Having served Milligan College as president for almost fifteen years, Dr. Marshall Leggett will retire at the end of this school year. He and Jean are looking forward to spending more time with their children and grandchildren. We will miss them, and we wish them well.

The Presidential Search Committee is narrowing its list of candidates in hopes of proposing one to the executive board in its March meeting, with a vote in the meeting of the full trustee board April 24-25.

On October 24, 1997, at 7:00 p.m. in Seeger Chapel a recital will be given to honor Evelyn Thomas. We are hereby inviting those of you who studied under her to come back to campus and perform as part of this unique event. Mrs. Thomas was recognized at her piano recital on September 10 for twenty-five years of service at Milligan, and was presented a framed pen-and-ink drawing of Seeger Chapel. She has indicated, however, that she plans to ease into retirement by making the 1997-98 school year her last of teaching at Milligan. She will continue at King College, which is much closer to her Bristol home. We want to honor her and express our appreciation, and we thought you might like to have a part in it. If you would like to perform, please contact the Music Office at 423-461-8723 with your name, instrument, and the piece you would like to do. We will put together a program from those who indicate an interest; we may not be able to fit everyone in, but that would be a good problem to have.

This recital, by the way, is part of Alumni Weekend, so it will be a good time to visit. Former Milligan Choir director John Wakefield will direct an Alumni Choir at the Alumni Banquet on Saturday night (Oct. 25), with rehearsal taking place that afternoon.

The Concert Choir Spring Tour 1997 is March 21-30. Come hear the Choir and bring prospective students with you. Here is the schedule, with the local church phone number (in most cases).

March 21, Friday, 7:00 p.m., 17th Street Christian Church, Corbin, KY, (606) 528-4795

March 22, Saturday, 7:00 p.m., Northern Heights Christian Church, Lexington, KY, (606) 299-1251

March 23, Sunday, 8:45 and 11:00 a.m., Tates Creek Christian Church, Lexington, KY, (606) 266-1621

March 23, Sunday, 6:30 p.m., Lakeside Christian Church, Ft. Mitchell, KY, (606) 341-1160

March 24, Monday, 7:00 p.m., New Hope Christian Church, Whitestown, IN, (317) 769-3647

March 25, Tuesday, 7:00 p.m., Frankton Christian Church, Frankton, IN, (317) 754-8660

March 26, Wednesday, 6:30 p.m., Plainfield Christian Church, Plainfield, IN, (317) 839-2384

March 27, Thursday, 7:00 p.m. CST, Prairie Green Church of Christ, Hoopeston, IL, (815) 889-4637

March 28, Friday, 7:00 p.m., Maplewood Christian Church, Terre Haute, IN, (812) 232-1011

March 29, Saturday afternoon, 2:30 p.m., The Village Christian Parke, Zionsville, IN, (317) 873-5205

March 30, Sunday, 6:30 and 10:00 a.m., Garden City Church of Christ, Columbus, IN, (812) 372-1766

April 4, Friday, 8:15 p.m., Homecoming Concert, Seeger Chapel, Milligan College, TN, (423) 461-8723

On April 4, Milligan College will host its first-ever Music Scholarship Competition. We are encouraging, and ask you to encourage, as many prospective music majors for fall 1997 as possible to audition for the music program on that date. First prize in the competition is a $6,000 scholarship, renewable annually. Second prize is a $4,000 scholarship, and third prize is a $3,500 scholarship. These are also renewable annually. Other smaller scholarship amounts will also be awarded soon after that date. We are hoping to attract top-flight talent to a program that continues to grow. To be eligible for these awards, entrants 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, and they must have been accepted by the College. Participation in the competition will serve as an audition for music major status.

April 4 will also be a prospective student Open House, with emphasis being placed on the Music Area (among others) by the Admissions Office. Ensemble rehearsals will be open to prospects, and the Concert Choir gives its Homecoming Concert that evening at 8:15. It's a good time to come see what is happening in music at Milligan!

