{"id":25597,"date":"2025-07-08T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/?p=25597"},"modified":"2025-07-08T22:04:49","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T22:04:49","slug":"rockingham-male-chorus-concert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/2025\/rockingham-male-chorus-concert\/","title":{"rendered":"Rockingham Male Chorus rewards Conferencegoers for their hard work all week"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By Frank Ramirez<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The poet Robert Burns once wrote, \u201cThe best laid schemes o\u2019 mice an\u2019 men gang aft a-gley.\u201d Or go astray for the rest of us who don\u2019t play the bagpipes–as Jerry Critcher discovered as he dressed for the Rockingham Male Chorus concert at Annual Conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Critcher was in charge of arranging bus transportation, hotel rooms, ties, and pocket squares for the concert, and everything went perfectly–until he realized he\u2019d packed everything for everybody except for his pair of pants. Chorus director David McMillan suggested that perhaps he could stand in the back row, behind everybody, but fortunately someone had two pairs of pants, and all was well.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The Rockingham Male Chorus in concert at Annual Conference 2025. Photo by Glenn Riegel<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Critcher told this story prior to taking part in a special quartet\u2019s rendition of \u201cI Need Thee Every Hour,\u201d the significance of which was not lost on the audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Saturday evening concert during Annual Conference typically rewards Conferencegoers for their hard work all week, and indeed the several hundred who stayed after worship enjoyed what director McMillan called, \u201ca traditional choir concert with religious, Christ-based, music.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The chorus was founded in 1966 by Nelson Huffman, who had retired from teaching at Bridgewater (Va.) College. McMillan has directed the chorus since 1986. In an interview prior to the concert, he compared music to a sermon in the pulpit. \u201cThe music itself has a lot of depth to the message. It speaks in a way that spoken words can\u2019t.\u201d He added, \u201cWe\u2019re really pleased to have this opportunity and I really hope the Lord blesses the evening.\u201d He hoped that the Annual Conference would \u201clike what they hear and invite us to be a part of their congregation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The concert included traditional numbers such as \u201cNothing But the Blood of Jesus,\u201d \u201cThank You, Jesus, for the Blood\u201d (which contained echoes of \u201cJesus Paid It All\u201d), and \u201cLet There Be Peace on Earth.\u201d The introductions to each number were direct and to the point, including the information that \u201cHold on the Rock\u201d composer Pepper Choplin was from Greensboro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most complex number was Willy Richter\u2019s \u201cThe Creation,\u201d which stitches together the complexity of creation across the skein of the seven days related in the beginning of Genesis. The concert closed with the traditional \u201cThe Lord Bless You and Keep You.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 22 singers came from around the Rockingham region, from several different congregations. They practice weekly, and have traveled to share concerts as far south as Florida, as far west as Iowa, and as far north as Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Conference program was number 1,463 for the Rockingham Male Chorus. McMillan encourages congregations who would like to host number 1,464 to reach out. To schedule a program at your church please contact Jerry Critcher at jrcritch@aol.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

— Frank Ramirez is a retired pastor and a volunteer on the Annual Conference Press Team.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

———-<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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