Going to the Chapel of Love

A faculty colleague of mine,  Dr. James Ripley,  posted something on Facebook yesterday about an anniversary that otherwise would have slipped right past most of us.  Yesterday marked the 40th anniversary of the dedication of Siebert Chapel,  a place that in many ways has become like a second home to me over the last 25 years that I have been teaching at Carthage.

Actually, my first time in Siebert Chapel dates back long before I had any affiliation with Carthage at all.  In the fall of 1986,  when I was still shopping for a church,  I decided one October morning to pay a visit to the campus chapel at Carthage.  I had been on campus once or twice but knew very little about the school at that point-  but I figured that their Sunday morning worship would probably be exciting and fun.  Not until I settled into the pew and looked at the bulletin did I realize that I just happened to be there Homecoming weekend – so it was an especially festive service, led so ably and energetically by then-campus pastor Steve Samuelson.  It was fun- and I felt remarkably at home there.

Little did I know in how many ways Siebert Chapel would become home to me in the years to come.

One of my other early memories of Siebert came in the fall of 1987 or 1988 (I’ve since forgotten) when I received an unexpected phone call from the assistant to President Gregory Campbell – a man by the name of Paul Heglund.  President Campbell wanted to begin the school year with a huge event designed to welcome the new freshmen in fun and festive style,  yet set a tone of serious academic rigor as well.  So he conceived of the New Student Convocation,  which would feature all of the faculty in full academic regalia- as well as some stirring music.  One thing he very much wanted was for the old student hymn “Gaudeamus Igitur” to be sung-  and since this was happening right at the outset of the school year, before most of the upperclassmen were even around,  Paul called me to see if I would be willing to come and sing this piece as part of the festivities.  I was thrilled- and it was my first opportunity to sing in Siebert – a pleasure I have had many many times since, in performances of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio,  Mozart’s Requiem and Coronation Mass, and Menotti’s opera Amahl and the Night Visitors- just to name a few major works in which I’ve sung with orchestra.

It was in the fall of 1991 that I began teaching at Carthage,  and it was then that Siebert really became almost like a second home to me.  And because my wife Kathy – a proud Carthage graduate – had such strong and affectionate ties to the place,  that only deepened my sense of connection to the place.  She would return each and every Homecoming to be part of the alumni choir …. would attend every single Christmas Festival and various other concerts …. certain student recitals … and would find other occasions to return to a place that meant so very much to her in her years as a Carthage student.

I don’t think I fully grasped my own connection to Siebert Chapel until I started going through my iPhoto accounts in search of photos I had taken there.  I was floored by how many were there,  and sometimes looking at a single photo would generate a cavalcade of other memories.  For instance,  I came across this photo taken of the world famous King Singers,  one of the finest small vocal groups in the world,  which I took during their memorable concert at Siebert a few years back.

Seeing that photo immediately sparked a cavalcade of memories of extraordinary groups who have brought their artistry to Siebert Chapel over the years – including such memorable visitors as the Juilliard String Quartet, Anonymous Four, and the London Brass who came as part of Carthage’s celebrated Chamber Music Series.   There have been powerful performances by the Choral Arts Society,  the Kenosha Symphony, the Racine Symphony,  and even one memorable occasion in which the two groups combined forces, with RSO conductor Alexander Platt leading the first half and KSO conductor Miriam Burns the second half.  That was quite a night.   And way back in the dawn of time, I remember when a long-time acquaintance of mine,  Bruce Tammen,  brought a fine group all the way from Chicago to perform Bach’s monumental Mass in B minor.  That was really something!

By the way, Siebert Chapel has acoustics that work well for the audience but not so much for the performers- in part because the actual performance space is completely wide open,  which tends to allow the sound to fly off in all directions and makes it quite difficult for musicians to hear one another.  There’s also the matter of fans that cannot be turned out, and certain visitors have found that background noise to be a maddening distraction.  But those groups that managed to both tolerate and surmount Siebert’s acoustic challenges have delivered performances nothing short of thrilling.