The 1997 Choral Union will perform Brahms' Requiem with the Johnson City Symphony Orchestra on May 16 at 8:00 p.m. as part of graduation weekend. The JCSO and Milligan are joining forces to raise money for needed repairs and refurbishing of Seeger Chapel. As this is being written scaffolding is going up around Seeger to begin work. The chapel was dedicated thirty years ago, so it is not surprising that it is in need of some work. Ticket proceeds, corporate sponsorships and contributions from individuals will go toward such projects as replacing the roof (that alone is estimated at $160,000), repairing plaster, recovering the seats, and a host of other items. To buy a ticket or to explore a corporate sponsorship, please call (423) 461-8750. The best seats (other than in the choir) will go for $50, with additional seating at $20 per ticket.

It will take a large chorus to balance the orchestra. Rehearsals start April 7 and will take place Monday through Thursday from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Seeger stage. There will also be two dress rehearsals with the symphony, May 13 and 15, from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. You are welcome to join our current students in preparing this work. We will perform the Requiem in English using the Kalmus edition as a basis, but with some text changes designed to bring the English closer to the German original in sound and meaning. Call Dr. John W. Campbell (423-461-8793) for further details about rehearsals, the performance, or about getting a score.

This spring of 1997 marks the centennial of the death of composer Johannes Brahms. In tribute to his contributions to the musical world, the Milligan Music Area is conducting an unofficial Brahms Festival. The Requiem will be performed by the Choral Union on May 16, selections from his Liebeslieder Waltzer (Op. 52) will be presented by the Milligan Singers on March 11, and the full Neue Liebeslieder (Op. 65) will be sung and played by the Chamber Singers on May 2. Selections by Brahms are part of piano, voice and organ performances by students throughout the semester.

Milligan's homepage, and the addresses of full-time faculty and staff have been shortened and made much more practical. Here they are:

Milligan homepage: www.milligan.edu

John W. Campbell: jwcampbell@milligan.edu

David C. Runner: dcrunner@milligan.edu

Tom Stampfli: tstampfli@milligan.edu

Rita Myers: rmyers@milligan.edu

March 11, 8:15 p.m. Milligan Singers with
Chamber Singers Spring Concert

March 14, 8:15 p.m. Missy Luce Senior Voice Recital

April 4, 8:15 p.m. Concert Choir Homecoming Concert

April 7, 8:15 p.m. David C. Runner Faculty Organ Recital

April 15, 8:15 p.m. Evelyn Thomas and Tom Stampfli, Joint Faculty Piano Recital

April 18, 8:15 p.m. Matthew Andris Senior Piano Recital

May 2, 8:15 p.m. Chamber Singers Spring Concert

May 6, 8:15 p.m. Keyboard Ensemble, Handbell Ensemble, and Instrumental Ensembles Spring Concert

May 16, 8:00 p.m. Choral Union with the Johnson City Symphony Orchestra Brahms' Requiem

Milligan College choral ensembles have had two performances this year with the Johnson City Symphony Orchestra, with one more to come. For the symphony's Christmas concert on Dec. 8 the Concert Choir performed the first movement of J. S. Bach's Christmas Oratorio and Vaughan Williams' "Fantasia on Christmas Carols." On Feb. 19 the Concert Choir and Milligan Singers combined with the symphony to present the fourth movement of Brahms' Requiem ("How Lovely Is Thy Dwellingplace") at a Young Persons' Concert. As mentioned elsewhere in this newsletter, the Choral Union-consisting of the Concert Choir, Milligan Singers, and other interested parties-will perform the full Requiem on May 16.

The first of what we hope will be an annual tradition took place March 1. The Milligan College Honors Recital featured students from throughout the music program. They sang arias from works by Handel, Mozart, Puccini and Verdi, and played piano works by Mussorgsky, Beethoven and Brahms. Fine performances were well received. This is an attempt to show to the College and community the calibre of performance in solo applied areas of our finest students. Next year there will be a competition in the fall for appearance on the Honors Recital in the spring.

