The King's Heralds Music at Walla Walla College Early Advent Music

The King’s Heralds Music at Walla Walla College Early Advent Music And Ellen White Winter/Spring 2007 President’s Message hand or at the piano and assisted by us have not been moved by the message the Andrews University Symphony in his enduring hymn We Have this Orchestra under the direction of Dr. Hope? His passing in February of this Claudio Gonzales, and Marc Elysee, year deepens our longing for the Lord’s Assistant Director, gave us magnificent soon return. beauty in concertos for the violin, cello, There is more in this issue that is clarinet, and the piano by composers so special and of great interest. Early Henri Wieniawski, Edward Elgar, hymns sung by members as the Seventh- Carl Maria von Weber, Ludwig van day Adventist Church developed in Beethoven, and Johannes Brahms. These the Northeast and spread to the West were young people from Bolivia, Japan, catch our interest and attention. It is South Korea, Romania, and Tennessee, fascinating to know which hymns were all students from around the world who sung in the early days of our church’s had come to continue the development history, in the 19th Century, and then, as th Elsie Landon Buck of their musical talent. The results of the years went by, into the 20 century. their achievements were evident in the In these pages of NOTES, we also How often does one sit in the audience brilliant performance we had just heard. learn more of our musical history in where a musical concert has just taken I am continually amazed and the continuing series on music at our place, totally captured by the immense deeply grateful to students and teachers Adventist colleges and universities, and beauty of what has been performed, alike who pursue challenges and reach the story of how the King’s Heralds hesitant to leave—indeed, spellbound? heights of accomplishment that are truly started and evolved to today’s group. Only a few days ago, in the Howard significant and outstanding. And as we And we continue to keep in touch with Performing Arts Center on the campus consider great men and women of the the work of young artists, professors, of Andrews University, this happened recent and distant past in our church church musicians and other aspects of to many of us. Five young artists had who have given all of us so much to music in all areas of our worldwide just performed with the orchestra with treasure and remember, we think of church. such depth of interpretation, skill with Wayne Hooper, one our musical giants May God be with all who with their their instruments, and sensitivity for in the past century. We remember his dedication to quality in music give of each passage of the music that we were legacy as a singer in the King’s Heralds, their best for Him and for our church. transported by the transcendent beauty his guidance at an important time for of what we had heard. that group, and the inspiration he It was at an afternoon concert provided through his hymn Elsie L. Buck that these five young people, each arrangements, work with the church performing with their instrument in hymnal, and his compositions. Who of CONTENTS President’s Message 2 Music in Turkey 20 The King’s Heralds 3 News 22 An Unutterable Sense of Glory 6 Personal Notes 23 Music at Walla Walla College 8 Photo Gallery 26 Melvin K. West 19 IAMA LOGO IAMA’s logo, created in a few seconds with the quick movements of a writer’s quill, is a cluster of notes from Beethoven’s sketchings for his Ninth Symphony. The King’s Heralds: Don Scroggs, tenor; Russell Hospedales, baritone; Joel Borg, lead; and Jeff Perles, bass The King’s Heralds Eighty years ago three brothers and a friend joined voices to form a quartet to sing gospel music at what is now Southwestern Adventist University, naming themselves The Lone Star Four. Within a decade they were hired by young evangelist H.M.S. Richards to assist in a radio broadcast called Tabernacle of the Air. A year later the program was renamed The Voice of Prophecy, and the quartet became The King’s Heralds. After the program became a national broadcast, Richards and the quartet became a popular part of Adventist identity, one that continued throughout the 1950s and 1960s. In 1982, the quartet left the program and became the Heralds. They are now again known as The King’s Heralds. ittle did the three Prophecy radio broadcast as The be replaced by Wayne Hooper. Turner Crane brothers, Waldo, King’s Heralds, part of what would would continue as a member until 1947. Wesley, and Louis, grow to be one of the most successful and friend Ray Turner national and international religious here would be a number Lrealize what they were starting when, broadcasts of the 20th century. of changes in personnel as college students