Watching the Southern Adventist University Symphony orchestra assemble in the Jewish Federation’s auditorium, I didn’t realize that I was standing next to a music prodigy. I asked the young man wearing a suit and fancy tie his name. “Matthew.” I asked him about his role in this event. “I’m conducting the first piece we’re playing today.” When asked what music he was conducting, he responded, “Atlantic Overture. It’s something I composed myself.” That’s when the faculty conductor, Laurie Cadwallader, introduced Matthew Kimbley. I grinned as he calmly walked into the room, stepped up on the podium and proceeded to conduct the orchestra with the professional confidence of a young Leonard Bernstein.

That’s when I picked up the program and read about Matthew and the piece he’d composed.