Of course,  Siebert is the musical home of Carthage’s own music department,  and I can’t imagine how many hundreds of concerts and recitals I have experienced in that beautiful space.  It’s an especially splendid space for wind instruments,  so it’s been a thrill to hear many band performances there, including exciting concerts in which Dr. Ripley has had the band play to accompany the screening of a silent film classic!   There have also been some wonderful performances there by the Kenosha Pops.   Every other summer,  they take one Wednesday night and leave their normal outdoor venue in Pennoyer Park’s bandshell in order to play a concert in Siebert.   As good as they sound outside,  they sound positively magnificent in Siebert, and I only wish that more people would take the opportunity to hear them in that reverberant space.

(Directors Garrett Kornman and Craig Gall- just before the start of one such concert at Siebert – run over some last minute details.)

One of the things I especially love about Siebert is how it opens its doors to the community, particularly for certain events where an enormous audience is expected – and/or when it is an event that affects a wide swath of the community in a powerful way.  One of the happier of those occasions was when a Carthage graduate named Laura Kaeppler returned to town for the first time since being crowned Miss America.  Siebert Chapel was packed to the rafters that night – as it was a few weeks later when Laura returned to perform a concert with both the Wind Ensemble and Carthage Choir.  It was a glorious way to welcome her home.

It is also where we have gathered to hear from important visitors to the campus – people like Julie Nixon Eisenhower or Coretta Scott King or Sergei Krushchev or any number of others.   It is where the faculty has gathered to hear the name announced of whoever has been named that year’s recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award.   It is where a special service was held in the wake of the 9-11 attacks.

I think of the funerals held there for local luminaries like Kenosha News owner (and college trustee) Howard Brown,  Jockey International owner Donna Wolf Steigerwald (an extraordinarily generous friend to the college), and renowned children’s author Florence Heide – just to name three.  There was also the funeral of Kenosha County Deputy Sheriff Frank Fabiano Jr., to which over 500 law enforcement officers from across the country came to honor his memory and legacy.   Of course, there have also been funerals and memorial services for treasured members of the Carthage community.  I think the first such funeral in which I played a part was the service for a longtime and beloved Psychology professor named Larry Hamilton.  I can still remember his good friend, Rev. Dudley Riggle, standing at the lectern and saying “I do not want to be here- and yet there is no place I would rather be.”  I was asked by Professor Hamilton’s widow to sing one of their favorite songs for the service:  “We live on borrowed time” and I will never forget that moment as long as I live.   Much more recently, Siebert was the site of the extraordinary memorial service for another beloved Carthaginian, football coach Tim Rucks.   Hundreds of former players came that day to pay their respects to their coach and mentor – including a former voice student of mine (and quarterback) named Trevor Parker, who lifted up his beautiful tenor voice in one of Tim’s favorite hymns,  “What Wondrous Love” as I played for him.   Trevor had sung three voice recitals in that same chapel – as well as countless choral performances – so for him to be singing again in that friendly, familiar space had to feel so good, but to sing for such an occasion had to be so hard.

I, of course, have no photos from the service-  but I cherish this photo that I snapped one day during Morning Chapel that shows Coach Rucks reading a scripture lesson before launching into a powerful chapel talk about his life and faith.

It brings to mind all kinds of memorable moments in chapel services over the years,  led by Pastor Timm,  Pastor Peterson,  Pastor Stevens,  Pastor Larson,  and now Pastor Baylor.  Morning chapel has always been rather lightly attended at Carthage – which is the case at a lot of places these days – but those of us who have made this a regular part of our lives really cherish that quiet time of reflection and worship.   Where two or three are gathered…

And Siebert is the primary performance space for all of our ensembles,  and most of our most important musical events have occurred there-  including the annual Christmas Festival.  I’m not sure what memories are most powerfully etched in my mind-  those from actual performance or those springing from the many, many hours of rehearsal that make those performances possible.  All I know is that it is as rich and powerful an experience for those of us who offer it as it is for those in the community who so gratefully receive it.

(this photo is of Charlotte Chell, a long time mathematics professor at Carthage, who also coordinated the Christmas Festival for many years- attending to every conceivable detail with tireless devotion)

But it’s interesting how I also think of much more intimate moments in that space- including a tradition that a lot of people know nothing about.  Whenever the Carthage Choir is about to embark on one of its trips to Europe during J-Term,  they gather in Siebert right before their departure for a Godspeed service.  Actually “service” is too elaborate a term for what occurs-  but it is a moment when the campus pastor offers a word of prayer and blessing to the members of the choir.  I don’t know how far back this tradition extends,  but I know it happened when I took the Carthage Choir to Europe in January of 2000 – and it happened right before the choir’s most recent trip to Spain.

