Archive for the ‘College’ Category
Thursday, February 28th, 2008
If you are (or planning to be) in the Greenville area next week, I would like to invite you to my Junior piano recital next Thursday, March 6th at 7:00pm in FA224. For those of you that don’t know where that is, it’s in the middle of the second floor of the Fine Arts Building. The recital will only be about 20-25 minutes long, so hopefully that won’t conflict with any of you that might have plans to attend the opera that night. I will be playing music of Bach, Mozart, and Chopin (see Music page for more details).
Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008
The object of the 2008 Bible Conference offering was announced today in chapel at BJU. Actually, two Bible Conference offerings (2008 and 2009) will be needed to raise the needed amount of money.
Dr. Stephen Jones unveiled the plans to renovate the front of Rodeheaver Auditorium – one of the auditoriums on campus which houses the major Shakespearean plays, the operas, and the annual Living Gallery presentation among other things. The plans call for a major makeover of the lobby area. It will extend out further allowing for more room for coat areas, a larger, more efficient ticket desk, new restrooms, and perhaps some displays, Dr. Jones said. The covered walks in front of Rodeheaver will also be new to match the other new covered walks already installed on campus. The covered walkways will lead right up to the lobby, as well.
Construction will begin soon after the 2008 Commencement Activities and will hopefully be completed by April of 2009 – just in time for the 2009 Living Gallery. Dr. Jones stated that the approximate cost of the project is around $1.75 million, hence the need for two very generous Bible Conference offerings.
Here are some computer renderings of the project:
Sunday, November 18th, 2007
Greetings! Today was quite a day (ok… disclaimer: I drafted this post Saturday night, but my blog crashed and I was only able to post this now) . I have just returned from the Turkey Bowl at Alumni Stadium here at BJU. But I’m getting ahead of myself. The day’s festivities started for me at 2:00pm. I went to the final performance of the BJU Classic Players’ Much Ado About Nothing by Shakespeare. Overall, it was just great. The actors did a great job bringing out the comedy in the play, the music was nicely done, the costuming was great, the staging was cool, … you get the idea.
But then there was the Turkey Bowl, the annual soccer championship. This year’s game was between the Alpha Razorbacks and the Omega Lions. Those of you that were present at the game also know of a particular highlight (for me, anyways). I got to help sing the national anthem! We sang a “barbershop” arrangement of the national anthem in a quintet. It was great fun and I’m glad I got to be a part of it. It was exhilarating getting to sing in front of a packed stadium and knowing that I was also being broadcast on HomeSat, too.
After singing, I watched on as the game ball was delivered by Dr. Bob via helicopter. After circling the stadium several times, it finally touched down in the center of the field and out came Dr. Bob with the game ball.
A short while later, Dr. Bob came and sat two rows in front of me in the bleachers. I considered going down and hob-nobbing with him, but decided against it.
During halftime, we broke the world record for the largest kazoo ensemble ever. We were led by University Evangelist Mike Schrock in kazooing the “12 days of Turkey Bowl.” It went like this: 12 campus guests, 11 papers due, 10 little pilgrims, 9 ushers spinning, 8 playoff teams, 7 days vacation, 6 Classic Players, 5 golden rings, 4 big drums, 3 bagpipes, Dr. Bob and Wife, Dr. Jones with a small Goatee. We kazooed for more than the required 5 minutes (probably 6 or 7). The unofficial count was . . . [drumroll] . . . 3,800 participants. Once confirmed, that number will beat the previous record breaking attempt that came in at approximately 3,600.
All in all, not a bad day. I went to an outstanding drama, sang in front of thousands, and broke a world record – and all within 6 hours. Beat that. 
Thursday, November 1st, 2007
You heard it right. Seeking to follow up their past success with Christmas carol singing, the Inter-Society Council of Bob Jones University is sponsoring an attempt to break the world record for the largest kazoo ensemble. Here’s the release from the ISC…
The Inter-Society Council will sponsor an attempt to break the world record for the largest kazoo ensemble Nov. 17, 2007, during the halftime show of the BJU Turkey Bowl. BJU students, faculty, staff, and administration are invited to participate!
The Alumni stadium is able to seat 4,000 spectators, and with additional bleachers placed near the field, the Inter-Society Council is confident BJU will be able to break the world record. Kazoos will be passed out free of charge before the game so everyone can participate. Mr. Mike Shrock will lead the BJU family in the attempt.
The official record stands at 2,679 people, and was set on Dec. 31, 2006 in Rochester, NY. The most recent attempt to break it was Oct. 5 in Canton, OH with approximately 3,600 participants.
The stipulations from Guinness are as follows:
- Every participant must sign his or her name before two witnesses
- Every kazoo player must be proficient (which isn’t difficult)
- The ensemble must play for 5 consecutive minutes
Saturday, October 20th, 2007
After rehearsing some of the most amazing music in my life for the past month and a half, it’s hard to believe the concert is over. Overall, it went very well and Dr. Forrest had nothing but good things to say about it.
I was talking to a former music teacher of mine after the first performance. The first thing he said was something to the effect of, “That was probably the most amazing music I have heard in my life. Nothing was lacking.”
I was super-privileged to be a part of this choir, and in a sense, I think I had one of the best “seats” in the house – front row, dead center. I got to see and follow every one of Dr. Cook’s gestures. I’m sure the overall sound was better out in the house (what with the percussion and everything), so I can’t wait to hear the recording!