in Texas, they By the time of the program’s first T all through the 1940s, made those initial attempts at harmony national broadcast in January 1942, some brought about by an attempt by in 1928 and named themselves The four weeks after the attack on Pearl church leaders in Washington, D.C., Lone Star Four. Within a decade Harbor, Waldo and Louis Crane had left who, responding to pressure from they were singing on The Voice of the quartet. A year later, Wesley left, to trained musicians who wanted a more sophisticated level of music in the them to travel over 12,000 miles a Jim Teel, in the summer of 1982. Teel broadcast, hired George Greer to work summer. It was a grueling schedule with and the quartet immediately formed with the quartet. When both Richards long drives over the road, last minute an independent ministry called The and the quartet resisted Greer’s efforts, arrivals when delays occurred along the Heralds’ Ministries. The quartet, now church leaders in Washington released way, constant performing, and extended named The Heralds, began to function three members of the quartet in early visiting after the meetings. on its own, inviting Teel to assist as a 1947 and made an attempt to replace Seamount was the first to leave keyboard artist and arranger. Richards. the Hooper quartet, to be replaced Finally, in the middle hey began of that year, the situation performing became untenable and T extensively in Greer left, to be replaced the U.S. and internationally by Lon Metcalfe. Again, on Christian television and there were clashes and, in in concerts at churches of 1949, Metcalfe also left. many denominations. They also visited hospitals and ooper, prisons on a regular basis. who had It was not an easy H been one transition. Jerry Patton, of the three released in one of the quartet 1947, had just completed members who had already a music degree at Union been with the King’s College. He was invited Heralds for 15 years, to return to the VOP and The 1949-1961 King’s Heralds quartet with Voice of Profecy speakers E.R. would continue with the agreed to do so with the Walde and H.M.S. Richards. Left to right: Jerry Dill, E.R. Walde, new group for another Bob Seamount, Wayne Hooper, H.M.S. Richards and Bob Edwards understanding that he 22 years, a record length could form a new quartet and have with John Thurber in 1961. The of service for any quartet member control over what it sang. following year Hooper and Dill left, in its eighty years of existence. He Hooper brought back Bob replaced by Jack Veazey, baritone, later talked about the challenges Seamount, who had also been released and Jim McClintock, bass. These new they encountered as they established in 1947, to sing second tenor, retained members, along with Edwards, would themselves as an independent entity. Bob Edwards as first tenor, moved Jerry sing together as a highly regarded It was an experience that tested his Dill from baritone to bass, and placed group for the next five years. faith and, in the end, made him grow himself as baritone. The new quartet, stronger spiritually. Jim Ayars, another with its unique blend of voices, would y the end of their time quartet member who sang during the sing together for the next 12 years. together in the late 1960s, transition, would also observe that Their choices in music, along with Bradio audiences were those first few years were challenging recent breakthroughs in sound recording dwindling as more people tuned in as they sought to establish a ministry and reproduction would define The to television. By the beginning of the that broadened to include other King’s Herald sound for millions of 1980s, radio evangelism was relying on venues outside the Adventist circle of listeners. The advent of records and short two-, five-, or 15-minute programs churches and institutions. stereo enabled the quartet to release that focused more on the message and In it first seven years, the quartet quality records that Adventists and VOP less on music. Also, during those years, expanded its repertoire to include a mix listeners eagerly purchased. musical tastes of the radio audience of contemporary favorites, traditional were changing to a preference for more hymns, and spirituals. They also always hrough the years, the contemporary music. included something for the children. quartet traveled literally These changes as well as the The group began to win Angel Awards T thousands of miles, salaries and travel expense associated for the excellence of their recordings, particularly during the camp meeting with a music group, led to the release plus one for their 15-minute radio season, when it was not unusual for of the quartet and its accompanist, broadcast, Sounds of Praise.

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