MAKING FRIENDS THROUGH MUSIC
Our Spring community concerts opened doors to hearts in three surrounding countries

“I’m a retired Methodist minister, and I just can’t get over how quality this program was. This is such a witness for your school.”

“We saw an ad in the newspaper for your concert and we decided to come.  It was beautiful!  We loved it!  We need more of this!”

“I saw the concert advertised at my Catholic church and decided to come. This was wonderful! I’m so glad someone thought to contact my church.”

These were only a few of the many comments we heard after each of three community concerts we performed the weekend of May 16 and 17.

The performance was entitled Sing the Story, and highlighted the three centuries of Christian heritage we share in this region as depicted through music.

The two-hour concert included selections by the Hartland Campus Choir, the Three Angels’ Chorale, soloists, instrumentalists, as well as a historical narrative. The audience was especially moved by the Campus Choir’s rendition of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” “I started crying when those young men came marching out to sing the middle section of the Battle Hymn and then marched back in,” shared a guest at the concert in Orange. Her husband, a production technician for PBS, wished he could have had his film team at the concert. He especially liked the Three Angels’ Chorale rendition of “Cold Water,” a temperance song from the 19th century.

This is the fourth concert series in which we have shared the religious history of our region. We started first in Culpeper County in 2003 as partners with the Museum of Culpeper History. The next year we added Madison County and partnered with the Madison Historical Society and the Madison Chamber of Commerce. But it wasn’t until this year that we were able to find an opening in Orange County, making it possible to share this special musical story with all three counties that border Hartland Institute.

The partnerships with all the churches, the museum, the chamber of commerce, and the historical society and all their help with promotion and receptions has been a wonderful experience. Two of the three churches that hosted us are on the National Register of Historic Places. In Orange County we were also blessed by the partnership of the Orange SDA CHIP (Coronary Health Improvement Project) team who hosted the reception following the concert and advertised their upcoming health programs.

“You can come every year,” said the pastor of Madison’s Hebron Lutheran, the oldest continuing Lutheran congregation in the U.S., which has now hosted us three times. “And we’ll be glad to put on the reception for you again,” said the members of the Madison Historical Society as they cleaned up after a reception for 100 people. “We are honored that you would come and share such beautiful music. It’s a great way to share history.”

“Let’s make this an annual event,” said Lee Langston Harrison, director of the Museum of Culpeper History.

As Hartland Institute celebrates its 25th anniversary, sharing these free community concerts is one way we can say thank you to our friends and neighbors for 25 good years. It also gives them an opportunity to meet Seventh-day Adventists and experience the work that Hartland is doing in their communities.