Categories
News

Music Industry Minor to be Offered Soon

A Music Industry minor has been approved to be included in next year’s catalog. Steven Plate, Associate Dean and Director of the Greatbatch School of Music, said, “We’re excited to be venturing into this vast and exciting area of music.”

Courtesy of houghton.edu
Courtesy of houghton.edu

Mark Hijleh, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and professor of composition and conducting, said, “Offering the music industry minor is an important part of Houghton’s positioning itself for the future. All musicians in the 21st century need to have basic understanding of music technology, recording and the business aspects of music. Having this developing program will provide opportunities for many of our students to gain those abilities and perspectives, in addition to those that go into the field directly.”

The Music Industry minor focuses on business and management aspects of music. Facets studied in the minor include: Commercial music, like sales and music marketing entrepreneurship, performance, artistry, recording industry, music videos, and music editing; and, in addition to commercial music theory, topics such as sound manipulation, and live concert or theatrical elements.

Mark Hijleh said, “In addition to students who want to pursue the music industry professionally, and might major in either business or music, some students who are going into the ministry are likely to be interested.”

Plate said the courses will be accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music and also that two courses, ProTools I and II, will issue certificates that are internationally recognized. All courses in the minor will be beneficial for students looking to use music talents for more than just personal enjoyment.

Categories
News

JET Funding Woes Come to an End

Journey’s End Tutoring (JET) has had trouble finding funds this year. Its operation and future funding have been uncertain as JET leaders are transitioning the program into a more reliable and sustainable budget.

JET is a changing group of Houghton students that have been serving refugee families in Buffalo since 2004. These tutors develop relationships with the families, help them to learn English, and navigate their transition into American culture. JET is a student-led organization, not an official club. Because of this, funding for JET has come from different sources over the years.

Courtesy of thegoodneighborhood.com
Courtesy of thegoodneighborhood.com

JET’s top expense (the bare necessity) is transportation; however JET leaders expressed excitement and enthusiasm at the thought of what could be done with more funding. “With more funding, we could invest in ESL curriculum, picture books, markers and crayons, educational games, and we could buy more resources to support the incredible teaching and ministry taking place in Buffalo.” said Stephanie Ford.

In the past JET was funded by a number of sources. The most significant source was the contribution of Dr. Chuck Massey (professor of Urban Studies in Buffalo) from his budget, and the money that he pieced together from various sources in Buffalo. JET’s budget was usually composed of 3-5 sources at a time. “We always found the money somehow,” said JET president Jina Libby.

This year, JET has experienced a decline in funding for a number of reasons: Dr. Chuck Massey retired, Dr. Galman (who also funded JET) retired, and there have been budget cuts.

Right now, JET is in transition between funding sources. In this phase the SGA has been supportive by approving JET for $1,500 to use this year. JET is transitioning into more sustainable and reliable private funding. Leading this venture is Andrew Gaerte (an advancement and grant officer for Houghton), who is looking for possible donors and pursuing grants for future years. “We currently have a proposal for funding into one of our Western New York Church Partners for funding for the fall 2013 – spring 2014 JET program…. We are also currently working on a grant for the Western New York Foundation to fund the program for the following two years.  Our ultimate goal in approaching foundations for funding is to make the funding of the program more secure and sustainable.” said Gaerte.

So how has JET been doing so far this semester in light of the transition? “Without God’s blessing, JET wouldn’t have happened this year… we had no money to call our own, and borrowed to start out. It was a questionable start that God has blessed.” said Libby.

This year, JET has economized its transportation costs by switching to vans. Previously, one bus and a driver would be hired to take the tutors to Buffalo. The average cost per trip was $475, and per semester $7600. This year, for the first two weeks buses were used and the cost was covered by funds from Greg Bish (on loan to be repaid later by JET). The last few weeks (and the plan for the rest of the year) is for three 11-passenger vans to be driven by certified students, cutting costs down to just gas expenses. The extrapolated cost of this semester is $2300.

