Kenneth J. Nafziger Archives

Soprano Madeline Bender ’93 to headline Homecoming concert

October 11, 2023Last updated October 30, 2023 by Ryan Cornell

There’s a saying about the weather in New Zealand that Madeline Bender ’93 delightfully recites. “If you don’t like it, just wait five minutes and it will change,” quotes the

Music professor Joan Griffing leaves her indelible mark on EMU and area youth programs

May 3, 2018Last updated March 15, 2019 by Lauren Jefferson

Joan Griffing became department chair of the Eastern Mennonite University music department not long after she joined the faculty. Twenty-two years later, she has left an indelible mark on the

100 Years of the Arts at EMU

September 25, 2017Last updated October 17, 2017 by Randi B. Hagi and Lauren Jefferson

Students entering Eastern Mennonite University today may not realize that in their grandparents’ generations, this institution offered one music option: Singing, usually in four-part harmony, a cappella hymns only. For

Those famous Mennonite harmonies

July 7, 2017Last updated July 7, 2021 by Bonnie Price Lofton

Do They Have a Future? What makes the same hymn inspire one individual to heroism and lead another to boredom cannot be calculated. It has to do with the mysterious

Singing to Ken J. Nafziger: faculty and former students gather for a retirement send-off

May 24, 2017Last updated May 30, 2017 by Lauren Jefferson

“We can’t have a reception honoring Ken without music,” said Professor Joan Griffing at a May event marking the retirement of her music department colleague Ken J. Nafziger. Nafziger stepped

Ken J. Nafziger conducts final Chamber Singers concert featuring alumni guests

April 18, 2017Last updated June 22, 2017 by David Doremus

The Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) Chamber Singers, a select student choir, will present “Communities of Song,” its spring concert, at 7 p.m. on Sunday, April 23, in Lehman Auditorium. The

Homecoming worship service lifts up words of Micah to honor alumni award winners and retiring professor

October 17, 2016Last updated December 16, 2021 by Lauren Jefferson

The honorees at Eastern Mennonite University’s Oct. 13 Homecoming and Family Weekend worship service included a pastor and social justice activist, a couple who has devoted themselves to a community

Charlottesville-based musician and educator David McCormick leads Bach Festival into 25th year

August 29, 2016Last updated September 5, 2016 by Walt Wiltschek

When David McCormick was five years old, his mother took him to the opera “La Bohéme.” He fell asleep. Unlike most 5-year-olds, though, he was upset when he woke up

Fall Festival on the lawn and EMU TenTalks headline Homecoming and Family Weekend 2016

August 24, 2016Last updated September 8, 2016 by Lauren Jefferson

Registration is now available for Homecoming and Family Weekend 2016 at Eastern Mennonite University (EMU), Oct. 14-16. To see a full schedule of events, click here. To catch a few of

EMU Chamber Singers and Shenandoah Valley Children’s Choir to usher in advent season on Dec. 7

December 2, 2014Last updated December 8, 2014 by Lauren Jefferson

Eastern Mennonite University singers will make several appearances on Sunday, Dec. 7, to mark the approaching Advent season. The Chamber Singers perform in three worship services at Harrisonburg churches, while

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