the first festival, the university signed on as an official sponsor this year. Throughout the weekend, advancement staff passed out tea and connected with hundreds of alumni, prospective students and other festival-goers.

91���� and Red Wing organizers also collaborated to minimize the amount of trash generated at the festival. The festival banned the sale of plastic water bottles and required visitors to bring or purchase a reusable steel cup to use at the free water station and in the beer garden, Jenkins said. Food vendors were also required to use renewable, recycled or compostable materials for all service items.

Aware of 91����’s commitment to sustainability, Black Bear Productions hired 91���� sustainability coordinator Jonathan Lantz-Trissel to oversee trash and recycling collection during the weekend. He and his team of volunteers collected well over 1,000 pounds of recyclable materials and 500 pounds of food waste to add to 91����’s compost piles

“When people congratulate me on the festival, I always say that it takes a village,” Jenkins said. “We’re so glad that 91���� is part of ours, from the alumni office and sustainability team to the many 91���� alumni that bring their families each year.”

Dozens of bands on four stages

In addition to The Steel Wheels, about 40 other bands performed this year at Red Wing, including , first formed under another name at 91����. Six of the eight members are 91���� graduates: Lauren ’09 and Mitch Yoder ’09, Jackson Maust ’09, Kristina Yoder ’09, Adam Schmid ’09 and Seth Crissman ’09, MDiv ’15. Crissman also said the welcoming feel to the festival was important to the group.

“Something we care about a lot is being able to create and share music that is fun for everyone. There was a broad range of ages at Red Wing, and music brings all these people together,” he said. “In making music in this roots-folk tradition, we draw nourishment from those who have come before and, hopefully, pass it on to those who will come after us. It was a lot fun to be able to listen to and enjoy other musicians doing the same thing at Red Wing. It was exciting to see so many people excited about roots and folk music, especially local music.”

Another band performing at Red Wing, , featured Reuben Miller ’00 on fiddle.

The third Red Wing Roots Music Festival will likely be held on the second weekend in July 2015, with exact dates to be announced soon on the festival’s and page. In the meantime, Brubaker said, The Steel Wheels will be recording a new album that will be ready in time for next year’s event.

Walk For Hope unites students from Blue Ridge Community College, Bridgewater College, 91���� and James Madison University to raise awareness about depression and suicide. The walk and all afternoon activities are free and open to the public. People whose lives have been affected by mental illness, either personally or through friends and family, are especially encouraged to attend.

Organizers predict this year’s event will be especially powerful. The Steel Wheels, which include Eric Brubaker ’01, Brian Dickel ’98, and Jay Lapp, are also bringing that special friend on stage to share the story of his struggles with depression and past abuse, and how he came to make a different, life-saving choice. Keith Morris ’83 is past president and current board member of the , which addresses child sexual abuse in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County.

“The prevailing message of the event is hope,” said planning committee member , who mentors 91���� students in her positions with and . “It’s really moving to be a part of it, to see everyone supporting each other.”

The event kicks off at 11:30 a.m. with a 2.2-mile walk from JMU’s Memorial Hall in downtown Harrisonburg along High Street/Virginia Avenue to the 91���� campus. In the past, walkers and an administrator from each school marched separately to a common location, but this year, in a show of solidarity, all will walk together. Walk For Hope T-shirts, free to pre-registered participants, will be brightly tie-dyed in school colors.

Organizers expect close to 1,000 participants to congregate at 91����’s Thomas Plaza around 12:30 p.m. for an afternoon of music, creativity, and sharing. The concert begins at 1 p.m. Other activities include children’s face-painting and games, drumming, and opportunities to create remembrance art. As in past years, participants can decorate and take home personal garden stones and add squares to the “Symbols of Hope” quilt. This year’s special community project will be decorating large wooden letters that spell “Walk for Hope.”

Since it began in 2012, Walk for Hope has increased in size each year. That growth may come as the result of a tragic fact: Most college students know someone who has suffered from depression or anxiety, contemplated suicide or died by suicide. The second leading cause of death among college students is suicide, according to a 2012 study by the . reports that depression and anxiety are more common among college students than back pain, sinus ailments, and allergies.

Raising awareness and providing support are two goals of the , which co-sponsors Walk for Hope and also funds an innovative mentoring program at 91���� called CoachLink. The program began after Austin Frazier, a junior at James Madison University, died in 2009 after a long battle with bipolar disorder.

“This CoachLink program and Walk for Hope were concepts presented to local colleges by his father, Bibb Frazier,” says Hostetler, one of five coaches in the CoachLink program. “Both are ways to honor Austin’s memory, to acknowledge that there is hope for all those who experience the effects of depression and suicidal thoughts, and to provide support and resources to students who may need it.” Bibb Frazier is the owner of the nearby , which supplied limestone seen on 91����’s buildings and grounds.