JET leaders Caralyn Weisel, Jina Libby, Stephanie Ford, Tiffany Aguas, and Bethany Hillegas all expressed hope for JET’s future and pride in how it has been continuing (even without the people who started it initially).

“Everyone loves JET; it is a core part of Houghton. Everyone wants to help and that is encouraging,” said Bethany Hillegas. JET has been promoted and pushed as a fundamental part of Houghton’s outreach to prospective students, and is in its 9th year of operation. Pamela Witter, Executive Director of Development and the chair of Leadership Allegany summarized JET’s importance to Houghton’s impact, saying, “JET is a very important component of Houghton’s presence in Buffalo and we feel that it is essential to the success of all of our other initiatives in Buffalo as well.”

 

Categories
News

Bangladesh Faces Uncertain Future

Courtesy of thediplomat.com
Courtesy of thediplomat.com

As it stands, Bangladesh faces a future of political and economic uncertainty. The escalation of hostilities could not have worse timing as the country confronts extreme poverty and a rapidly depreciating manufacturing sector. Within the last month, the country has seen a rapid increase of violence and political unrest as opposition parties increase their capacity in the upcoming election. Additionally, such anti-government protests have forced thousands off the streets of the capital Dhaka as police and paramilitary guards attempt to confine and subdue the opposition. As the January 2014 general election approaches, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) continues to put pressure on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, to install a neutral, non-partisan administration to oversee the voting process. However, despite the protests and fighting, Hasina and opposition leader Begum Khaleda Zia have failed to come to an agreement despite the desperate state of affairs. In response to the stalemate, the United States, the European Union, and the United Nations have advocated for both parties to come to an expedient consensus in the upcoming months.

Historically, Bangladesh has experienced significant pre-election violence. Dating back to 1996, polls have been interrupted and aborted as a result of intense violence. In 2007, voting was halted due to party opposition that led to military intervention to install a ‘caretaker’ or temporary government. A precedent and mutual distrust among the two leading parties has made elections virtually impossible and less effective.

Furthermore, violent clashes with police and protesters since October 26 have left at least fifteen dead and many more injured. Bangladesh reporters have posted photos of burn victims from recent strikes involving the use of arson. The intensified violence, particularly this year, can be attributed to the war crime tribunal set up in 2010 to try those involved in the human rights violations during the 1971 war in which Bangladesh sought independence from Pakistan. In the wake of verdicts, 150 people have been killed and more than 2,000 people injured by police officials, according to a recent Human Rights Watch report. In relation to the hostilities, the political crisis has also forced store owners and their employees to close their business, pushing an already weak and fragile economy further into a bleak trap. Waiting has burdened their capacity to work, earn money, and provide an income for their starving families as they wait for the violence to subside. “We need to go to the office, we need to work,” exclaimed Abdus Salam, who is one of many local business owners desperately waiting for a political agreement between the conflicting parties.

Moreover, only to add to the tension, poor safety standards and recent incidents have put a halt to the country’s main export. Bangladesh is the second leading exporter of readymade garments, accounting for almost 80% of the country’s exports. Appealing to the government, workers have demanded higher wages and better working conditions. The death of more than a thousand workers within the last year has prompted the global community to scrutinize and condemn the working conditions within the factories. However, Bangladesh’s wage board had proposed an increase of less than what the union demanded, claiming to represent the needs of both the factory owners and the workers. In addition, despite the increase, Bangladesh’s minimum wage will remain one of the lowest in the world.

Decades of rivalry and political division have severely undermined the legitimacy of an effective government in Bangladesh. The country’s future is becoming increasingly uncertain as it remains trapped in a persistent cycle of poverty and turmoil. Can the international community intervene? What will it take to break the cycle of hopelessness, poverty, and repression? As global spectators, we note these questions are all too often repetitive, especially as we consider other countries across the globe who have faced various situations of economic and political instability.

