PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
The Value of a Good Preparation
We faced a dilemma in early June. Two weeks before the Dana College
Chorale was to leave for Germany and Denmark, our conductor, Dr.
Richard Palmer, was diagnosed with blockage of three arteries, requiring
bypass surgery.
What do we do? Do we cancel the tour after arrangements have been
made for travel and concerts including a featured performance at
the Rebild National Park in Denmark for the largest U.S. Independence
Day celebration outside of the United States?
Happily, Palmer was able to call on the help of a friend. Choral
director Michael Janis, retired after 35 years with the Millard
Schools and a member of Dick’s choir at St. Paul’s Lutheran
in Millard, agreed to direct the choir on tour. Janis and his wife,
Ginny, joined tour director Carrie Reed, director of college relations
and marketing, her husband, Kenny, and their charming 14-month-old,
Jonah, to lead the tour. With them for much of the tour was Development
Director Thomas Hansen, my wife, Anne, and I. Thomas’ father,
Bent, a seasoned city bus driver from Odense, Denmark, volunteered
to drive the coach.
After only a few hours with the Chorale before leaving for Europe,
Janis was able to direct with needed competence and confidence.
After a few numbers of the first concert, it was evident that Janis
and the Chorale were working together and moving toward peak performance.
From the first concert at the Otto Flath Art Hall in Bad Segeberg,
to Ribe’s magnificent Dom Kirke, the Vejle Handelsskole auditorium
and the fine acoustical sanctuary of Sankt. Knud’s in Odense,
they sang to enthusiastic crowds that responded with standing ovations
not always seen in settings often much more reserved. Even on the
outdoor stage in Legoland and the great natural amphi-theater of
the Rebild Hills, the crowds applauded with vigor. Needless to say,
Anne and I were very proud.
I had been anxious, but I needed not be. I was reminded of the
Boy Scout motto I had recited as a youth: “Be prepared.”
Preparation is definitely the key. Professor Janis proved to be
an excellent director. He reminded the Chorale again and again that
they were performing for Dr. Palmer, the one who had prepared them
for success. Thanks to the preparation, neither Janis nor the Chorale
had to start from scratch. They met one another part way and let
their preparation carry them forward. Together they built on the
foundation Palmer had laid.
Education is preparation. Our job at Dana College is to prepare
for lifelong learning; to share the tools of discovery, offer ways
of knowing and analyzing, digesting, evaluating, refining and communicating.
The learning will not, and should not, be complete at graduation.
The fine Dana Class of 2003 has left us to enter the workplace or
further study. Professors and others in the Dana community have
offered models of learning, been resource guides, sounding boards,
and judging panels. Coaches and directors, counselors, the campus
pastor, residence hall staff and dining hall personnel have also
helped shape the lifelong learner. If we’ve done our job well,
Dana graduates will be prepared to perform to a high standard throughout
life and continue to grow as learners, building on the foundation
laid by parents, teachers and others. Participation in and outside
the classroom at Dana will serve as a foundation upon which future
performance will be refined. Unlike some places where learning seems
focused alone on the acquisition of knowledge, at Dana the moral
and spiritual dimensions of learning and behavior are integral to
the preparation for life.
It was a great disappointment that Dr. Palmer could not direct
the Chorale he had spent countless hours preparing for the tour.
But the quality of the preparation was not lost. The Chorale members
reached into their preparation to blend their voices and respond
to the new director’s subtle cues and adapt to each new setting.
Preparation for life and learning is like that, too.
For more on the Dana College Chorale’s All-American Tour,
please see Wish You Were Here: Postcards
for the All-American Tour.
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