Divine Wisdom in a Question

"Have you considered becoming a composition major?" This question, posed by Mary June Tabor (of blessed memory), clarified and guided the course of my career.

Though I had briefly met Mary June at a children’s choir festival several years earlier, I became reacquainted with her when she called my home to inform me that I had won the high school division of a choral composition contest! The contest had been sponsored by the Church Music Department of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma where Mary June was a longtime and beloved employee.

I was overjoyed at this success with my very first attempt at composing. Along with a $50 prize, the win included a performance of my piece at the 1982 Youth Music Leadership Event, a statewide conference for youth choirs and their leaders held at Oklahoma Baptist University on February 26-27, 1982. I was preparing to attend OBU’s Warren M. Angell College of Fine Arts in the fall of that year, so the trip to hear my composition performed would also provide the opportunity for me to officially enroll.

On the Saturday morning of the event, my parents drove me from our hometown of Tulsa to the university’s town of Shawnee, Oklahoma. When we arrived at OBU’s Yarborough[i] Auditorium the conference youth choir was already rehearsing under the direction of Jim Davis,[ii] Minister of Music for Tulsa's First Baptist Church.  Not long after my parents and I seated ourselves in the middle of the auditorium, the choir began to rehearse my piece. It was deeply moving to hear a composition of mine sung for the first time – somewhat of an out-of-body experience as the music I notated in isolation came to life through the combined voices of the singers. 

My winning choral piece, Draw Near to God, was a setting of James 4:8  from the Christian Scriptures: “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” The contest provided entrants a list of scriptures from which to select, and I chose this passage because its natural speech rhythms seemed especially suited to choral writing. If I were selecting today, I would not be drawn to the exclusively masculine pronoun for God nor the calling out of “sinners” or the “double-minded.” Having had no prior experience composing, I attribute this compositional success to the variety of music-making experiences I had in church, school, and piano lessons. All of these combined to help me instinctually expand the text into a choral anthem for SAB voices and piano.

Between the choir's rehearsal and its closing performance, I went to OBU’s Fine Arts Office to enroll in coursework. I had been focused on a career as a  Minister of Music since the age of thirteen and was looking forward to beginning work on my bachelor’s degree.[iii] As I filled out forms in a private room near the auditorium, I reached the section that required me to select a major. I knew that Ministers of Music were typically voice or keyboard majors, and I was interested in both, but I couldn't decide. As I pondered this difficult choice Mary June came into the room. Expressing to her my inability to decide on a major, she asked: “Have you considered becoming a composition major?” Though I do not usually approach life in mystical ways, I instantly knew Mary June’s timely presence and thoughtful question provided divine wisdom.

Even after the exciting experience of hearing the conference choir rehearse my composition that morning, the idea of becoming a composition major had not yet entered my mind! I suspect this was because I was so focused on becoming a Minister of Music. Most students preparing for this role would receive a degree in Church Music, but the contest and Mary June’s question opened my mind to consider a degree in Music Theory and Composition. After confidently making that choice, it was a grand celebration to hear the choir’s concluding performance of Draw Near to God. On the ride home, my mind raced forward in time, envisioning ways the craft of music composition would express and enhance my ministry.

Epilogue
The education I received in the Warren M. Angell College of Fine Arts at OBU from 1982-1986 was incomparable. I was fortunate to study composition in the studio of Nancy Hill Cobb and also with Michael Cox. Both are renowned composers and gifted teachers, unparalleled in their fields. Although my bachelor's degree was not in Church Music, the skills and knowledge I gained through my studies in Music Theory and Composition have proven invaluable in my ministry through music.

​My college education culminated with a senior composition recital in Yarborough Auditorium. Family, friends, and educators from my childhood to that present day filled the auditorium to capacity to help me celebrate this milestone event. The recital included works for brass choir, clarinet and piano, two of the university’s choirs accompanied by piano and harp, a comical trumpet solo with electronically-prepared tape accompaniment, and a piano sonata. Additionally, the children's choir of my college church, First Baptist Church of Shawnee, directed by OBU professor, Betty Woodward, performed my first published choral anthem, Sing to the Lord of Harvest (Broadman Press, 1986). I composed this piece in a class taught by Professor Nancy Cobb when I was eighteen, and it was accepted for publication during my college years.

First publication of "Sing to the Lord of Harvest"

Republished as a single anthem

It was meaningful to me that my college composition recital was held in Yarborough auditorium where four years earlier I heard my first composition performed. The cake at the recital reception commemorated that treasured memory with a decoration featuring the opening melody of Draw Near to God.

All had come full circle. ​

Recital Reception cake with "Draw Near to God" melody

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A Composition in Memory of Mary June Tabor
Mary June continued to encourage my vocational journey throughout college, seminary, and my first full-time ministry position. After her untimely death in 1991, I composed a vocal solo in her memory, setting Samuel Trevor Francis's hymn text, O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus. The work was published and recorded by Broadman Press in 1992.

Before composing the piece, I had heard the distinguished bass vocalist David Ford (of blessed memory) sing at PraiSing II, a nationwide gathering celebrating the release of The Baptist Hymnal, 1991. The resonance and depth of David's voice became the sound in my imagination as I wrote O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus for low voice.
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It was therefore an unforgettable and deeply meaningful moment when I received the publisher's recording and discovered that the recording artist was David Ford himself!

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[i] Upon arriving at Yarborough Auditorium, I was cognizant of the fact that my mother's maiden name was also Yarbrough—another spelling of the same surname. This gave a sense of connection and welcome to the space. While researching this blog, I also discovered the surprising fact that Mary June Tabor's mother was also a Yarbrough.
[ii] It was serendipitous that Jim Davis (of blessed memory) served as the conference choir's guest conductor. I first met him in 1976, when I was a sixth grader at Eugene Field Elementary School in Tulsa. At the invitation of my music teacher, Marsha Coburn, Jim came to hear me sing the role of George Washington in John F. Wilson's bicentennial musical Let George Do It! Adding to the joy of the conference, he shared our earlier connection with the audience before conducting the premiere performance of my winning anthem.
[iii] My earlier awakening to a career in Music Ministry is expressed in the blog post, My Journey to Music Ministry.