Finally, Kellogg Community College has its own alma mater

On By Vaseline

BATTLE CREEK — It all started with an email.

Kellogg Community College Music Area Coordinator and Vocal Arts Director Gerald Case-Blanchard was scrolling through his messages one day in September when he came across a particular email from the secretary of KCC President Paul Watson II.

‘Dr. Watson said you need to see this,” the email read. Attached was a photo of the text from Grand Rapids Community College’s alma mater, included in a program at an event Watson had just attended.

“I knew what it meant,” laughed Case-Blanchard, acknowledging that he had previously been asked to develop an alma mater for KCC in 2007, but at the time he had only been in college for about three years and did so. do not feel qualified to do so.

“Now I can’t do the ‘I’m new’ thing because I’ve been here for 20 years,” Case-Blanchard chuckled. “I said, ‘I can do it, but I need other people.'”

KCC English Professor Ronald Davis came to mind almost immediately, as did former KCC music instructor Mark Wells. Together, the three developed the very first alma mater in KCC’s nearly 70-year history: “Alma Mater KCC: Beacon of Hope.”

The song had its world premiere at the university’s “Singing in the Spring” concert April 21 at First Presbyterian Church. The KCC Choral Union, joined by about 14 alumni, brought it to life.

“This is a legacy project. When I’m long gone, when Ron is long gone, this will continue,” Case-Blanchard said. “I want people to really understand who we are and that we do this out of true love. Neither of us were compensated for this, so it is truly a labor of love for the institution that has given us so much. “

Davis was actually in the process of writing more lyrics himself when, out of the blue, he received a call from Case-Blanchard in October asking him to be part of the alma mater project. The opportunity to write the words for the piece was one he couldn’t pass up.

Davis read the lyrics to other community college alma maters from around the country and quickly discovered some common themes and patterns in the songs. He also discovered aspects that he felt were aligned with KCC, as well as aspects that he felt were not.

“I just went off what I saw,” Davis said of his lyrics for the song. “In the 22 years I’ve been here, I’ve always been amazed at how (the university) just sits on this hill… It’s always beautiful to me.”

The lyrics were also heavily influenced by the many people Davis has worked with in his more than twenty years at KCC.

“I hoped that people who worked here or went to school here would see the same things I did,” he said. “I tried to put those images in there.”

Overall, the lyrics focus on the concept of KCC as a shining beacon on a hill, a beacon that gives life to the dreams of generations of students. A powerful refrain – ‘Alma mater, KCC’ – is repeated throughout.

Case-Blanchard was given the task of composing the music for the alma mater. He let Davis’ words guide everything he did during the trial.

“Believe it or not, I wrote the tune in ten minutes,” Case-Blanchard explained. “I read his words and wrote that tune in ten minutes.”

Before receiving Davis’ lyrics, Case-Blanchard created a rhythmic sketch for the alma mater. He listened to about forty different alma maters from different institutions across the country, both community colleges and universities, and “the same six or seven songs kept coming back, just with different words.”

“I decided, if we’re going to do this, because we’re almost 70 years old and we’re just starting an alma mater, it has to be something that’s very special. Original,” Case-Blanchard said. “So I sat down and made that rhythmic sketch and then I looked at his words and combined his words with the rhythms that I had written out. About 70% of the words were almost right (with the sketch)… I’m saying okay, we do this.’

The song’s vocal arrangement was left to Wells, a longtime music instructor at KCC. Further instrumental arrangement by KCC Jazz Band director Eric Campbell is also in the works.

“The harmonization seemed to reveal itself in a very natural way while thinking about the possibilities inherent in both the form and structure of the melody,” Wells said in a statement. “Initially this melody was presented to me in a lower key. From the first copy of the melody I saw, I thought of raising the key to a higher key so that more people could participate in it more easily. Because the vocal range of the melody was not too wide, the range of possible tonal centers was expanded, so that the arrangements of the melody were neither too high nor too low for most singers.”

The KCC Choral Union began rehearsing the song in January. Admittedly, hearing the music come to life was an emotional moment for Case-Blanchard.

“You could hear the parts starting to come together and I started seeing these images of (Davis’) words coming into my mind,” Case-Blanchard said. “Beacon of hope, that’s who we are. … When you think about KCC, we are that beacon of hope for people to move forward in their lives through education.”

The project was kept completely secret throughout the process, with very few people – not even Davis – hearing the song until its world premiere on April 21.

“I didn’t even hear the words while they were singing, I just heard the melody and I heard the chorus,” Davis said. “It was just beautiful… I heard all the voices together and the music all working together. It felt great to know that I contributed to that.

“You’re kind of humble in the sense that your words and your perspective were chosen, or selected, or you were in the right place at exactly the right time, and that’s what people will probably sign up for for who knows how long. Davis continued. “It’s kind of an unexpected legacy that falls into your lap and it may even take a few years to really sink in how meaningful it is.”

Case-Blanchard will perform the song, accompanied by Nancy Brown on keyboard, at the college’s upcoming commencement ceremony on May 9 at Kellogg Arena.

“That will be the first time the graduating class as a whole will hear it,” Case-Blanchard said. “The hope is that starting next year, enough people will know about it so we can all sing it together.”

Watson, who encouraged Case-Blanchard to take on the project, called the alma mater “a historic achievement that presents the college as the pride and reflection of the communities it serves.”

“We are grateful to our talented faculty for creating such a striking and beautiful statement that reflects our strong community-oriented tradition while placing a clear focus on our unwavering commitment as we move forward,” Watson said in a statement. “Kellogg Community College has served as a beacon of hope for generations of students and educated our Bruin family with humble pride. But as is so well expressed in the words of this new song: ‘Loyal scholars, we march on’, ready to serve generations to come.”

Contact reporter Greyson Steele at [email protected]