This spring the number of music majors reached twenty-one, the largest number we have had in several years. In fact, we actually grew from fall to spring semester, an almost unheard-of phenomenon. (Maybe the music faculty are being too soft in our old age?) (Not.) We anticipate this growth continuing with next fall's incoming class.

Certainly this is attributable in part to the new Music Merit Scholarships, mentioned below. Other factors are the new Music Technology Lab and the B.A. in Music Ministry that is in its first year. But part of it is also the spreading of the good news of what is happening at Milligan by alumni and friends like you. Keep up the good work!

As was the case for the current year, eight scholarships of $3,000 each have been made available to award to incoming music majors. A prospective student must have an ACT score of at least 24, an SAT score of at least 1000, or a high school grade point average of at least 3.3, have been accepted by the College and have completed an audition for the music faculty. Two additional scholarships of $2,500 each are also available, with the lesser requirements of minimum scores of 23 on the ACT, 985 on the SAT, or a high school g.p.a. of at least 3.1, acceptance by the College and an completed audition.

We have begun awarding these scholarships. They are going quickly. However, if you know of someone who is thinking about coming to Milligan as a music major, have that person apply and audition soon! They're not yet too late.

The Concert Choir Spring Tour 1996 begins soon. Please come hear the Choir if they are singing near you. Bring prospective students to hear the Choir, hear about Milligan and meet real, live Milligan students. If you can make a concert, please come up and introduce yourself to director John W. Campbell. He would enjoy meeting you. Here is the schedule, with the local church phone number, should you need directions or other details.

March 8, Friday, 7:00 p.m., Edgewood Christian Church, Roanoke, VA, (703) 986-0414

March 9, Saturday, 7:00 p.m., Berwick Christian Church, Berwick, PA, (717) 752-5523

March 10, Sunday, 10:15 a.m., First Church of Christ, Bloomsburg, PA, (717) 784-3740

March 10, Sunday, 6:00 p.m., First Church of Christ, Lock Haven, PA, (717) 748-5103

March 11, Monday, 7:00 p.m., Twin Tiers Christian Church, Painted Post, NY, (607) 936-9403

March 13, Wednesday, 7:15 p.m., Nesconset Church of Christ, Nesconset, NY, (516) 265-2141

March 14, Thursday, 7:00 p.m., Delaware Valley Christian Church, Media, PA, (610) 566-0997

March 15, Friday, 7:30 p.m., Antioch Church of Christ, Manassas, VA, (703) 369-1120

March 16, Saturday, 7:00 p.m., First Christian Church, Havre De Grace, MD, (410) 939-1646

March 17, Sunday, 9:30 and 11:00 a.m., Mountain Christian Church, Joppa, MD, (410) 877-1824

March 17, Sunday, 6:30 p.m., Metropolitan Christian Church, Washington, DC, (301) 422-1111

March 22, Friday, 8:15 p.m., Homecoming Concert, Seeger Chapel, Milligan College, TN, (423) 461-8723

The Milligan College Keyboard Ensemble premiered at the trustee luncheon last October 27 and was enthusiastically received. Other performances included the Arts in Education conference Nov. 6 and the Ensembles Concert Dec. 5, in addition to performances in several area churches.

What, you may ask, is a "keyboard ensemble"? In Milligan's case, the keyboards are synthesizers from the new Music Technology Lab. The ensemble plays transcriptions, as well as compositions and arrangements newly created for keyboard ensemble. The idea is that students who play only piano or organ can have the opportunity to play major works normally associated with orchestras and bands, with different individuals taking the oboe or horn or viola line. The piano student has to learn a very different touch to make his synthesizer "breathe" and phrase like a trumpet, for instance. Students at all levels, from elementary through college, have electronic keyboards that could be used for music education along these lines, whether or not the schools themselves have synthesizers.

One example of the possibilities for the Keyboard Ensemble will be demonstrated April 29 when it provides the orchestra for a Haydn piano concerto behind Charise Lindsay of West Lafayette, Ind., for her senior piano recital. Other applications may include live-sound experiences for advanced conducting students.

