art & music ASIA TOUR II chorus goes abroad Preparing to take a four-week tour of Southeast Asia this summer, the 60 members of the chorus adjusted to two different directors this year. While Dr. Cliff Ganus, director of the chorus, spent the spring semester at Harding University in Greece, Craig Jones, Harding Academy director, filled his shoes. Ganus, the director for the Asia tOUI, wanted the chorus to know the repertoire before he left in the spring. "He's wanting us to learn everything for the summer tour before we leave for Christmas break," sophomore Brandon Grady said. The tOUI, designed to promote and encourage local churches, was planned to kick off May 17 and last through June 16. "[Dr. Ganus said] just our being there will do a lot of good in the communities," Grady sajd. Ganus hoped students would gain insight about the church. " [I hope they will] see the church worldwide - just not an American institution," Ganus said. The group planned to tour China, Singapore and Thailand. Members hoped to see the Great Wall of China and Tiananmen Square, among other sites. "I'm looking forward to seeing a culture I'm not familiar with," Grady said. "It's a place where there will be new Christians we'll have contact with." The trip cost around $2,000p~rperson. Chorus members raised the money through writing lette rs to congregations, family members and friends. In Singapore and Thailand, chorus members were to stay with host congregations. In China, they planned to stay at local universities. "This was a wonderful arrangement in that it allowed Harding students to be in the homes of families and to influence them for Christ/' Mike Dawidow, a member of an Asian church, said. The Southeast Asia tour was the 12th campaign since 1979. The most recent campaign in the summer of 2003 took the chorus to Bulgaria, Greece, Albania and Italy. - Renee Lewis andJamie Higgins 152 11 academics Dr. Arthur Shearin, professor of music, directs the concert choir during a rehearsal in the Reynolds Center in October. Choir, which was comprised of both music and non-music majors, maintained an active touring schedule, including a performance with the Arkansas Sym– phony Orchestra spring semester. (Photo by Amy Beene)
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