 

Categories
News

College Announces Significant Academic Budget Cuts for 2014-2015

Faced with an unbalanced budget and two years of low enrollment, President Mullen and Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dean Mills Woolsey, announced significant cuts in academics for the 2014-2015 academic year. The information was first announced to faculty and staff on Wednesday morning and then made publicly available on the Houghton website for alumni, students, and parents soon afterward.

“I resonate with the agony of this process,” said President Mullen referencing her own experience as an educator.

The cuts include program eliminations, faculty reductions and cuts, academic administration restructuring, deferred hiring, and significant curricular reorganization.

Luckey_1The main aim of the recent budget decisions are to stabilize the economy of the college. According to Mills Woolsey, the college was forced to cut at least 10-15% of the academic budget due to several issues, the chief of which is declining enrollment — an issue that has plagued the college for the past two years. In addition to this, a deficit budget from last year, rising healthcare costs, the issue of faculty salaries, and added debt from the Kerr-Pegula fieldhouse also contributed to Houghton’s financial difficulties and prompted the cuts.

Among the programs proposed to be eliminated are the French concentration and minor, the informational technology management major, the Islamic studies concentration and minor, the psycholinguistics concentration, and the visual studies major. The elimination of these programs was judged based on the level of appeal and student involvement. “We have a number of good programs,” said Mills Woolsey, “but some of them didn’t take off or appeal to students.” Students currently enrolled in any of the eliminated programs can expect to have a way to complete their work. Along with program eliminations, others, such as the Greatbatch School of Music, are being asked, in Mullen’s words, to “creatively scale-back” their methods of operation in order to help relieve the college budget.

Faculty will also be experiencing reductions and eliminations. The Dean hopes to speak to the faculty that have had their positions reduced or eliminated by November 15. In addition, though hiring will not be completely frozen, some key hires in sociology, finance, web media, and chemistry will be deferred. Many currently vacant positions and positions lost through attrition are also not expected to be filled in the near future.

Academic administration will also be changing as a result of the cuts. The Dean hopes to move the seven academic areas to four and reduce the 18 departments to 11 or 12. This is not expected to have much of an impact on students, though it will affect the faculty.

In the decision making process, the President and the Academic Dean were presented with the decision to declare financial exigency, a condition that could have made the options for cutting costs much simpler, but it was not a route that they thought was appropriate for Houghton’s current predicament. “We don’t want to do that because it says the wrong message,” said Mills Woolsey, “We’re not at the brink of financial disaster, although we’re at a really challenging spot.” Mills Woolsey continued to cite examples of sister Christian colleges who were able to turn their situations around without declaring financial exigency.

Mills Woolsey and Mullen remain hopeful and see these cuts as an opportunity for future growth. While the primary motivator of the cuts is to balance the budget for the next academic year, a secondary motivator is “also to use the moment of cutting to get ourselves in a good position to be a strong college to meet the needs of contemporary students,” said Mills Woolsey. The task will be painful, though, said Mullen, and it will certainly “require ongoing creativity and grit.”

Categories
News

Winter Sports Begin Training for 2013 Season

As fall sports conference play comes to a close, winter sports begin their training. The men’s and women’s basketball rosters have been finalized and preseason practices have begun for the 2013 season.

Winter_SportThe men’s team has many new players on the team this year due to the loss of four starters. As of now, no captains have been named and may not be for the remainder of the season.

“We actually have guys in every class who have stepped into leadership roles, which has been fun to see,” said Coach Hannan, “Even if a freshman steps up and tries to help a senior, it has been a good dynamic.”

“I think [the start of the season] is good. We have a lot of young guys who are doing well and adjusting well,” said sophomore Brandon Camacho, “We have a lot of guys who have come back and are ready to step up and play better. It looks pretty good this year, so we will see.”

The men recently had a scrimmage against Wells College. Coach Hannan was excited for the team to play against a team that plays in a very different style.

