Music Archives - Calvary University

Willy Wonka: Calvary’s Spring Theatre Production

by Brittany Hill | Mar 6, 2023

This spring, Calvary University’s Theatre Department will be exploring a world of pure imagination! Willy Wonka is based on Roald Dahl’s 1964 book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The story follows five children who each find a golden ticket and are granted the opportunity to explore the mysterious chocolate factory owned by the infamous candy man himself, Willy Wonka.

Willy Wonka is the first of Roald Dahl’s books to be brought from the silver screen to the stage. While it is often written off as a feel-good and wrongs-righted story, behind all of its whimsical charm, it presents powerful messages. Every child in the story is given the same “golden ticket”, and each is tempted by the desire they crave most. As we already know, each child fails to withstand temptation. This idea plays into themes that can be found within Willy Wonka, as well as some of Roald Dahl’s other writings, including greed, friendship, justice, and the power of the human mind. True to his unique style of writing, Willy Wonka celebrates the quirky personalities of each character and embraces lessons that can be learned from them.

Join the colorful characters of Willy Wonka as they venture into a candy dream, traveling through fantastic rooms filled with absurdities, from lickable wallpaper and nut-sorting squirrels to Oompa Loompas and everlasting gobstoppers. Reserve your tickets to this adventure today!

Click here to purchase tickets today!

Jeremy Schell: His Years of Service at Calvary

by Grace Murphy | Feb 10, 2023

“I have loved being inspired by my students.”

“I met Jesus in 1991 in my parents’ living room,” Jeremy states, remembering his first authentic encounter with God. Although Jeremy had been attending church for years, his beliefs were centered on his parents’ instead of his own. But, on an August evening of that year, Jeremy surrendered his life to Jesus, inspiring him to glorify God with his gifts in music and leadership ever since. “It started with me just serving at my church in a simple way, like playing the piano during Sunday services; but this eventually expanded into me receiving leadership roles. I served as the director of our orchestra, children’s choir, choir, and led worship, and then became a staff member.” Jeremy was hired at what was then Kansas City Baptist Temple in 2004; when God opened the door to become full-time in 2006, Jeremy was hired as the worship director, and then moved into pastoral ministry.

“When I was approached about joining Calvary’s teaching staff, I was excited to instruct students in their paths to future careers in ministry and music.” When thinking about his favorite memories at Calvary, he states: “My favorite memory teaching culminated the year we performed John Rutter’s Requiem at St Paul’s Episcopal church. We delivered our concert to standing-room only and the audience felt alive as we performed beautiful melodies and lyrics of this gorgeous work. Beyond that, I have fond memories of multiple chorale tours and countless evenings spending time with my students, talking about life with them until the early hours of the morning.” He adds, “I have loved being inspired by my students. This has happened in two ways: the first being when a student goes on to bigger and greater things in their career; this makes me feel privileged to have played a part in their training. Second, when I have witnessed “light-bulb moments” in my classroom. I have so much enjoyed watching the very moment my students catch a concept! These have been some of the most rewarding moments in my years of teaching.”

In the near future, Jeremy looks forward to continuing pastoring and leading teams at Graceway Church while also having more quality time to spend with his family: “As our children get into advanced sports, I’ll get to see a lot of volleyball, baseball, and basketball games in my future, and I am looking forward to being there during those special moments!” Jeremy is grateful for the opportunity and honor he has had to teach at Calvary for the past nine years, serving students and sharing with them what God has taught him: “It has been a special honor to conduct the Calvary Chorale, lead Calvary’s praise band, and teach in classrooms and studios with men and women of God who are excited about what God is going to do with their lives, gifts, and talents.”

Calvary Proudly Hosts Sam Rotman Piano Concert

by Webmanager | Oct 19, 2021

Calvary University is proud to host seasoned concert pianist, Mr. Sam Rotman, and his performance, Beethoven’s 250th Anniversary Concert.

Mr. Rotman received his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Juilliard School in N.Y.C. His most prestigious award was being a Laureate Winner at the 4th International Beethoven Competition in Vienna, Austria in 1973. In 1978, Mr. Rotman participated in the 6th International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow, Russia. Mr. Rotman has given over 3,100 performances in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, South America, Eastern and Western Europe, Southeast Asia, South Africa, India, China, and Russia, totaling 61 countries.

Mr. Rotman has devoted a specific area of his musical life to the study and performance of the works of Beethoven. Beginning with a series of all Beethoven concerts in 1970 (the Beethoven bi‑centennial), he was presented on Public Broadcast System in a special Beethoven concert. He has also released an all-Beethoven CD, featuring five major works of the composer. For the 250th anniversary of the birth of Beethoven, Mr. Rotman will be performing an all-Beethoven program.

The concert at Calvary will be an All-Beethoven program in celebration of the 250th Anniversary of the birth of Beethoven.

In May 2016, Mr. Rotman was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts Degree from The Master’s University. He is the only recipient of such an Honorary Doctorate in the school’s history.

Mr. Rotman’s recordings include:

Impressions: Piano Portraits of Claude Debussy;
Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition with Piano Works by Rachmaninoff, and
Piano Music of Beethoven.

Reviewers in the United States, and France have noted the following about Mr. Rotman’s performances:

“Mr. Rotman is a pianist of no small talent. He possesses a thoroughly prepared technique. He is a mature and thoughtful interpreter and his playing is convincing and alive, He enjoys his work and is able to communicate his ideas and his enthusiasm to his audience. His playing was profound, expressive, dynamic, and exciting.”

