WHEN JUNIOR JENNIE GAY BEGAN TO PACK the week after school ended in May for her first overseas adventure, she didn't realize that she would probably want more than two shirts, three skirts, toothpaste and Q-tips. "It turned out each member of the group was allowed to take luggage weighing 40 kilos," Gay said. "My bag ended up weighing only seven kilos." After adding a little bit more to her bag, Gay set out with the chorus for one month to minister with songs to audiences in China, Singapore and Thailand. Senior Jennifer Fonville said some of the pieces the group had prepared were a combination of old and new songs. "We were looking for songs that could communicate cross-culturally across China, Singapore and Thailand," Fonville said. Sophomore Alice-Anne Murray said the group's program was an hour-and-a-half performance of four Chinese songs, several spirituals, some songs without words such as, "Flight of the Bumblebee," and pieces in other languages such as Russian. Since China was under a communist regime and God-based material was illegal. planning a spiritual show proved difficult. "One interesting thing about singing in China was that everything we sang was monitored before we sang it," Murray said. "We had to turn in the lyrics beforehand." Fonville said the group's performances were well received by both officials and audiences. "Many Chinese understood what we sang about but didn't express it because they couldn't," Fonville said. "in addition to approving all the lyrics, the government required an equal amount of secular and sacred songs for us to sing so they could dub our trip as an educational experience rather than a mission trip." Murray said Chinese Christians would privately gather in small groups backstage after the concerts so they could talk about Jesus with the chorus members. After two weeks in China, the chorus traveled to Singapore for a week, and then Thailand for the last week. Fonville said she came back from the trip a different person. "I saw how God works through missionaries to bring people to him," Fonville said. "}saw the more subtle changes; just the little things I do in my life. I see how much more II] have." -LISA BLOUNT ORGANIZATIONS - 200 DR. ClIFF GANUS, PROFESSOR OF MUSIC, introduces amusical selection during achorus performance at the Ie<:tureship Sept 26. The group practiced five hours aweek and performed both on and offcampus throughout theyear.• J. MONTGOMERY DR. ARTHUR SHEARIN, chairmanof the musicdepanment, dire<:ts the concert choir in the Heritage Auditoriumduri ngthe Oct. 12practice. Many of the singe" in the 100-membergroup were not musIcmajo"; about 30 different majors wererepresented. 'R. KE(K
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