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92_HR0289
LRB9208845RHrh
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are pleased to recognize milestone events in
4 the history of organizations of the State of Illinois; and
5 WHEREAS, It has come to our attention that the Greenville
6 College Choir is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year;
7 and
8 WHEREAS, Robert Woods founded the Greenville College
9 Choir in the fall of 1927, following a concert on campus by
10 the famous Westminister Choir from Dayton, Ohio; after that
11 he developed a choral organization of outstanding reputation
12 at Greenville College; and
13 WHEREAS, In the early 1930s, the Greenville College Choir
14 began going on extended tours and singing unaccompanied
15 music, a pattern established by the St. Olaf College Choirs
16 and the Westminister Choir; many concerts were performed in
17 Illinois and Indiana, but later extended across the nation
18 from Michigan to Florida, from Ontario, Canada to Texas; and
19 WHEREAS, The Greenville College Choir gained respect and
20 wide recognition in Chicago, Champaign-Urbana, and St. Louis,
21 Missouri; they sang on radio from Detroit, Chicago and
22 Indianapolis when radio was in its infancy; even during World
23 War II, the choir continued to perform, even for a period
24 without male voices; and
25 WHEREAS, During Greenville College Choir's seventy-five
26 years of existence, only five men have served as director,
27 and they include Robert Woods from 1927 to 1957, James E.
28 Wilson from 1957 through 1996, Joe Noble from 1964 through
29 1965, Paul Vanderkoy from 1970 through 1972; and Dr. Jeffrey
30 Wilson is has served as director since 1996; in addition, Dr.
31 Chester Alwes, has been commissioned to write a choral
-2- LRB9208845RHrh
1 composition for the choir; and
2 WHEREAS, Greenville College Choir is recognizing its 75th
3 Anniversary with four major events, that include the
4 commissioning of a new choral piece, the publication of a
5 history book of the choir including pictures and anecdotes
6 from choir alumni, a choir alumni reunion and concert, and a
7 tour by the choir to England during January 2002, their first
8 overseas tour where they will perform in concerts in
9 cathedrals and churches, as well as visiting many John Wesley
10 historical sites; therefore, be it
11 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
12 NINETY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
13 we congratulate the Greenville College Choir on the
14 celebration of its 75th anniversary, and we wish it continued
15 success for many more years to come; and be it further
16 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
17 presented to Dr. Jeffrey S. Wilson, director of the
18 Greenville College Choir, as an expression of our esteem.