Singers Hold 12th ‘Signing of the Standards of Excellence’

Members of the Lindsey Wilson Singers walk Wednesday night from the W.W. Slider
Humanities Center to the John B. Begley Chapel as part of the ensemble's 12th-annual
"Signing of the Standards of Excellence."

COLUMBIA, Ky. -- Travelers on a journey, bungee jumping, white-water rafting, and athletes who compete in triathlons.

All have something in common with collegiate choral singers -- intensity.

That was one of the messages delivered Wednesday night at the Lindsey Wilson College Singers' 12th-annual "Signing of the Standards of Excellence."

 Created more than a decade ago by the group's officers, the annual ceremony asks the co-curricular group's members to pledge themselves and the group to high artistic, intellectual, spiritual and personal standards. As part of the ceremony, each member signs their name into a book that contains the ensemble's "Standards of Excellence."

 "It's a wonderful experience that was created over a decade ago by the officers, and every officer group since then has felt it worthwhile to continue this tradition," Associate Professor of Music & Religion and Director of Choral Programs Gerald L. Chafin told the 31 members of the 2010-11 Lindsey Wilson Singers on Wednesday night. "And I suppose that even after all these years, I'm still learning and growing in my understanding of exactly what being a Lindsey Wilson College Singer is all about."

In addition to performing several times a year on campus and in the community, the Lindsey Wilson Singers, under the direction of Chafin, make a performance tour each spring to a region of the United States.

The previous 11 ceremonies were held in the John B. Begley Chapel. The chapel's acoustic panels featured flags from the U.S. states and territories where the Singers have performed. But the Begley Chapel ran out of space to display the flags, so the first part of this year's "Standards" was moved to the W.W. Slider Humanities Center Recital Hall; the Singers' flags were hung from the hall's rafters. The ceremony ended with a candlelight ceremony in the Begley Chapel.

"There weren't ever enough panels to hang all of the flags (in the Begley Chapel), and in few years there won't be enough beams (in Slider Recital Hall) to hang all of our flags," Chafin said.

Singers President Katelin Frederick of Hustonville, Ky., told her colleagues that being a member of the choral group for the last three years "is one opportunity I'm glad that I had the chance to take and didn't pass up."

Frederick said the energy, intensity and passion invested in the Singers' rehearsals create a family atmosphere.

"We all come together at the beginning of the year, some as strangers, some as well-seasoned veterans and friends," she said. "Regardless of where we start, though, we cannot and will not finish in the same way. We become a family."

Singers officer John Brown of Albany, Ky., compared the intensity of being a Lindsey Wilson Singer to that of bungee jumping, white-water rafting or competing in a triathlon.

"While we won't be falling hundreds of feet, battling nature's rapids or biking up miles of mountainous terrain, as members of this group, we are all guaranteed to experience intensity and to display intensity to those for whom we perform," Brown said.

Chafin told the Singers that "it takes time for the full impact of what we do to fully sink in."

"We are indeed travelers on a journey," he said. "Over time and with various Singers' experiences, our understanding will increase and our appreciation will deepen and grow for this ensemble."

And Chafin reminded the Singers not to lose sight of their goal.

"All of this is driven by the amazing opportunity to create music, to worship God, to bring class to a situation," he said.

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Click here to see scenes from the ceremony.