Center Stage

by BOYCE DURR photography submitted by TERRY CRULL

Singers headline 80th Pearl Harbor Commemoration

Each year, on December 7, the people of the United States take time to remember the 2,403 American civilians and service members who lost their lives in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

This past year marked the 80th commemoration of what President Franklin Delano Roosevelt called “a date which will live in infamy” in his stirring address to Congress the day after the attack.

December 7, 2021, will be remembered by 26 Fort Hays State University students as the experience of a lifetime.

The Fort Hays Singers, the university’s premier choral student ensemble, were invited to perform a 30-minute concert at the opening of this year’s memorial events at Pearl Harbor. The group was given the singular honor of singing the Star- Spangled Banner at the event.

Dr. Terry Crull, associate professor of music and director of choral activities at FHSU, is responsible for planning and coordinating choral group activities. He said the Fort Hays Singers group was chosen for this opportunity by the tour company Music Celebrations International, which had worked with him on a tour of Austria in 2018.

Usually consisting of 16 to 24 members drawn from the larger Concert Choir, this select group goes on tour trips about once a year and performs at various regional events, including tours, festivals, church services, and banquets. Over the last several years, the Singers have traveled to Estes Park, Colo.; Oklahoma City, Okla.; and Branson, Mo.

While shorter, local tours are the norm, occasionally the group takes a more extensive trip. The first of these was in 2007 when the Fort Hays Singers traveled to Taiwan. Another was a trip to Austria in 2018, where they performed with the internationally renowned choral conductor Eph Ehly.

Both Crull and Rachelle Lumpkins, a recent music education graduate from Hays, credit the trip to Austria – and the conduct of the Fort Hays Singers on that trip – for helping establish a reputation as excellent performers and wonderful ambassadors both on and off the stage.

Lumpkins had just finished her freshman year at FHSU when the Fort Hays Singers took the trip to Austria. She said the event organizers were impressed with the singers because of their vocal talent and because “they thought we represented Fort Hays State, Kansas, and the United States so well by being friendly and respectful.”

In September 2020, Crull received an offer from the touring company to participate in the 80th anniversary Pearl Harbor Commemoration Concert Series and open it with the singing of the National Anthem.

Even though he was unsure if the Hawaii trip would be possible because of COVID-19 restrictions, Crull began making plans and preparations nearly a year in advance after receiving the invitation to participate.

“This was such a tremendous opportunity,” Crull said. “ Even with the uncertainty of what would happen with COVID-19, I knew we couldn’t pass it up.”

He also knew significant fundraising would be an absolute necessity.

So Pam McGowne, FHSU’s accompanist, contacted a local florist, Flowers by Frances, to have a large sunflower wreath made with red, white, and blue ribbons. People could have a military service member’s name – living or deceased – inscribed on one of the wreath’s petals for a voluntary donation.

The group used money raised from the wreath bearing the names of more than 700 service members to help defer the cost of the trip for the students. The wreath was shipped to Hawaii before the trip and will hang on permanent display in the Kansas section of the Visitor’s Center at Pearl Harbor.

The FHSU entourage of students, faculty, family, and friends totaled 96 because of the interest in visiting Pearl Harbor.

“We had a lot of people, particularly veterans, who wanted to see the wreath and be a part of this trip,” Crull said.

Hayden Sillmon, a music education major from Hays, said that the weather was one of the first immediately noticeable differences upon arrival in Hawaii.

“When we left, the temperatures around Hays were near freezing, and it was over 70 degrees when we arrived in Hawaii and really humid,” Sillmon said. “We were all dressed for winter, with sweatpants and hoodies, when we left Denver and immediately started sweating when we arrived on Saturday.”

The group had its first singing engagement on Sunday at Kawaiahao Church – the oldest church on Oahu and one of the oldest standing Christian places of worship in Hawaii.

“There were other groups that wanted to perform (at the church), but they picked us,” Crull said. “We were the only group that performed there.”

Later that afternoon, they toured the battleship USS Missouri, the site of the official surrender of Japan, thus ending World War II. FHSU was honored to be invited to participate in a flag folding ceremony, but Crull said they got a little nervous when they learned his group wasn’t just there to observe but would have to perform the folding of the flag.

Luckily, they happened to have several veterans traveling with them.

Allen Schmidt, a member of the Kansas Board of Regents and a veteran who retired as a colonel in the Army Medical Service Corps, was one of the vets who stepped up to help.

Schmidt read the flag-folding script while two other veterans folded the flag under the battleship’s massive 16- inch guns.

“Over a dozen WWII vets were in attendance at that ceremony, and we had the opportunity to interact with them and hear their stories,” Crull said.

For Lumpkins and many of the Fort Hays Singers, this was the first really impactful event of the trip.

“It was surreal,” Lumpkins said. “All these World War II veterans were wheeled up for the flag-folding ceremony, and all of the other veterans were there, and after that event, there wasn’t a single dry eye. You realize that these are the people who have sacrificed for our freedom, and you think, how can I ever repay them?”

That sentiment stayed with the FHSU students throughout the remainder of their trip as they participated in the anniversary ceremonies.

While the first day went well, mainly according to plan, with only some minor rain showers, the Kansas entourage learned that the weather could also change in a hurry in Hawaii.

The Fort Hays Singers had a full itinerary going into the trip, with most events taking place outdoors. But on Tuesday, a storm rolled in. Torrential rains dropped a record-breaking 8 inches in one day. That was more than any previous day in December, with a two-day total of over 14 inches.

While the weather caused the cancellation of several smaller events, like an outdoor performance in an open market near Waikiki Beach, most of the activities were moved into a convention center, where it was “nice, warm, quiet, and dry,” Crull said.

By Wednesday, December 8, the storms had passed. Everything was back on schedule, including a visit to the USS Arizona Memorial for a tour and a final concert in front of the USS Bowfin Submarine and Memorial Park. Thursday was a free day, and people could explore on their own before flying back on Friday.

Like many of their fellow singers, both Sillmon and Lumpkins enjoyed the opportunity to commemorate the 80th anniversary of this pivotal event in U.S. history while also exploring a Hawaiian culture far different from anything they had experienced in Kansas.

Sillmon said he liked the diversity of food. The singers attended a luau with Hawaiian foods like poi (a traditional staple) and kalua pua’a (roast pork). They also had choices of an ube (a purple potato), dim sum (a Chinese dish), and Japanese hibachi.

Lumpkins was particularly fascinated with the cultural diversity of the Hawaiian people and their unique traditions. One of the highlights for her was visiting the Polynesian Cultural Center in Waikiki.

“We were able to learn about Polynesian wayfinding and the relationship of the people and the land,” she said. “We got to learn something about the culture behind Hawaii.”

However, the captivating history, food, and culture were not the best parts of the trip for many of the Fort Hays Singers.

What seemed to impact them most was the ability to share their experiences and bond through this adventure.

“You don’t realize how much your friendships grow until you spend a lot of time with a group,” Sillmon said. “For five days, we did everything together, and we became so much closer. I think this is one of the big reasons we tour.”

We would like to hear what you think about the content in this issue of ROAR Magazine. Contact us at FHSUNews@fhsu.edu.