Tom Stampfli of Milligan's faculty is the mover behind the Keyboard Ensemble idea, pioneering this concept on a national basis. While in his doctoral studies at the University of Oklahoma he put together the first such ensemble. It played at the National Piano Pedagogy Conference in Chicago in October of 1994 under Mr. Stampfli's direction, and received six curtain calls from a normally jaded audience of piano teachers. He hopes to take Milligan's ensemble on the road, including giving performances at music education conferences as well as concerts in churches. If you would be interested in hosting the Keyboard Ensemble, please call Mr. Stampfli at (423) 461-8978.

This year Milligan Jazz is being directed by internationally acclaimed jazz player Rick Simerly. His presence as director has taken the ensemble to levels of playing only dreamed about previously.

Mr. Simerly was lead trombonist for Tommy Dorsey, touring and playing big band music before settling in as the band director at T.A. Dugger Middle School in Elizabethton. His own combo not only played as part of the Milligan Arts Council series a couple of years ago, but has also played engagements in such disparate locations as Germany and California. Earlier this semester they performed for the National Jazz Music Educators Conference in Atlanta, demonstrating jazz for the college professors who teach it.

It is no surprise, then, that Milligan Jazz is taking off under Mr. Simerly's direction. The group is in its third year of existence, and its participation in the Ensembles Concert last December 5 was warmly received by one of the largest audiences we have had for that event.

The Handbell Ensemble, under the direction of Dr. David Runner, had a busy fall semester. It is becoming a particularly popular group during the Christmas season, playing for community groups and churches. It also took part in the Jonesborough Christmas Parade, entertaining the crowd from the steps of the courthouse.

Enthusiasm for the Handbell Ensemble has grown also. Several of this year's players bring strong handbell backgrounds to Milligan's ensemble. The result has been a distinct improvement in the quality of playing. If you would like the Handbell Ensemble to play for your church or organization, contact Dr. Runner at (423) 461-8792. Furthermore, if you know of students coming to Milligan who have experience and/or an interest in handbells, please send them our way!

The Twenty-Ninth Annual Milligan College Christmas Dinners played to sold-out houses for the first time in several years, and a sizable waiting list developed for each night.

The setting of the Dinner was changed from Renaissance England to the Tennessee frontier just prior to statehood. The evening centered around the wedding of Lt. Richard Campbell to Catherine Sevier, oldest daughter of statesman (and first Tennessee governor) John Sevier and his second wife, "Bonnie Kate" Sherrill Sevier.

A year and a half earlier, in contemplating the change of time period, Director John W. Campbell had had the idea of a Christmas wedding, with the marriage of husband and wife paralleling the "marriage" of Tennessee to the United States; and learning in preliminary research that John Sevier had had eighteen children by two wives, Campbell thought poetic license would not stretch too far for one of the kids to get married in December of 1795. In digging deeper to write the script, however, he found that the wedding described above actually took place on Dec. 24, 1795. All of the named characters-from William Blount to Andrew Jackson, from Landon Carter to trapper Abner Campbell; and, of course, Boston composer William Billings-were real people, most of whom were involved directly in the move toward statehood.

It was particularly interesting to see and hear the involvement of guests with the historical accuracy of the characters. Conversations at many tables included explanations from one guest to the others of who these people were and of their roles in Tennessee history. The music of Bach, Billings, Mozart and Handel, some of it accompanied by violin, 'cello and harpsichord, and sung as always by the Chamber Singers, was well received.

The 1996 Christmas Dinners will be set in the new State of Tennessee in December of 1796. Both the 1995 and 1996 Dinners have been designated official Tennessee 200 Bicentennial Events. You will want to get your tickets early.

With the assistance of computer science major/music minor Jeremy Worrell of Roanoke Rapids, NC, the music area will soon have its own homepage on the Internet. You will be able to access it from Milligan's homepage, and from the music homepage you will be able to directly e-mail any of the full-time faculty (Campbell, Runner, Stampfli). While we do not yet have an address for our music homepage, here is a listing of current Internet addresses. The hyphens are part of the addresses and need to be typed:

