Spring Arbor University - Echo Yearbook (Spring Arbor, MI)

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A CAPPELLA CHORUS 4 ii For the past six years the A Cappella chorus of Spring Arbor, composed of from thirty- flve to forty young men and women, has been the outstanding extra-curricular organization on the campus. The reasons for this popularity are not hard to find as the members of this group will readily point out. The principal reason is doubtless the devoted, sympathetic, and inspiring director in the person of Professor LeRoy M. Lowell, who, by his devotion to, and warm personal experience of Christ, and by his equally great interest in young people and their problems, has endeared himself to the scores of students who have been members of the chorus. Another reason is that rhe students invariably find that their personal religious life is broadened and deepened as a result of being in this group of singers. Some even date the beginning of their fuller spiritual life from some time of spiritual refreshing while they were members of the chorus, for not infrequently the practice period has been turned into a prayer service where confession, testimony, and spiritual victory have been much in evidence. Many of the public services, likewise, have been times of great uplift and blessing. Yet another reason for the appeal of this organization is that membership in this pre-eminently religious choral group enables the students to become acquainted with, and proficient in the singing of, some of the best worlcs in Christian hymnody, by no means a small accomplishment when it is recalled that from twenty-five to forty different selections are memorized-both words and music-each year. A fourth and final reason is perhaps the annual tour of the chorus during the ten-day spring vacation as a kind of reward for faithf ful work during the year. Spring Arbor is justly proud of this organization and its splendid work. It has served as the best possible medium for bringing before our people throughout this region the value of Christian education in a Christian environment. I-I. E. UPDYKE. Page Thirty

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Modern educations have brought about momentous changes in educational objectives, in curriculum organization, and in content of courses, in subject matter, and in methods of procedure. The old viewpoint in education stressed subject matter and emphasized technical proficiency. It was too little concerned with the workable results in the lives of the students who were being edu- cated. Many subjects retained their importance because of traditional value rather than be- cause of their actual application to life in our complex civilization. The modern viewpoint defines education as the socialization of the individual, maintaining the belief that the essence of life is to achieve self-realization through self-expression. Music has often been preclaimed the most universal and most social of arts. Without doubt more people find outlet for emotional expression in music than they do in any other art. Modern educators are beginning to realize that education must concern itself with the emotional as well as the mental and physical. j Besides the importance of music to every individual as an emotional outlet, it has social, cul- tural, avocational, and vocational values. Music in its very nature lends itself to organized, co-ordinated activity in which the pursuit of beauty is the common aim. Music provides a means of culture available to all. purposeful, discriminative listening provides splendid opportunities for the finest use of leisure. But perhaps there is no surer means of self-expression in music than in the actual experience, an individual receives great satisfaction and enjoyment from the self ac- tivity. Goethe once said that a person should see a beautiful painting, read a beautiful poem, and hear beautiful music at least once every day so that the cares of life might not destroy the apprecia- tion of beauty which God has implanted in the human soul. DGROTI-IEA B. ANDREWS. MUSIC DEPARTMENT Page Twenty-nine

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Group activities always interest and appeal to young musicians. This is especially true of the ,orchestra which, in addition, provides opportunity for self-development by the study of an instrument. There is great joy in working together, contributing our part This sort of co-operative team work is the very foundation of orchestral worlc. to subordinate himself to realize a well integrated whole elfect. V The interest which the members of the orchestra have manifested this inspiring. We believe that the orchestra has made a definite contribution to They appeared in several public programs during the year, as well as during to a desired effect. Each player learns year has been very the school program. Music Week. DOROTI-IEA B. ANDREWS. From the beginning the leaders of our church have recognized the value of a trained min- istry. Through the sixty years of Spring Arbor's history many men and women have been prepared for Christian service. The Bible School has always been regarded part of the worlc of the Seminary. as a most essential As an inducement to young men looking toward the ministry and to those already engaged in such work, the curriculum has been specially arranged so that upon completion of the Bible Training course the student will have met the study requirements as outlined for preachers in the church discipline. High school graduates may complete the course in two years and receive college credit for this worlc. During the past year about sixty students have been registered for courses in the Bible De- partment. Ar least sixteen of these expect to enter the ministry of the Free Methodist Church. LE ROY M. LOWELL. CRCHESTRA Eldon Boice Ralph Lowell Thelma Whims Evelyn Voller Kenneth Huff Miss D. B. Andrews Imtructor Avon Hunt Lorraine Dowley William Craig Kenneth Tannar Henry Ryclcman BIBLE DEPARTMENT Burton Martin Vida Hammond Glenna Hazeldine Laurine Deyo Edith Spencer Norma Morrison Mable Fields Charles Fields Richard Wells Walton Aclcley Prof. L. M. Lowell Heaa' of Dept. Millard Beede Maurice Card Lloyd Cunningham Phillip Ryckman John Donnelly Harold Geiger Edgar Whiteman Lloyd Stretton Frank Sines Dominic Mannoia Lloyd Euler Wayne Hammond Page Thirty-one