'A frighteningly awesome responsibility...'
Charlotte Ella '03 is director of music
ministries at Wycliffe Presbyterian
Church.
In the second book of Kings in the Hebrew Testament, a passage reads, "And when the musician played, the power of God came over them." This serves as the basis for all sacred music instruction - a tradition of excellence thousands of years in the making.
Virginia Wesleyan honors this tradition and prepares students for church service through its Music Department and the Center for Sacred Music. Offering a solid foundation in musicianship, theory, history and applied instruction, the department offers a Church Music Certificate Program, a Sacred Music Summer Conference and seminars.
Nearly half of all Music Department alumni work as church musicians. Wesleyan graduates lead congregational music in many sacred music styles, from downtown synagogue to suburban church, from gothic cathedral to contemporary worship center.
"Using ancient words and songs reminds us that we're just one in a long line of believers," says Nicole Clouser Aldrich '96. "It takes away from the self- centeredness that seems to mark modern culture."
As director of music at historic St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Newark, DE, Aldrich draws upon liturgy nearly 500 years old to communicate faith to a 21st century congregation. "It's so important to recognize that our faith is larger than just our own generation," she says.
Besides church duties, Aldrich also conducts the University Singers and Women's Chorus at the University of Delaware and appears as a soloist with the Delaware Symphony, the Newark Ecumenical Chorus and the university's Schola Cantorum. "Your feelings don't have much place in the academic setting. But there's freedom in church to speak about your own connection to a piece of religious music."
Charlotte Elia '03, director of music ministries at Wycliffe Presbyterian Church in Virginia Beach, has made a similar discovery.
"As a church musician, the focus is on enhancing the pastor's message and unifying the service. In the recital hall, I offer art for art's sake, but in church, I offer music that helps shape faith. It can be a frighteningly awesome responsibility."
With her church set in an affluent suburb, Elia also faces the challenge that comes with maintaining volunteer ranks while parishioners struggle with family and community obligations, as well as finding ways to span a wide variety of music styles.
"Developing ways to strengthen musical offerings in worship is a challenge, but an exciting one," she says. "We've just started a weekly 15-minute Ôsing' between the first service and Sunday School. It's a good opportunity to teach new music. But most of all, the preparation really enhances the worship experience."
In addition to her church music work, Elia has also sung with the Virginia Opera, but she focuses her efforts on German artsong. She has presented several concerts in conjunction with Wesleyan's Foreign Language Department as a way to showcase German poets.
About 15 miles from Wycliffe, Jason Evans '02 is the pianist and music assistant at First Baptist Church of Norfolk, which has a 175-voice choir. Evans' day runs the gamut from making music to program administration. The church has a large staff and hundreds of volunteer musicians, and one of Evans' duties is to make sure everyone is on the same page.
"Each week the music minister gives me the order of worship, hymns, choruses and anything else musical," says Evans. "I gather the music and put it in binders so each person has a complete Ômap' of the service. With so many people involved, there's just no room for confusion about what's going to take place."
Trained as a classical organist who presents solo and piano/organ duet concerts throughout Hampton Roads and northeastern North Carolina, Evans finds a higher calling in his music ministry. "Whether or not it's my personal preference isn't important. I know it reaches many others, and that's the important thing."