Remember the fun of touring with the Concert Choir? Would you like a chance to do it again? How about going overseas for a change?

Music Area Chair John Campbell would like to put together a Milligan College Alumni Choir to tour Europe in the summer of 1998. The idea is to bring the singers to campus for a couple of days of rehearsal to put it all together, and then leave on a ten-day (or so) tour of Europe. The whole tour would fit within a two-week vacation, although individual extensions might be possible. A tour company will make the arrangements, lining up the concert venues and accommodations, etc. You pays your money and you goes, that simple. The exact cost depends on how many go, fluctuations in air fares, etc., but early estimates based on advertised tours for the coming summer plus other anticipated expenses put this trip in the $2500-2800 range.

If you are interested please drop Dr. Campbell a line (P. O. Box 500, Milligan College, TN 37682) so he can see if it will fly. Include your voice part (e.g., alto II). He will then follow up with interested individuals. The dates of the tour depend somewhat on the Milligan summer calendar, but you are welcome to suggest the best times for you. If you have suggestions for repertoire, include that, too.

The Association of Christian Church Music Educators will meet on Milligan's campus Sept. 18-20. This group is composed of the music faculty members from the colleges affiliated with independent Churches of Christ and Christian Churches. It was founded in part due to former Milligan choir director John Wakefield, and Milligan has not hosted the event in a long time. Workshops and fellowship are the norm. We hope to have Corey Allen, director of and arranger for Manhattan Transfer, come as a guest clinician to work with the Chamber Singers, give a jazz piano recital, and deliver workshops on theory pedagogy and teaching piano improvisation. Other workshops and events are still in the works, but we hope that it will be a top-flight educational event for Milligan students as well as the music educators in attendance.

The Handbell Ensemble, under the direction of Dr. David Runner, performed in December at Oakwood Forest Christian Church in Kingsport, in the Milligan Christmas Ensembles Concert, and as part of Christmas Vespers on campus. 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 Keyboard Ensemble, under the direction of Tom Stampfli, made a first-ever tour to Indianapolis, November 14-16, performing for an Alumni Banquet and for Plainfield Christian Church. On December 14 they performed at the University of Southern Mississippi as the headliner ensemble for a workshop entitled "Horizons: A Celebration of Keyboard Technology."

The Thirtieth Annual Milligan College Christmas Dinners proved successful, tapping into early Tennessee history for the second year. John Sevier, now governor of the brand-new State of Tennessee, and his wife "Bonnie Kate" hosted a Christmas celebration in December 1796, and invited the new senators (William Blount and William Cocke) and the first representative from Tennessee (Andrew Jackson) as well as various other dignitaries and their spouses. Experienced woodsman Abner Campbell showed up again, this time hotly pursued by a female friend, and a Portuguese immigrant by the name of Joze de Fonseca added to the confusion with his creative uses of the English language. American composer Andrew Law brought fresh insights to motets, fugues, and even opera. As always, the Chamber Singers gave superb performances, and a good time was had by all. (To get a feel for the period, they even took a field trip to Carter Mansion in Elizabethton and to the site of Mt. Pleasant, an old Sevier homestead.)

Mark your calendar now for the 1997 Christmas Dinners. The dates are Dec. 4-7 and 12-13. The setting will be a live radio broadcast on Christmas Eve, 1943. Nationally-renowned jazz musician Rick Simerly will portray Glenn Miller, along with a six-piece combo to complement the tight jazz harmonies to be sung by the Chamber Singers. Tickets go on sale October 27, and you will want to call early (423-461-8917) to make reservations.