Milligan homepage: http://www.milligan.milligan-college.tn.us

John W. Campbell: jwcampbell@kegley.milligan.milligan-college.tn.us

David C. Runner: dcrunner@kegley.milligan.milligan-college.tn.us

Tom Stampfli: tstampfli@kegley.milligan.milligan-college.tn.us

March 5, 8:15 p.m. Women's Ensemble and Milligan Men, Spring Concert

March 19, 8:15 p.m. David C. Runner, Faculty Organ Recital

March 22, 8:15 p.m. Concert Choir Homecoming Concert

April 1,7:00 p.m. April Fools Italian Dinner Theatre

April 23, 8:15 p.m. Chamber Singers, Milligan Jazz Spring Concert

April 26, 8:15 p.m. Angel Mumaw, Senior Voice Recital

April 27, 8:15 p.m. Keyboard Ensemble and Handbell Ensemble, Spring Concert

April 28, 3:00 p.m. Evelyn Thomas and Tom Stampfli, Faculty Piano Recital

April 29, 8:15 p.m. Charise Lindsay, Senior Piano Recital

May 3, 8:15 p.m. Choral Union

Milligan's student chapter of the Music Educators National Conference is sponsoring a musical dinner on April 1. Featuring singing waiters and waitresses, and various other entertainments (including "Love Letters," starring Kevin and Missy Luce), it will be an evening of Italian food and fun for all. Ticket prices will be $15.00/couple, $8.00/single for Milligan students, faculty, and staff; $20.00/couple, $12.00/single for non-Milligan. Doors open at 6:45 p.m. For more information call the Music Office at (423) 461-8723.

About the time of the last newsletter John and Terri Campbell had a little girl, Rebecca Lee (who has just turned 1). In September he sang Benjamin Britten's The Holy Sonnets of John Donne, with Milligan adjunct faculty member Carlene Eastridge at the piano, in a joint recital with organist David Runner. He has been elected vice president of the Association of Christian Church Music Educators. He has also had a major article and a book review published in the Choral Journal, and his dissertation research was described in that publication. Recently he attended the American Choral Directors Association Convention in Norfolk, Va.

David Runner performed several recitals in the area, and one in Florida, during the fall semester. This month he attended a Church Music Workshop in Knoxville, Tenn., sponsored by the American Guild of Organists.

Tom Stampfli has been named software reviewer for American Music Teacher, a national music education journal.

Susan Harper ('70) has finished her eighteenth year with Ironton (Ohio) City Schools, now as music teacher in grades 4-6. During her career she has taught every age group, grades 1-12. In fall of 1995 she installed Yamaha's "Music in Education" system, making hers the only school in a 125-mile radius to have it, and opening the way to host workshops for area teachers. She would welcome news of other Milligan grads who are using the Yamaha system. She is still single, "extremely busy," and happy. She plays piano and flute at First Christian Church, Russell, Kentucky, and also works part-time as secretary at Bentley Rxpress Pharmacy in Ironton. Her address is 612½ S. 5th St., Ironton, OH 45638.

Ed ('77) and Jodi Newhart Charlton ('80) have started New Covenant Christian Church in north Columbus, Ohio. Jodi is heading the Worship and Music Task Force and leading worship. They are enjoying their three sons: Seth (age 11), Gabriel (age 9) and Ethan (age 2). Their address is 4143 Little Pine Dr., Columbus, OH 43230.

Brent Billheimer ('88) stopped in last December. While living much of the year in Berlin, Germany, playing the piano in various international hotels, he is still able to have extended visits with his family in Unicoi. His Stateside address is 120-2 Country Club, Unicoi, TN 37692.

Martin ('89) and Jamie Smith Osborn ('89) are still in California. Marty has applied for the masters program at Pacific Christian College. Jamie co-authored an article, "Cross-cultural Considerations in Clinical Ethics Consultations," in the Feb. '95 issue of Archives of Family Medicine. They are considering missions work. Their address is 1876 Norwalk Court, Fairfield, CA 94533.

Leona McElyea Cox ('91) has been composing (contemporary Christian) for a while, and recently began working with friends to prepare performances of her music. She is in the process of making a demo tape. "I am amazed when I see God make a dream reality. I would appreciate the prayers of all my Milligan music friends." Her new address is 9116D Woodpark Lane, Knoxville, TN 37923.

Debra Ingram Haagen ('94) married Perry Daniel Haagen on June 24, 1995, at Hales Chapel Christian Church in Gray, Tenn. Perry is the minister of Main Street Christian Church, Saltville, Va. Their address is P. O. Box 1395, Saltville, VA 24370.

Sue Matthews King, resuming her music studies after a hiatus of several years, gave her senior piano recital at Milligan on May 6, 1995. Best wishes as she finishes up her degree! Her address is 214 N. Porter St., Cleves, OH 45002.