WELCOME TO SKAGIT ADVENTIST ACADEMY MUSIC PROGRAM
At Skagit Adventist Academy we take music seriously, because music is a serious subject. Music not only brings us enjoyment and pleasure, but it brings us closer to our maker, who Himself is a master musician: "The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing," Zep 3:17. The benefits of music education are many; it helps with brain function and development and even increases IQ, as proven by some studies. Join us in providing the best music education possible for our children.
A VOICE FROM THE PAST REINFORCING THE MISSION OF OUR MUSIC ORGANIZATIONS IN THE SERVICE FOR GODOn May 25, 2013, after hearing Mark Witas' farewell sermon before his departure to PUC, I and my husband sat down to lunch at the North Cascade Seventh Day Adventist Church's fellowship hall. The subject around the table was the falling down of the I-5 bridge over the Skagit River on Thursday, May 23, 2013.
"You won't believe it," I said at on point, "even my mother saw the news of the falling bridge in the news, in Brazil." At the mention of the word Brazil, one of the ladies at the table perked up, and said: "Where in Brazil is your mother?" To which I replied "She is in Bahia." "I'm Brazilian," she said; "I was born in Sao Paulo." "Really?," I said, "I was born in Sao Paulo too!" And so the conversation went and I got to meet Beverly Hall, Ethan and Emalyn Hall's grandmother. Beverly then told me that her parents had been in Brazil for nearly ten years, and that her father, Walter Wheeler, had been the choir teacher/director at the Sao Paulo Adventist College in the 1940's. "Really?," I said, "That is when my parents were going to school there." She then told me that there had been a Japanese young man at the College called Kiyotaka... "Kiyotaka Shirai?," I interrupted her. "He married my mother's sister, he was my uncle!" "Yes, I'll never forget him," she said, "he built the most wonderful doll house for me in those days." I showed her pictures of my parents, but she couldn't really remember them. We looked at each other and just marveled at how God was connecting the dots in our lives. I promised her that I would get in touch with my mother and ask her if she and my father had indeed been there at that time. Later in the day, at home, I reached my mother on Skype. "Mom, do you know who Walter Wheeler is?" "Yes, but he had just left when I got to the College; but your father sang in his choir. He always talked about Wheeler." "Really??!" again, I marveled. "Yes, and he went on tour with him to Rio, and he had a solo with the choir and even sang for the president." I just couldn't believe all of this. I then googled Walter Wheeler and what I found is below. Walter's essay and testimony has given me confidence and strength to move forward with the work of preparing our students to sing to their utmost, and only for the glory of God. Soli Deo Gloria. Denice Grant Brazilian College Choir on Tour
Written by Walter R. Wheeler
Ministry - International Journal for Pastors [This recital is worth pondering, first, in the recognition that these excellent renditions received in high Brazilian circles ; and, second, in the message conveyed through the choice of numbers presented. The choirs of our leading colleges in every land should be in demand in the civic and religious centers of the community, winning friends, breaking down prejudice, exemplifying the spirit of Adventism, and winsomely witnessing to the world as people with both skill and a mission. Our choirs should be different from all others.—EDITOR. ] On September 2 we began the most successful tour in the ten-year history of our college choir.. Our choir left by train for Sao Paulo and arrived Friday morning in Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian capital. Friday we rested, then on Sabbath morning we left Rio de Janeiro in a fleet of cabs to go to the world-famous hotel Quitandinha, where an international industrial exposition was being held. On this particular day a banquet was to be tendered by the Brazilian Government to the president from the neighboring country of Uruguay. Our choir had been chosen to present a program before this august assembly at this time. We firstgave the program in our church at the city of Petropolis. Then we were rushed by bus to Quitandinha. The choir filed in before more than three hundred people, including government officials from Brazil and Uruguay. The Brazilian president, the president from Uruguay, and the governor for the state of Rio were all seated at the center of a large U-shaped table. Our choir of sixty voices took its place at one of the points of the U. There we were, an Adventist choir ready to present a program of sacred song before this select audience. The director of the banquet informed me that we were selected as Brazil's best choir to show the visitors to what extent choral music had advanced in this country. After presenting four numbers the choir withdrew. There was hearty applause which really called for an encore. The arts director rushed out saying that the presidents wanted us to come back to sing during the dessert. While singing the first group of songs the choir had been photographed by still cameras and now as we entered the banquet hall a second time, the movie cameramen rushed to set up their equipment. We were photographed at every angle for several minutes while we sang two more sacred numbers. We were then lashered up to within six feet of the president's table where we sang the Brazilian national anthem. As we sang we were filmed, and these pictures appeared in the newsreels throughout the country. Having finished the anthem, the choir quietly withdrew. As I walked out alongside the extensive table many extended their hands in appreciation. Some said, "Where are you from? We did not know that such a choir existed here in Brazil." Later the Uruguayan president's wife told me in a most enthusiastic manner how she enjoyed the concert. The arts director came to me all wreathed in smiles. He said that it had been a great day for him. It was the first time he had been privileged to organize a program for two presidents, and because they liked the singing of the choir so much, they had called him over to the table to ask him who were were and whence we had come. It was at this point that they had requested us to go back and sing. Those responsible for the programs in the theater at the hotel asked that we stay over and present a program that night, to which we agreed. Before and after the banquet we had appointments to sing for our own people, first at the church in Petropolis and later for our young people near this same city. |
It was wonderful to see with what enthusiasm we were welcomed. After this we were taken by bus back to Hotel Quitandinha. Because our fourth program for the day did not end until midnight, you may be sure that it- was a tired but happy group that wended its way back to Rio de Janeiro. If we had paid for the two banquets and transportation, we should have had to spend over twenty thousand cruzeiros, or one thousand dollars. But the government paid all. God be praised for such a miracle in the Catholic country of Brazil.
