by Adam C. Bowling ’03
Pictures by Rusty Foster ’04
On Friday, March 7,
the Hampden-Sydney College Men’s Chorus departed “the Hill” for a concert tour
of the great state of Texas. Under the
direction of Professor Thomas Williams, who also instructs vocal students at
nearby Longwood University, the Men’s Chorus has remained a large and active
group on campus. The Men’s Chorus (formerly called the Glee Club), is one of the College’s oldest
organizations and has always been one to uphold tradition; therefore, the men
decided to begin and end every concert with the traditional Glee Club songs, Brothers,
Sing On and The Hampden-Sydney Hymn/A Glass of the Finest. The rest of the program included “Songs of
the Sea,” such as What Shall We Do with a Drunken Sailor and Bound to
the Wave, “Traditional Spirituals,” such as Hush! Somebody’s Callin’ My
Name and Steal Away, and selections from The Testament of Freedom,
a work by Randall Thompson set to the writings of Thomas Jefferson. With only a handful of actual
fine arts majors, the Men’s Chorus represents a broad range of academic
interests;
however, whether a fine arts major or not, each member enjoys performing.
Before Mr. Williams and accompanist, Dr. James Kidd, Barger Professor of Music, arrived in
Texas on Tuesday, March 11, the Men’s Chorus was given a splendid
tour of the Lone Star State by Mr. and Mrs. Merwin, parents of the Men’s
Chorus’ own Hollis Merwin ’04, who planned and organized a majority of the trip.
First, the men visited the stockyards in
Fort Worth, where the West began. Many Hampden-Sydney men attempted to
tackle the mechanical bull, but to no avail. Later that night, the Merwins took the Men’s Chorus to Billy Bob’s of
Texas Dance Hall, the largest “Honky Tonk” in the country, to dance the night
away and to see some actual bull riding. Following two early morning performances at University Park United
Methodist Church in Dallas the men toured the Sixth Floor Museum (which
details the Kennedy assassination) so that they could soak up some historical
knowledge over  their spring break. Professor
Williams and Dr. Kidd flew into Dallas just in time for the
Men’s Chorus concert in Thanksgiving Square, Dallas, where former student body
president Michael Blackwell ’01 came down to attend the performance and to
greet his fellow Hampden-Sydney brothers.
The
next day, the men performed at the Texas State Capitol and were greeted by
Trey Blocker ’96 who is the Chief of Staff for Senator Estes.
That evening, after a reception for local alumni and prospective students at the
historic Austin Club, the Chorus gave a
concert at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School. Following the performance, many Men’s Chorus members hit the city of
Austin to check out what is known as the “Live Music Capitol of the World.”
On Thursday, after
a long drive, the Chorus arrived in San Antonio where they toured the Alamo
and took in the sights and sounds of the River Walk. That evening, the men gave their final Texas performance in the
stunning sanctuary of First Presbyterian Church in San Antonio.
The Men’s Chorus
enjoyed bringing a little of Old Virginie’ to the Lone Star State and took
back many fond memories. They would
like to thank their director, Professor Thomas Williams, for his time and
wonderful musical instruction and Dr. James Kidd, their accompanist, for his
superb musicianship. In addition, they
would like to especially thank Mr. and Mrs. Merwin for being their hosts in
Texas. The tour would not have been
possible without their assistance.
 For
those that missed the Men’s Chorus performances in Virginia or Texas, the
Hampden-Sydney College Men’s Chorus will give its Spring Concert on Sunday,
April 27, at 4:00 pm in College Church.
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