Texas Tech University - La Ventana Yearbook (Lubbock, TX)

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The Department of Music Music, music, music. Educational op- portunities in all areas of music are provided by Texas Tech ' s Music Depart- ment. The department, headed by Dr. Gene Hemmle is justifiably proud of its distinguished faculty, the majority of whom are both nationally and inter- nationally known. Tech Choir The Tech students who like to sing either for fun or for a career find several choirs open to them. Gene Kenney ' s pride and joy, the Tech Choir, is made up of forty-eight of the finest voices at Tech. Both men and women are members of this official touring group which also sings regularly in Lubbock. GENE HEMMLE Department Head Men ' s and Women ' s Glee Club Students in Men ' s and Women ' s Glee Clubs sing for both fun and experience. They are feeder groups for both the Tech Choir and Tech Singers and often collaborate with these two groups. Symphony Orchestra The Tech Symphony Orchestra is an organization of which the college can be proud because it compares favorably with other college and university or- chestras in the state. It provides the campus and community with oppor- tunities to hear the finest of orchestral literature. Membership is composed of students from the general student body as. well as music majors. GENE KENNEY Choral Organizations Each year the choir makes an extended tour of the state. Madrigal Singers The Madrigal singers are a special group selected from the choir and trained in a slightly different repertoire in addition to their choir work. They sing madrigals, motets and folk songs from the Elizabethan period and are costumed in colorful Elizabethan style. The madri- gals are a regular feature at Hemphill- Wells department store at Christmas. Tech Singers Tech Singers is a slightly larger group than the choir and is used to train voices for the choir although they give many performances of their own. MUSIC BAND PAUL ELLSWORTH Tech Symphony DEAN KILLION Band Director They also participated in the annual ' Symposium of Contemporary Music and presented a premiere performance of a work by Mary Helen McCarty of the Tech music faculty. At another annual concert called a commencement concert, the orchestra featured its outstanding soloists and presented an opportunity for talented students to conduct. Out of the orchestra come numerous string en- sembles. In addition, the orchestra is the force behind a Junior String Project which provides teaching experience for string majors. Members of the Tech Symphony Orchestra also play in the Lubbock Symphony, Midland Symphony and the Odessa Symphony. 15

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WESLEY FOUNDATION • I Wesley Foundation is the Methodist Church at work on the state supported campus. In the case of Texas Tech, the Wesley Foundation functions through the Methodist Student Center and the Methodist churches in Lubbock. The local Foundation embraces the doctrine of the Methodist Church and the goals of the National Methodist Student Movement; the sum of the latter being to promote an effective Christian witness on campus, leading the students to a committment in Christ and thus enriching their lives. It is the student-centered program which pro- duces the home away from home and the goals of the national Methodist Stu- dent Movement. Retreats are held twice each year for this expressed purpose. January, 1959, being the first time the council held a three-day retreat in Ruidoso, New Mexico. Every evening Monday through Thurs- day, students hold a vesper service which may be given by students or guest speakers. On Wednesdays, preceding vespers, a supper is served. Following vespers, discussion known as the Forum is held by the students. Among the varied programs of Wes- ley Foundation is World Christian Community which has many facets — deputation teams sent to local churches and churches in the surrounding area, migrant work, sending of medicine to the mission field, and the promotion of student seminars and conferences. Also Wesley Foundation sponsors a group known as Wesley Players which pro- duces religious plays. • t 14

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Madrigal Singers Girls ' Glee Club . . -v V A (J c n r n i [ • I TECH VOICES Men ' s Glee Club . Tech Choir 16 I