On Sunday and Monday nights the choir sang in our central church in Rio to a packed house. Emmanuel Zorub was holding an evangelistic effort, and we were happy to assist him in this way for two nights. Tuesday, the seventh of September, was Brazil's Independence Day. The radio station controlled by the ministry of education sponsored a commemorative program in which our choir presented half an hour of song. The entire program was recorded. The one in charge informed me that the station had used our former recordings of four years previous every year to celebrate this holiday, and that now they were glad to have new material. Wednesday night was a high spot in our lives. For years we have tried to get permission to present a program in the large Baptist church, but all to no avail. The Baptists here in Brazil have been anything but friendly. But by special arrangement we were now enabled to present a program to more than two thousand people in this huge church. The Baptist pastor had invited all the other Baptist congregations to attend the concert. As the choir took its place on the platform, the pastor told the waiting audience that they were going to hear South America's best choir ! You could have heard a pin drop, things were so quiet during the two hours of song. Tears streamed down many faces as the choir sang such meaningful songs as "Follow Me," "Is It Far to Canaan's Land ?" and "Never Part Again." God blessed our humble efforts in a special sense, and many were led nearer the throne of grace as they listened to this heavenly music. As a result of the contact there at the Baptist church we are heartily invited to return next year. On Thursday night we once more spread the gospel by radio. The national hook-up paid us $250 for a half-hour program. The speaker was very enthusiastic and even went so far as to say to his radio audience that they were hearing South America's best choir. Once more God's guiding hand was felt. Friday night found us in concert before the Brazilian Press Society where our sacred songs made a universal appeal. On Sabbath morning we were all in time for Sabbath school at the Meyer church in the suburbs of Rio. For the hour of worship we presented a message to one of Brazil's most appreciative church groups. On Saturday night were were scheduled to concertize at the Flurninese Football Club ; but due to a torrential downpour this was canceled. Going back to Thursday afternoon, I wish to relate an experience which shows the growing sentiment in favor of the choir. The arts director for the Municipal Theater called me by phone saying that, due to the insistent appeals from the public, he was making every effort to arrange a Sunday morning concert by the choir. He asked whether that would be possible; and if so, he said that they would postpone a symphony concert to the following Sunday. After a time it was finally arranged for the choir to sing in that magnificent and beautiful hall. Imagine yourself present at the Municipal Theater. This is what you would have seen and heard. At ten o'clock the choir took its place before a crowd of more than two thousand who had come despite the rain. As it was the birthday of the secretary of education, the program was dedicated to him. One of my choir boys made a speech in his honor, then the choir sang "Happy Birthday" in English and Portuguese. This little feature captured the good will of the audience right from the start, and it seemed that nearly every number brought calls for an encore. During the first group on the program, the movie cameramen kept busy filming the choir. After the choir went backstage, the symphony orchestra director for the theater told me that the choir was singing in perfect pitch, had wonderful harmony, and that the basses sounded like the sonorous waves of the sea. Spurred on by the thunderous applause, the choir did even better in the second group of songs, after which the secretary of education came backstage, made a beautiful speech, and was filmed with the choir. Now came the third and last group in a program of twenty songs, including encores. Sixteen of the twenty selections were sacred music. God's Spirit could be felt moving upon the hearts of our attentive audience. As we finished that memorable concert with the song, "Never Part Again," many in the audience were greatly moved. Twenty or thirty came backstage for autographs. The mayor of the city, senators, musicians, lawyers, churchmen, and society high lights had heard the message in sacred song and liked it. Next year we are invited to give two concerts in the Municipal Theater and programs in all the other halls where we made appearance. This year's tour was sponsored by the Rio-Minas Conference, and its treasurer, Jorge Lobo, deserves most hearty thanks for his cooperation. When we left the theater on Sunday morning, one worker came to me and said, "Brother, that was heavenly music. You are preparing to sing in heaven above." Another said, "You have done more to reach the upper class and those in authority than we can do in twenty years," Still another stated, "The receipts for next year's Ingathering here in Rio de Janeiro will be much higher as a result of the choir's ten-day stay." Surely sacred song does have its place in the mission program. Yes, God can and has used our Adventist choir in a special manner to reach the higher classes here in Brazil. His name be praised for the modern miracles in music in a Catholic country like Brazil. * |