“Mr. Rotman’s interpretation of the Beethoven “Pathetique” Sonata left you with nothing more to wish for as far as getting close to the composer’s dramatic way of gaining his listeners. All of the many details of this music were being expressed. Every piece was played with the same brilliance.”

In addition to his concert, Mr. Rotman will give his Christian testimony.

The performance will be held on Monday, November 8, 2021 at 7:00 PM in Calvary University’s Liberty Chapel on 1570 Elmwood Ave, Kansas City, Missouri. All are welcome to attend, free of charge.

Kathryn Phillips: a music department graduate assistant

by Kara Miller | Jul 14, 2021

Phillips presented a fingerstyle guitar piece in General Recital.

“Seeing students progress is the biggest joy.”

Kathryn Phillips is a 2020 Calvary alumna who has served as a graduate assistant for the music department, teaching multiple students. “I do private guitar lessons. Right now I have four students, and then I do a group guitar lesson and that has three students in it.” Phillips is also working alongside Brittany Hill in teaching an online praise band class. In the past, the online praise band class had been very similar to the in-person praise band. Phillips explained, “Dr. An asked us if we could do something with the class, and involve the students. So they changed it to separate people teaching it— me and Brittany. We can’t play together online, but everyone gets Pro Tools, a recording software, and records songs together and then mixes them together.”

Alongside being a graduate assistant and pursuing her master’s, Phillips has worked at PT’s (a local coffee shop), managed the Warrior Cafe on campus, and played in a band called Safari. Phillips said that after college she would like to pursue “something in the realm of teaching” but if that doesn’t work out “I have my band in Lawrence— Safari.”

Phillips says that her favorite thing about being a graduate assistant has been “teaching the individual lessons. It’s really fun to see students progress. So I really like teaching intermediate students because there’s so much to learn, and seeing them learn new things and play new things really well.”

Phillips says her advice to undergraduate music students is to “pay attention in classes and do your homework really well, because you’re paying a lot for the classes. I just hear about a lot of students who sleep during this class or whatever and are not really paying attention. Especially for music classes— especially with Dr. An— it can be really engaging, and you can learn a lot. To learn in college, you have to apply yourself because you can go through and get a degree without learning very much. But I think it’s important to actually apply yourself, actually learn, and actually do the work well.”

Phillips performed with lux voces for the Belton Rotary Club.

Dr. An Chairs Music Department

by Callie Johnson | Sep 18, 2020

Dr. An sings during Convocation.

Long-time Music Faculty Moves Into New Role

Dr. Haekyung An, who has taught at Calvary for ten years, transitioned to chair the Music Department this fall. An earned her Bachelor and Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music, a Master of Music in Opera and Musical Theater from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

An said she pursued a music career because, “Music is my best friend… I didn’t need any choice, so it was very natural for me from a young age.” Her wide range of experience, from classical to musical theatre to opera, gives her an extensive body of training to teach from. An said Calvary’s students “all come from different places, dealing with different issues in singing,” and she enjoys getting to know them and helping them hone their skills.

As she steps into this new role, An said, “I want our students to get great training, to have a great experience so that they can go out there and do the things that they want to do.” She added, “There are many graduates out there doing work, especially worship arts degrees… It’s a huge compliment [to the department]. And also, it’s amazing to watch their journey glorifying God, that they’ve trained here and they’re doing it out there.”

Despite the challenges of teaching in a COVID-safe environment, An is excited for the semester’s opportunities. She said, “I love my colleagues; they’re the best people. We work closely together and going forward, even though we are dealing with the situation with COVID, whatever the circumstances our work is not going to stop.”

Dr. An teaches a Master Class on performing audition pieces.

Calvary student releases EP album

by Callie Johnson | Aug 17, 2020

This summer, Calvary music student Martin Maharas released an EP album with his band, Blood and Hyssop. The album, titled First Fruits, has six songs all based in Scripture. Maharas described the mission of Blood and Hyssop, saying, “In a world where contemporary Christian music often follows culture more than Scripture, my music springs forth from the Bible and guides the hearts of believers for the glory of God.”

Maharas has been writing and performing music for years, playing in Calvary’s praise band and in Calvary’s music team, lux voces. He said his experience with lux voces especially developed his desire for excellence in the field of music. The work of being in a band, “it’s not like being on a praise and worship group… Lux voces made me crave the real thing.” He had wanted to produce an album for several years, but ran into obstacles of time, money, and opportunity. When he met Sean Lea of Shadow Scape Records, he decided to pursue it, and began the process of producing his first album.

The band name Blood and Hyssop comes from the hyssop used in the Old Testament for sprinkling with blood. Maharas said, “The hyssop was the applicator, and I want the band to be the applicator of truth.” Collaborators on the album include bassist Jacob Claxton and two Calvary alums: Chris Stolberg on piano and Jordan Hoffman on drums.

Maharas’ time at Calvary has given him a chance to hone in on the Scriptures behind his lyrics. He said, “[at Calvary], I got biblical classes to ground me in how you interpret the Scriptures… Scripture says what it says, and you discover its meaning.” Speaking at this year’s OnRamp event, Maharas described the role Calvary had played, both in his personal growth and in the production of this album. “I can’t say that it’s only because I came to Calvary, but I can say that it wouldn’t be what it is without Calvary.”

The EP, First Fruits, can be found on Spotify, Amazon, and iTunes, or physical copies can be bought through Blood and Hyssop’s Facebook page. As Maharas starts work on producing a full length album, he encouraged other Christian artists, “Make great Christian art. Just make it. Make something that Christ would be proud of, that really brings glory and honor to him. Don’t settle for anything less.”