“Ultimately, it boils down to making sure that we are better than last year, not that there was anything bad about last year, but we want to keep improving both on and off the court,” said Hannan, “Spiritually, academically, athletically we want to continue to improve each year.”

The women’s team has only six returners. There are ten new players including seven freshmen and three juniors. Senior Kristen Moose and sophomore Esther Webb have been named captains.

“We are starting off really strong. We had a really good scrimmage on Saturday and we are working well as a team,” said sophomore Maisie Pipher. “We want to be strong in the new league and beat Roberts Wesleyan.”

“It is a great group of girls this year, we got along really well together on and off the court,” said junior Hannah Fink. “I think we are all pretty focused and hard-working so it’s a good group to be a part of. Coach has been running a really good program.”

The team recently had their first scrimmage against Keuka, a strong team which was 24-4 last season with returning starters. Houghton was short a couple key players due to their involvement in other sports; yet, Mucher was pleased with their first performance.

“We have some strengths: we run the floor really well, work well together as a team, better than we did last year right from the start at this point,” said Mucher. “I think it’s because our team chemistry off the court is so strong…. The girls really enjoy each other and that really affects the team.”

Mucher noted the play of sophomore Maisie Pipher as a center and excitement for Marie to play after tearing both ACLs. Juniors Hannah Fink and Stephany Ellison and freshmen Alicia Needham, Grace Bealor, and Hannah Manwaring were noted as new players having an immediate impact.

“I think it is going to take a semester to get into things and get used to the system and the expectations,” said Mucher. “By second semester, when all we have is conference games, I think we will be ready when it comes.”

 

Categories
News

Second Annual “Make a Difference Day” Promotes Student Volunteerism

Over four-hundred Houghton College students participated in Saturday’s Make a Difference Day, serving at sites across Allegany County. It was a day of sweaty hard work, team collaboration, laughter, conversations about life and service, and working with the heart to make a difference in Houghton’s community.

Courtesy of Collin Belt
Courtesy of Collin Belt

This marks Houghton’s second annual Make a Difference Day. Phyllis Gaerte, director of community relations, said the initiative started with the vision of Allegany County’s higher education institutes uniting to practically serve the county. Gaerte said, “It thrills me to see our students going out and working alongside our neighbors and meeting some real tangible needs in the community.”

Students from Alfred State College, Alfred University, and Houghton College worked in teams of five to twenty-five people. They scrubbed floors, painted walls, picked up trash, raked fall leaves, ripped up carpets, landscaped, and forged trails through dense forests.

Ben Hardy, SGA president, described the number of non-profit and community organizations lacking staffing to complete basic jobs. He said, “They maybe have staffing for day to day activities, but if they need to do some massive cleaning, redecorating, organizing, or a larger project, they may not have the staffing for that. There are ministries, towns, libraries, churches that just need extra hands. It’s service students can get involved in.”

As students served, community members responded. Describing the community response to last year’s Make a Difference Day, Gaerte said, “I have a folder of thank you notes, e-mails, and press from local newspapers that were part of the days following the event.” This year, students saw this same gratefulness as community organizations thanked them for their diligent work, positive attitudes, speed, and genuine desires to serve.

Hardy said, “The fact that so many students are doing it together also means it builds community.” This community was built as students formed a giant snake of people to clear a path through a forest in Letchworth, jumped in the piles of leaves they raked for the Oakwood Cemetery, and shared conversation by the path they forged to the Genesee River.

Junior Collin Belt described this sense of community at the multiple sites he visited, and said, “There was such a spirit of joy. Students took tedious jobs and turned them into games, and as a result they got a lot done. It was a trend throughout the day: people planned what they thought was an exorbitant amount of work, but when a huge team of Houghton students getting together and just having fun would do the work, they would get it done faster than anyone ever expected.”