The next big thing for my choir (Concert Choir) is Christmas Vespers in December. We will be singing 5 numbers (4 of which I haven’t seen yet – we’ve been so busy working on Forrest music lately). More later…
Wednesday, October 17th, 2007
If you are in the Greenville/Bob Jones area and haven’t yet procured (free) tickets for this Friday’s concert, consider this as a virtual elbow jab. *nudge* If you haven’t yet heard of this concert, let me fill you in.
This Friday, October 19th, the Bob Jones University Chorale and Concert Choir are joining forces for “ForrestFest: A Welcome Home Concert.” The concert, which will be performed at 6:30 and again at 8pm in Stratton Hall, features the works of Dan Forrest. The concert lineup is:
- Arise, Shine!
- Three Nocturnes for Chorus and Percussion
- Basque Lullaby
- You are the Music
- Oread Farewell
Dan Forrest will be speaking at the concert as well. Rehearsals for the concert have been going extremely well. I am very excited to be a part of this concert (singing Baritone). It will be a very rewarding concert both for us performing and especially for you, the listener.
UPDATE: I have good news and bad news. The good news is that we’re sold out, and the bad news is that we’re sold out… Non-ticketholders can still get in, though. You just won’t get your choice of seats.
Wednesday, October 10th, 2007
Recently, my friend (and President of Mission Prayer Band here at BJU), Josh Michalek, asked me to design a poster for the upcoming Student Body Prayer Rally. The theme is “Are You Thirsty?” taken from Isaiah 55:1.
Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
(ESV)
They just had them printed today, and now the posters are hung all over campus. Click the thumbnail here to see a larger version. I created this poster with The GIMP in Ubuntu Linux. The font-face is Mg Open Cosmetica.
Wednesday, August 29th, 2007
Classes started today at BJU with a bang (for me anyways). Let me give you a quick rundown of my classes for this semester:
- Church Music Administration
- History of Music I
- Elements of Conducting
- Private Classical Piano & Hymn Playing lessons
- Bible Doctrines
- Intermediate Spanish II
We also had our first rehearsal for Concert Choir/Chorale for our October 19th concert today. Mark your calendars now; it’s gonna be good! We will be doing at least 4 pieces by Dan Forrest who is back at BJU now after getting his doctorate at KU (Kansas University). Some titles include “Three Nocturnes” for Choir and Percussion, “You are the Music”, “Arise, Shine!” (Premiered in Carnegie Hall), and “Oread Farewell” (which as I learned is pronounce ORE-ee-add) with text by Anthony Silvestri. That’s some powerful music!
Update: We may or may not be doing all four of those pieces. See comments…
This week also marks the beginning of Society Rush. In fact, I’m going to head out to the Epsilon Zeta Chi rush booth now and try to start some conversations with the new freshmen. More later!
Saturday, April 21st, 2007
. . . my sophomore piano platform exam!! Whew! It’s a nice feeling to be done with the 15 most stressful minutes of my life (in regards to piano, that is). I had 5 piano teachers staring at my fingers the whole time – Drs. Parker, Davis, Moore, Wilson, and Kendall. I don’t know what my grade is yet, but at least they told me I passed.
Good feelings . . . *sigh* . . .
Update: I got my grades and comments sheets back this week. Apparantly, my judges (see above) had different opinions about my playing. I received two A’s, two B’s, and one C (ewww). I believe it all averaged out to a high B+ for the semester. I was hoping for an A, but I guess I’ll have to settle for that…
Wednesday, April 11th, 2007
I’d like to share with you a few blessings that have come my way recently.
1. Scholarship money
First off, I got a letter in my PO box here at school yesterday informing me that I was one of the recipients of a small amount of scholarship money. The letter from Dr. Lawson reads:
…
Mr. Donald Meagley, a longtime friend of the University and now deceased, left an endowment to the University. The annual income from this endowment is specifically designated for young men and women from Division of Music who have good keyboard skills, a financial need, and evidence the desire to use their keyboard skills in some way in the Lord’s work.
The music faculty and the University administration jointly choose the recipients for this scholarship fund, and I am happy to inform you that you have been selected to have the amount of $360 applied to your current school account. We rejoice with you that the Lord has provided this special gift to help you with your college expenses.
…
While that is not an overwhelming amount of money, it is still a great blessing and I am very thankful for it.
2. Uncrowded room
If you’re scratching your head about that one, let me explain. This week at BJU is “AACS Week.” About 2,000 high-schoolers and adult sponsors come for a few days of Fine Arts competitions. This means that all dorm students should be expecting to have visitors in their rooms. But somehow, my entire hall does not have any visitors in the rooms (incredible!). What’s more, one of my roommates is on “cuts” this entire week, so there’s actually one less person in the room (3 instead of 4 when we could have easily had 6).
3. Day of Rest
Ok, so this wasn’t actually “unexpected,” but it is still a blessing. With the coming of AACS week, classes are cancelled today (Wednesday). This means that I actually got to sleep in! Whoo hoo! Maybe I can actually get some stuff done today . . . think of it!
These three items of praise have been particularly refreshing for me. All I can do is thank the Lord. As my friend Josh says . . . “What a blessing!”
If you are (or planning to be) in the Greenville area next week, I would like to invite you to my Junior piano recital next Thursday, March 6th at 7:00pm in FA224. For those of you that don’t know where that is, it’s in the middle of the second floor of the Fine Arts Building. The recital will only be about 20-25 minutes long, so hopefully that won’t conflict with any of you that might have plans to attend the opera that night. I will be playing music of Bach, Mozart, and Chopin (see Music page for more details).
