The combined worship choir performed Oct. 29 at First Baptist Church in Jackson.
By Michael BelcherWCU StudentDuring the Mississippi Baptist Convention, the worship choirs from William Carey University, Mississippi College and Blue Mountain College blended their voices to praise God together through song. Convention-goers at First Baptist Church in Jackson rose to their feet, and reached their hands toward heaven, as the Spirit washed over them.
It was the first time the three choirs had performed together.
As a member of the Carey Worship Choir, I’ve learned you have to rely on those around you. You learn to follow the directions of the conductor as well as the voices of the other singers. You have to match and harmonize to create the correct sound.
Dr. Wes Dykes is the dean of the WCU’s Winters School of Music and Ministry Studies.
“I wasn’t nervous about the size of the choir because of my experience in church work. One of the churches I served had choirs this large every Sunday. But I was excited for our state. They got to see these three huge Baptist school choirs in unity,” Dykes said.
“A lot of pastors can feel like they're pushing against a wall, and these students gave them hope. Mothers came up to me afterward, crying, saying, ‘thank you for loving our kids, thank you for teaching them to love the Lord.’”
The combined choir was directed by several conductors from the three schools.
“Everyone’s students had to adapt to different conducting styles. Our students bent to them and theirs bent to us,” said WCU’s Dr. Luke Gambill.
“It's always intriguing when different groups come together. You have to trust that they will blend into something greater. It's worth noting that in the arts, students are more malleable, more willing to congeal together. I was curious about what it would all sound like together.”
Jim Armstrong, WCU coordinator of choral activities, said William Carey singers often perform as part of a combined choir – but this was a big one.
“We do combination choirs several times a year. It's fun watching it all come together. Even with the short rehearsal time, with a choir like this, I had confidence that we could pull it together in the end,” Armstrong said.
“The hardest part wasn't the singing, the conducting, or the traveling. The hardest part was picking up 140 sausage biscuits at 5:15 in the morning.”
Michael Belcher is a sophomore mass communication major from Meridian. He works in the WCU Office of Media Relations and Marketing as a Carey Scholar.