Music Department Chair Embarking on Sabbatical

Published: April 13, 2021

Music Department Chair Jeff Wilson will embark on a sabbatical later this month, which will take him to the European cities of Budapest and Brussels, followed by a visit to Bujumbura, Burundi in Africa. The sabbatical, about ten weeks in length, will provide opportunities for him to lead worship services, network with music professionals, teach, and implement a university music program.

In Budapest, Wilson will help Free Methodist missionaries lead worship in church services. He will also reacquaint himself with contacts he made seven years ago when he and his family lived in Hungary. The Greenville College Choir performed in Budapest in 2008.

Throughout April and May, Wilson will teach classes in choral music and music theory at Hope Africa University in Bujumbura, Burundi. He also will start a music program for the university. Hope Africa University, a Christian liberal arts institution, is the largest and fastest growing private university in Burundi. It was established in 2000 with the support of the Free Methodist Church and counts many of Burundi's religious, political, and business leaders among its graduates. It serves about 4,000 students.

In Wilson's absence, Chester L. Alwes, professor emeritus in choral music from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will work with the Greenville College Choir and Chamber Singers. Alwes is a renowned scholar, author, choral conductor, and composer. Greenville College commissioned him to compose a work for the choir's 75th Anniversary in 2002, an original setting of Charles Wesley's hymn text, "Jesus Lover of My Soul."

Professor Joe Noble and two senior student conductors, Andy Gibb Clark and Jake Gosselin, will lead the choir during commencement activities in May.