And of course,  I would be remiss if I didn’t say a word about all of the operas that I have been done in Siebert over the years.  I suspect that when the building was designed,  the thought of operas being performed there never crossed their minds – and it is actually a very awkward and even frustrating space in which to do what we do.  There is no pit for an orchestra – no hidden backstage space – no way to hang flats – no handy storage space – not a single thing that would suggest “this is a room for doing opera!”   But this is where we need to do it (at least most of the time)  and I would like to think that stage director Matt Boresi and I – along with our singers over the years –  have gained something in the course of trying to make do with such a space.  We’ve had to be innovative and resourceful …. patient and understanding …. organized and meticulous (at least to the best of our abilities)  …. and our young singers have learned some lessons about how to give their best even under less than ideal circumstances.  That being said,  we have managed to present some memorable operatic performances there- following in the footsteps of Dr. Richard Sjoerdsma.  The performances he helmed of Gianni Schicchi,  Die Fledermaus, Cosi fan tutte and The Gondoliers (among others) certainly showed that first-class opera could be done in Siebert- and over the years we have served up productions of The Magic Flute, The Beggar’s Opera,  Il Trittico, The Marriage of Figaro, Elixir of Love, and our original work Black September, among others, to build upon what has come before.   We’ve had plenty of fun – we’ve shed some tears – we’ve pulled our hair out in frustration- but through it all I think we’re both very grateful to do what we do. And for all of the ways in which Siebert Chapel drives us a bit crazy,  it’s still home to us.

(Above: Rehearsals for our 2016 J-Term operas: Suor Angelica and Black September)

(Above:  Gianni Schicchi)

(Above:  The Elixir of Love)

(Above: These photos are from our memorable production of John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera.

It felt a little wrong to turn beautiful Siebert Chapel into our own shantytown , but it served

the piece well.)

(Above: These are shots from The Marriage of Figaro we did five years ago)

(Above: These images are from The Marriage of Figaro we’re doing this year)

(Above: My partner in crime,  stage director Matt Boresi)

But beyond all of the music shared there,  I also think of Siebert Chapel as a place where friendship is affirmed,  warm welcomes extended,  and love pledged for a lifetime.  I have been part of any number of the weddings of former students who obviously feel the same affection for the place as I do.  I also think of the first music major meeting of each new school year,  in which we get to welcome our new music students and try to make them feel at home.   It is the space where we say goodbye to our graduates at baccalaureate.   It is where we welcome piano students of all ages to come join in the fun of our annual Monster Concert.

It is the place where we also say goodbye and thank you …. especially after extra special performances when we have been deeply touched and need to reach out to whoever has been part of it.

And it’s one of those places to which one returns again and again- and in doing so, marks the passage of one’s life.  Every December,  the Kenosha Pops Band performs a concert there that has come to be one of the most treasured traditions in my life.  And each and every one of those concerts for the last fifteen years or so has finished with me joining the band in singing “Auld lang syne” – much like the many years at New Student Convocation when I would lead the singing of “Borning Cry.”  Each time I stand in that lovely space and begin singing “should old acquaintance be forgot …” I can’t help but think of all that I have experienced in that very room – and all of the ways I have been so richly blessed there.

It is a special place indeed.  And one more thing I need to say about it:  I love how open it is.  It sits in the heart of the campus and is almost never locked up.  It’s a place where people feel welcome and loved.  And it is because of that very sense of openness – of perpetual welcome – that makes it a chapel rather than just a big auditorium.  Auditoriums are typically kept under lock and key-  and most of the time you pay money in order to enter it.  In a sense, a chapel’s doors are always open-  and one hopes that they are open to everyone, in the same way that Gods arms are open to all.  And for all the warmth I have experienced there,  I know that I am but a tiny part of its rich legacy.  And I hope that it will remain a place of love and welcome for many, many years to come.