Erin Blasinski
Editor-in-Chief
The Milligan College concert choir canceled its
annual spring break tour for the first time in 50 years due to unfavorable
financial circumstances in the music area.
“Earlier in the year, we miscalculated some expenditures,” said concert choir
director and Associate Professor of Music John Wakefield. “Being determined to
come out with a balanced budget at the end of the fiscal year, we simply decided
that we needed to make whatever cuts were necessary to keep that balanced
budget.”
Wakefield said the entire music area “has some serious financial constraints
this year.” At press time, budget figures were not available.
Expenditures throughout the area have been cut, but with a large amount of the budget given to the concert choir, the choir’s funds were affected so much that they “simply couldn't finance a tour this year,” Wakefield said.
“We had hoped to have some income that would offset the cuts we made (in the
budget) earlier in the year,” Wakefield said. “We had income from the sale of
keyboards, but not enough income to be able to go ahead and plan a tour.”
Wakefield said that he met with the concert choir officers at the beginning of
this semester and still had hope that there would be enough money to fund the
tour with the selling of some used equipment from the keyboard lab.
Three weeks ago, Wakefield announced to the choir that there would be no tour
this year.
“The group has taken it, I think, very, very well," Wakefield said.
Concert choir president Chris Byrd said he is “extremely disappointed” that the
tour was canceled but that good may come out of the situation.
“I think that the adversity will help unite the choir,” Byrd said.
Choir members are slow to blame any individual for the cancellation.
“I commend (Mr.) Wakefield for trying to make the best out of a bad situation,”
said sophomore Leslie Johnson. As a first-year member, Johnson said she was
looking forward to the tour and is disappointed that she will not be able to go.
“I feel we’ve lost an opportunity to grow closer to one another,” Johnson said.
The concert choir is planning a trip to Europe in the summer of 2005, where they
will do ministry work in a children’s home during the day and perform in the
evenings.
“We’re not going to let the cancellation of the tour dampen our spirits, and we
are looking forward to the European trip,” Byrd said.
Wakefield said that the circumstances from the budget this year will not affect
the trip next year.
“(A) new budget year starts a cold, clean slate,” Wakefield said.
The choir plans to do some fundraising this semester and next year to help with
costs.