Students served in midst of the mere glimpses of sun that shone through the grey sky and the strong wind that blew, whipping leaves and burning faces. The weather did not hinder students’ service.

Hardy believes that this Make a Difference Day lies at the heart of Houghton’s Christian faith. He said, “I believe we are called to service. Jesus came to serve and as his disciples, we ought to be serving as well. This was a great opportunity for us to be hands for our community.”

Categories
News

Co-op Continues to Suffer Financial Hardship

The Allegany Harvest Cooperative Market (Co-op) is struggling financially, and without significant improvement in their sales by December, it will be forced to close.

CoOPDr. Sunshine Sullivan, co-op board president, said that one cause for the current situation is the fact that half the members did not renew their membership for another year. Part of the reason for this is that many members have moved out of the area and no longer find it practical to shop at the co-op.  But, another reason may be that the co-op does not sell all that they need to keep afloat.  Rather than being able to go to the co-op and get all they need, customers often must make a trip there and then to another store, often the Shop-n-Save in Fillmore, to finish buying all their necessary groceries.

Vice-president of the board Peter Meilaender stated that residents in the area were not as interested in organic items in the area as the board members initially thought that they would be. Therefore the number of families included in calculations for weekly organic sales were much lower, resulting in profits that were overall lower than expected.

Another problem the co-op faces is accommodating the diversity in what customers want and need, according to Meilaender.  It has proven more difficult than expected to meet the diverse demands of the people in the area.  Though some may shop at the co-op just for the fresh produce, others come for the organic food or for various other reasons.  Keeping up with these demands continues to be a struggle for the co-op.

Further down the list of difficulties the co-op has faced include issues with its building and with store maintenance. “We’ve had repeated problems with the floor, problems with cooling systems, [and] two changes in management,” Meilaender explained. “All these things cause at least short and sometimes longer problem periods where we have to shut the store temporarily, or sell out (or throw out) stock at a loss, or re-design systems.”  In addition to cutting into its sales during closed days, these problems have cost the co-op money that it cannot afford to spend.

The board members’ ultimate goal, in order to remain in business in the long term, is to earn $4000 more in sales per month. For now, the board members have a target amount of $150 to $200 more monthly.  This would be enough to hire a part-time manager and alleviate much of the current volunteer duties from the board members.

One of the ideas that board members have implemented to increase income is the practice of allowing co-op members to order and pre-pay for items. That way, members can purchase specific items not on shelves and purchase them in bulk.

Sullivan encourages student participation, saying that “students can help by shopping there more and putting suggestions in the suggestion box.”  Although non-members cannot make pre-paid orders, they can advise board members as to which items of which they might like to see more in the co-op. All in all, what the co-op needs more than anything is patronage.

Closure of the co-op, if necessary, will affect many. The store still has loans from the bank and from about forty members who will not be repaid if it closes.  The vendors who currently sell to the co-op will also have to find other venues through which to sell their goods.  In addition, the customers in the Houghton area who depend on the co-op for much of their shopping will be forced to go elsewhere.  Rebecca Rowley stated on Alleganyharvest.coop that, “ The [Allegany Harvest Cooperative Market] will provide a way for me to both get the quality of food I desire and support the local economy without having to track down individual farmers – a win/win situation!”  Closing the co-op will force customers like her to either travel greater distances to acquire the same goods or settle for unwanted food.

Although those who enjoy the benefits of the co-op are many, the store will most likely have to close if it does not gain business soon.  The members do not wish for this to happen; however, a realistic view of the co-op’s current state is required. Until forced to close, it is their wish to keep the store running.

