hen Sam Steppel M.S. ’67, Ph.d. ’72 graduated from Maryland with a doctorate in physics, he took with him a lifelong interest in music that was largely inspired by his wife Barbara. Steppel met her his first year as a graduate student; she was a sophomore in the fine arts program and a cellist.
After she died in 2006, Steppel honored his wife’s love of music with a $10,000 gift to sponsor the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s April 2007 performance at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center and a pre-performance reception. He has also made a bequest of $200,000 to establish the Barbara K. Steppel Memorial Faculty Fellowship in Cello—the first of its kind in the School of Music. He funds the fellowship annually with $10,000.
“I was trying to think of different ways to memorialize her,” says Steppel. “The concert and reception was a one-time thing, but I also wanted something more permanent.”
He notes that the Clarice Smith Center helped them become active alumni. “We liked the center and its role in the university, and all these things came together in our minds to form a real bond with the university that hadn’t existed before.” This year, he made a $10,000 gift to sponsor a concert by cellist Steven Isserlis.
Steppel says that his connection to the center has become especially valuable over the past few years. “I’ve really enjoyed meeting the music students, particularly the cello students. It is a pleasure and a privilege to feel that somehow you’re part of the process of helping them become great musicians.”
