4 minute read
News—MSM 25th Anniversary
Dr Evelyn Lim is the Director of Music & Organ Instructor at Methodist School of Music (MSM). She has served at MSM since 1997, and is a member of Wesley Methodist Church. / Photos courtesy of MSM
Nurturing the field in faith
Methodist School of Music turns 25
Methodist Festival Choir, Advent (2019)
Charles Wesley
A charge to keep
In January 1997, convicted with a charge to train, equip and edify God’s servants in worship and music, the Methodist School of Music (MSM) began operations and in a blink of an eye, it celebrated its 25th anniversary on 29 April 2022.
The idea for MSM budded from discussions in the 1980s to mid-1990s about improving the worship and musical life of the local church. Aside from theological seminaries, there were limited avenues where lay persons could access worship training. The vision was to establish a self-sustaining, sacred music cum educational institution within The Methodist Church in Singapore (MCS). By offering quality music education, worship servants would have good grounding upon which to serve effectively, with the hope that its impact would spill over beyond MCS, and reach the local and perhaps, even the international community. As a music school, MSM would offer music training to the public; as a Methodist agency and sacred music institution, training and platforms for church music and worship would be provided.
Hilltop ministries
From its founding to 2000, MSM operated from the re-purposed classrooms of the former Methodist Girls’ School at Mount Sophia, co-locating with Trinity Theological College (TTC) and the headquarters of MCS. Together with Founding Principal, Ms Mary Gan, and a small group of part-time teachers, the training aspect of the mission began, with just 18 music students. Through collaborations with churches, sacred music festivals, choral presentations, classes in worship leading skills, in addition to music lessons, were organised. The MSM Choir, conducted by Ms Gan, paved the way for the full-fledged Methodist Festival Choir which would be formed later.
In 2001, as the government gave notice for the land at Mount Sophia to be returned, MSM moved to new premises at Upper Bukit Timah Road together with TTC and St Francis Methodist School. As this was before the construction of Hillview MRT, the area seemed remote, away from the buzz of the city. However, new possibilities abounded. A number of teaching and ministry staff joined the ranks, enabling MSM to expand its offerings and incorporate its main charge—to equip and edify God’s servants in worship and music. The biennial International Worship Symposium—a gathering of clergy, specialists and lecturers in worship and music— now in its 9th season, credits its roots to these formative years. It also became evident by then that there was an unaddressed need—the training of organists for traditional worship and liturgy. MSM plugged the gap with the training of organists of various denominations, participating in educational outreach, and working with organists within the community.
With the arrival of Dr Judith Laoyan-Mosomos in 2006 (who currently heads the department of Worship and Church Music), the ministry arm of MSM flourished. There was a brief collaboration with TTC in administering a Master of Theological Studies degree (2006-2011), the Visiting Professor programme which connected MSM with international lecturers, and the Certificate in Christian Worship (CCW) which offers modular weekend classes in worship skills and liturgy.
Refining fires
Following the retirement of the Founding Principal in 2009, MSM underwent leadership transitions, and another round of testing of faith and vision. In retrospect, we underwent a refining period, re-evaluating our identity, vision and purpose. God provided a host of volunteers who believed in the vision and took on some of the load. God saw to it that his work was unthwarted—community engagement increased as we established the Methodist Festival Choir (directed by Mrs Wong Lai Foon) and Methodist Festival Orchestra (directed by Ms Samantha Chong). We conducted memorial services at the Garden of Remembrance, and started work with Methodist pre-schools. Addressing regional identity, an Asian hymnal featuring Asian composers—Let the Asian Church Rejoice—a joint project with TTC was also published in 2013.
The Covid-19 pandemic caused another flurry of anxiety, as traditional modes of teaching and ministry were threatened. It was timely that younger, tech-savvy ministry staff had now joined the ranks, helping to secure our lifeline through webinars and other media platforms in cyberspace. As hybrid forms became part of the new normal, it propelled MSM to roll out new programmes, deepening and enriching the knowledge and experience of local and international congregants. “The Faith We Sing”, “Shepherding Souls in Worship”, “Conversations” are among the newer programmes in place.
Nurturing the field in faith
Twenty-five years ago, MSM’s founders stepped out into unchartered territory and planted in faith. MSM continues to exchange resources with local and international friends and institutions, and is in continual engagement with the community and the church. We continue to press on and walk with God on this incredible journey.
Methodist Festival Choir (2019) Celebration Service (staff and faculty) MSM Student Recital (2015)
Please visit https://youtu.be/uXsDgtkzDRg or scan the QR code to listen to the song.
https://issuu.com/methodistschoolofmusic/docs/msm_25th_ anniversary_commemorative_ebook
or scan the QR code to download our 25th anniversary commemorative e-book.