Categories
News

Houghton-Backed Vocal Group to Give Performance at Carnegie Hall

Members of the Houghton College choirs will be embarking on a trip this spring to perform on the same stage that esteemed musicians such as the New York Philharmonic and The Beatles have graced over the years.

choircloseupcolor3x2jpgLed by Dr. Brandon Johnson, The National Sacred Honor Choir is an ensemble of Christian musicians wishing to spread their faith through music. The choir is made up of both past and present students, faculty, and staff, as well as other professionals and vocalists from around the globe, with Canada, China, Morocco, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe represented among other countries. Accompanied by a skilled orchestra and including performances from professional soloists, the group will perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

“There is no more venerated hall in the world than Carnegie and launching this new national initiative at such a celebrated place as Carnegie is both an honor and a sacred trust,” Dr. Stephen Plate, Dean and Director of the Greatbatch School of Music, said. “All the music performed will be done to the glory of the Lord by people who join their God-given talents in honor of the God who is the giver of every good and perfect gift.”

In order to practice for the performance, students involved in this opportunity are required to take a great deal of time out of their schedules: approximately seven and a half hours every week just for choir rehearsals. Participation is by invitation or through audition only. Although Johnson and other faculty members have stopped at several Christian institutions on the east coast for auditions, the majority of student auditioners typically send in a letter of recommendation from a voice instructor which outlines their capabilities. Olivia Roland, a sophomore vocal performance major and soloist for the National Sacred Honor Choir, stressed the amount of work and detail that the choir is putting forth to ensure a spectacular performance this spring. “College choir meets every day for an hour and a half or so,” Roland stated, “Rehearsals are extremely rigorous. It’s hard work, but in the end, it will be so worth it.” Performers not only must integrate their voices with others’ in the group but also work on pronunciation, as the majority of the pieces are written in Latin.

Johnson emphasized that the point of the concert was not simply to perform a set of pieces and showcase the ensemble’s vocal abilities. “There are a lot of great musicians in the world and a lot of opportunities to make really great music, but I wanted to explore the ideas behind whether or not it mattered that we’re Christian, whether it mattered in our music-making, not just in an internal way, but in an external way.” Collin Price, a sophomore vocal music education major and member of the ensemble, also expressed the choir’s first and foremost priority as delivering the message of God through music to Christians and non-Christians alike. “I’ve learned that it’s not always what’s written on the page that matters,” Price said, “It’s how you convey the music and what it means to those listening.”

The audience can expect to hear three works during the choir’s performance: Mozart’s “Requiem”, Beethoven’s “Choral Fantasy”, and a new contemporary piece, “Cantate Domino,” by Houghton music professor Dr. David Davies. “It promises to be an emotional and powerful performance,” Plate ensured.

The National Sacred Honor Choir will meet together in New Jersey to rehearse for three days prior to their inaugural performance at Carnegie Hall on March 9, 2014.

 

Categories
News

Issues Abound with HealthCare.Gov

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has been no stranger to criticism, but since the official launch of its Healthcare Marketplace website HealthCare.gov at the beginning of October, criticism has become less ideological and more concrete.

Courtesy of http://www.firstcoastnews.com/
Courtesy of http://www.firstcoastnews.com/

The intent of HealthCare.gov was to provide insurance-seeking Americans with a simplified interface through which to compare private insurance plans, determine eligibility for government insurance subsidies, and ultimately enroll in an eligible plan as per the Affordable Care Act. However, the site’s launch on October 1st brought with it a bevy of issues, including a server unable to handle the incoming traffic as 250,000 visitors instead of the estimated 60,000 attempted to log in the first day. In addition, various glitches in back-end code—code controlling not the visual aspects of the website but the mechanics of it, what the site does that the user can not see—manifested themselves, keeping the site’s help hotline busy. One reported glitch resulted in incorrect recording of information entered into forms by users, information which then became unalterable after submission.

Experts say much of the blame for the site’s current problems lies with CGI Group Inc., the Canadian IT firm which, along with several other firms, was contracted by the Obama administration to develop the back-end code. CGI in turn subcontracted parts of the project to other firms, not an uncommon practice, but the numerous changes made to the project by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services since its inception not only caused the firm to blow through the estimated $93.7 million for the project and raise costs to about $292 million. The frequent changes also forced project employees to scrap large portions of the code and eventually brought them to code to accommodate these future frequent changes. While this method of coding is common amongst developers and often prevents the surpassing of funds budgeted for a project, it also employs shortcuts or certain practices which may not bode well for the strength or stability of the program, especially if such a program intends to service over 300 million people.