In 2010, CoachLink began with 15 students and three mentors. Now five coaches are paired with more than 50 students, some of whom probably would never see a counselor because of “stigma and anxiety or past history,” says coach Crystal Horning, a counselor with more than 25 years experience in the mental health field. “The informality of our meeting places and the kind of supportive relationship we have is almost more freeing, I think, for a student to talk about really challenging issues.”

Hostetler says Walk for Hope has successfully created a similar informal and positive atmosphere for educating and raising awareness. “From that first year, we wanted the focus to be on hope,” she said. “We wanted to create the right atmosphere that is comfortable, so people feel free to walk for someone they’ve lost or someone who considered suicide, but didn’t do it. We wanted people to leave feeling hopeful and comfortable talking about depression and suicide, because it’s not something people talk about or admit they’ve struggled with.”

The event is co-sponsored by the Austin Frazier Memorial Fund, 91����, JMU, Bridgewater College, and Sentara RMH Behavioral Health.

To receive a free t-shirt, pre-register at .

"WWLD: What Would Lloyd Do?", is a musical comedy written by and starring Ted Swartz ’89 and Trent Wagler ’02, and directed by Ingrid De Sanctis ’88). The play, with guest artist Jay Lapp and featuring music groups The Steel Wheels, Shekinah and Sons of the Day, will be presented 8 p.m. Fri. & Sat., Oct. 10-11 in Lehman Auditorium. Tickets, at $7.50 for adults and $5 for students, are available in advance at Red Front Super Market and at the door.

Ted Swartz (l.) and Trent Wagler will premiere a new theater piece, "WWLD (What Would Lloyd Do??), as part of homecoming weekend at 91����, Oct. 10-11. Photo by Jon Styer

A symposium, "Forgiveness in the Face of Tragedy: The Amish of Nickel Mines," will take place 10-11:30 a.m. Friday in Lehman Auditorium. Featured speakers will be Donald B. Kraybill ’67 and Herman Bontrager ’72, both of whom played key roles with the Amish community following the tragic shootings in a schoolhouse October, 2006. A question and answer period will follow.

Ken J. Nafziger, professor of music, will lead a worship celebration of song and scripture 10 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 12 in Lehman Auditorium. Recipients of the alumnus of the year award, distinguished service award and lifetime of service award will participate and be recognized in the service.

Reunions and Breakfast Meetings

Traditional homecoming features will include reunions at 3:30 p.m. Oct. 11 for graduating years ending in a "3" or "8," from 1963 to 2003. The "Jubilee Alumni," persons who attended 91���� 50 years ago or more, will hold a luncheon and program at 11:30 a.m. that day in Campus Center Greeting Hall, where members of the class of 1958 will be formally inducted.

Breakfast meetings will be held Saturday morning for alumni and friends of the business and economics department; nursing, education, the sciences, athletics (Loyal Royals), Bible and religion (Haverim).

The language and literature department will host a reunion 9-10 a.m. for all staffers formerly associated with the ".

See the full Homecoming schedule for more detail.

Oakwood Gathering and Science Summit

Former residents of Oakwood residence hall are invited to gather near the site of this "once-beloved dormitory," which has been demolished to make way for a three-story, environmentally-friendly, 120-bed facility, at 11 a.m. Saturday to share stories and jog memories. Read more about the recent demolition of Oakwood and see the web-cam to track progress.

At a mini science "summit" 10 a.m. Saturday, 91���� science faculty and students in environmental classes will share research projects and give updates on plans to renovate and expand the 40-year-old facility.

Arts and Athletics

An art exhibit featuring works by 91���� visual arts and communication professors Barbara Fast, Cyndi Gusler ’93, Jerry Holsopple ’80 and Steven Johnson will be on display in the third floor gallery of Hartzler Library. Media will include mixed media fiber art, drawings, photography and digital images. A gallery talk and reception will be held 4 p.m. p.m. Saturday.

Varsity field hockey, women’s volleyball and men’s and women’s soccer games are scheduled on Saturday, preceded by a Loyal Royals "fun run" 7:30 a.m. Saturday at the 91���� track.

The Paul R. Yoder, Sr., Memorial Golf Classic will be held Fri., Oct. 10 with start times at 7:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. at the Spotswood Country Club in Harrisonburg.

More Information

Special activities for children (kindergarten through fifth grade) and youth (grades 6 through 9) are scheduled at various times Saturday, and childcare for infants through age 5 will be provided during reunions and at other designated times.

During the weekend, a documentary video produced by alumnae Tiffany Horst ’07 and Carrie Keagy ’07, will be shown several times, featuring historic images and interviews that help to interpret the growth and changes that 91���� has seen over the years while remaining true to its vision, according to Douglas J. Nyce ’86, director of alumi/parent relations.

The registration desk in the University Commons will be open 3-8 p.m. Fri., Oct. 10 and 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Sat., Oct. 11.

For more information, go to www.emu.edu/homecoming, call the alumni office at (540) 432-4245 or e-mail alumni@emu.edu.