A new choral ensemble was started for 1996-97 called Milligan Singers. Directed by Carlene Eastridge, it combined the former Milligan Men and Women's Ensemble into a new mixed chorus. It is a non-auditioned group, and the repertoire emphasizes choral arrangements of popular and Broadway music, along with some standard church anthem literature. We welcome Milligan Singers!

John Campbell attended the annual meeting of the Association of Christian Church Music Educators in September at Pacific Christian College. Milligan will host this event Sept. 18-20, 1997. He will also go to the national convention of the American Choral Directors Association in San Diego, March 5-8. In August he was the music director and a workshop leader for the School of Ministry.

Former Milligan music faculty member Jeanette Crosswhite received her Ph.D. in music education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro on Dec. 21, 1996. She is now a consultant in Nashville with the Tennessee Department of Education.

Adjunct music faculty member Carlene Eastridge gave a solo organ recital Feb. 21, 1997, in Seeger Chapel. The program included works by Bach, Alain, Dale Wood and Widor. On July 28 she and David Runner were two of "The Four Organists" to perform as part of the Munsey Memorial U.M.C. Homecoming Festivities. This summer she will be a soloist in the Southwest Virginia Festival of the Arts with internationally renowned pianist Pavlina Dokovska.

David Runner led a convocation on Nov. 21 about our 46-rank Schantz organ. He is giving an organ recital at Milligan on April 7, and at First Methodist Church, Johnson City, on June 1. He is organ accompanist for the Johnson City Civic Chorale, and substitutes as organist and choir director for area churches. He will attend the Church Music Workshop, March 14-15, in Knoxville.

Sheryl Lynn Criss ('72) has a new address: 3134 211th Avenue N. E., Redmond, WA 98053.

Carol Shelton Butler ('76) was named to the 1996 edition of Who's Who in American Education. Her address is 6028 Morning Glory Place, Knoxville, TN 37912-4548.

Kim Scheffler Daugherty ('77) says that after fourteen years of managing the Christian Bookstore where the music department was one of her specialties, she is now homeschooling her 12-year-old son and driving a taxi for her 15-year-old, budding musician daughter. Kim sings with her church choir, directs children's musicals and V.B.S., and is Sunday School Superintendent. Her address is 24 Mt. Pleasant Ave., Easton, MD 21601.

David and Laura Thompson Golightly ('84) wrote to say that Laura is teaching two days of 3-year-olds and one day of music at the pre-school where the girls (Madalyn and Hannah, age 3) now attend. David Thomas moved to a public magnet school that specializes in science, technology and Spanish. Daddy David stays busy with his tennis court work. Their address is 445 10th Ave. NE, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.

Lori Knick Miller ('88) and husband Philip ('87) welcomed the arrival of Alexander Benjamin on Nov. 24, 1995. He joins sisters Kathryn, Jamie and brother Nathanael. Lori resumed teaching piano in January 1996 with twelve elementary and junior-high age students. They continue to minister with the people at Valley Christian Church at Moorhead, Minnesota. Their address is 1928 54th Ave. South, Fargo, ND 58104.

Doris Schmidt Hawley ('94) is a veterinary assistant at Stellhorn Veterinary Hospital in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Bob ('94) is children's minister at Broadway Christian Church. They have bought their first house. Their first child, Nathanael Robert, arrived August 16, 1996. They call him Nathan. Drop them a congratulatory note at 4114 Beaverbrook Dr., Ft. Wayne, IN 46815.

Tim Mahn ('95) is working as a District Executive for the Boy Scouts of America in Grundy, Virginia. His work primarily involves public relations, but he has also been called on to sing in settings ranging from high school basketball games to a banquet at the National Boy Scout Headquarters in Dallas, Texas. "I am thoroughly enjoying it." His address is P. O. Box 1982, Grundy, VA 24614.

Kristy Nicholson ('96) joined the touring company of the Broadway musical Tommy as a keyboard player. She can be reached at Big League Theatricals, The Who's Tommy Company, 1501 Broadway, Suite 2015, New York, NY 10036.