However, CGI points to the rushed nature of the project as one of its reasons for downfall. A senior vice president at the company stated that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services decided to test the site two weeks before launch rather than months beforehand as CGI had recommended. Also to blame was Quality Software Services, Inc. (QSSI), an American company also contracted by the Obama Administration to work on HealthCare.gov. Coincidentally, the Obama administration has since placed QSSI in charge of overseeing repairs on the site. Further controversy arises from the fact that QSSI is owned by UnitedHealth Group, a major provider of private insurance in the U.S.

Although officials from the Department of Health and Human Services have stated that exact healthcare enrollment numbers will not be released until November, at which point the site is expected to be fully functional, Bloomberg estimates that between the 1st and 21st of October, 1% of visitors successfully signed up for insurance through HealthCare.gov. This amounts to about 370,000 enrolled citizens. The deadline for healthcare enrollment has since been extended from the original date of December 15th to March 31, 2014, allowing more time for enrollment if technological difficulties persist.

 

Categories
News

Houghton Music Faculty Attend Christian Composers’ Fellowship

On Oct. 25-26, the national Christian Fellowship of Art Music Composers (CFAMC) showcased works written by various modern composers and Houghton composition students in a series of six concerts. This was in conjunction with the CFAMC’s 19th annual conference, which has previously been held in other locations throughout the United States.

Courtesy of houghton.edu
Courtesy of houghton.edu

Mark Hijleh, associate dean for academic affairs and professor of composition and conducting, said that composition students had their works performed during the conference while having the opportunity to put on works by other composers; “the value of this experience for them cannot be overstated.” In addition, composers from around the country and a few from outside the U. S. who write music for opera, worship, and formal concerts attended and had their pieces performed by ensembles such as Symphonic Winds, Philharmonia and College Choir.

Last Friday evening’s concert contained pieces by modern composers, almost all of whom were in the audience. David Davies, assistant professor of composition and theory, and Mark Hijleh both had pieces performed as well. Attendees heard a wide variety of pieces, ranging from Michael Daugherty’s energetic composition Niagara Falls to Mason Bates’ Mothership, a work incorporating electronics that was commissioned by the YouTube Symphony. The audience gave lengthy ovations after each piece, especially noting Kelley Hijleh’s vocal accompaniment to Robert Denham’s Home. Kelley Hijleh said that she feels the way she can best serve living composers is by performing their pieces, and “if I feel called to serve living composers, I feel doubly called to serve living Christian composers.”

In regards to the conference’s purpose, Mark Hijleh said the CFAMC gathers annually in different locations “to meet and hear each other’s music, pray together, discuss the issues of our work and spiritual lives.” Mark Hijleh also mentioned that this is not just an organization, but also a ministry. The CFAMC’s mission, as stated on its website, is to “glorify the Lord Jesus Christ and help build His kingdom by encouraging Christian fellowship among its members in the context of their work and witness as composers of art music.”

Davies said, “My art is inseparable from my faith,” mentioning the fact that the CFAMC provides an intersection for Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox Christians who share Davies’ conclusion but have taken different paths to get there. Talking about the types of music represented, Davies referred to the philosophy held by J. S. Bach, “who drew no distinction as a composer between his music composed for sacred or secular occasions.” Rather, Davies said the CFAMC desires to increase public interaction with Christian composers of “art music,” which is not necessarily what one might refer to as “sacred music.”

Kelly Van Kirk, a graduate student at the Greatbatch School of Music, said that the most important part of the conference for her was the “exposure to successful Christian musicians who are using their gifts not only to make a living but, more importantly, to bring glory to God.”