Baylor choir sings at Kenyan graduation ceremony

Posted: 8/12/05

Baylor choir sings at
Kenyan graduation ceremony

By Stephen Kim

Baylor University

American students aren’t used to seeing parents rushing toward their children to congratulate them in the midst of a graduation ceremony, but that’s what a Baylor University student missions group witnessed at Africa Nazarene University in Nairobi, Kenya.

Proud parents were spread along the periphery of the outdoor ceremony beneath white tents. One by one, the 98 graduates of the 2005 class received their diplomas as well as a big hug from family and friends who dashed across the grass confirming their support for the new graduate.

The event afforded the Baylor University Men’s Choir an opportunity not only to participate in the graduation festivities, but also take in a graduation ceremony unlike any typically found in America.

“It is nice to see parents dashing from their seats to meet their kid right after they received their diploma. I am used to seeing graduation ceremonies that are more formal than celebratory,” junior choir member Bryan Smith said.

Sophomore Landon Gilmore said, “The drum rolls that were done after each graduate was announced added a twist to the ceremony.”

Graduate student Eric Mathis added, “The camaraderie was really evident when parents would applaud the graduates who weren’t a member of their family or a friend.”

Choir members felt honored to be invited to perform at the ceremony.

“It was a unique experience for me to perform in front of an international audience for the first time in my life,” Smith said.

Sophomore Brian Arnold said “Being able to perform in their graduation ceremony was quite an honor being that they had never seen or heard us perform.”.

The men’s choir performed three songs—“Praise His Holy Name,” “Swing Down Chariot” and “The Word Was God.”

“I felt the audience really liked our performance of, ‘The Word Was God’ because it had a bit of a Kenyan flair to it,” sophomore James Kimmel said.

Baylor was not the only university to represent the United States. Southern Nazarene University, located in Oklahoma, also participated in the graduation ceremony, joining the choir from African Nazarene University.

“To see two different sets of choirs, especially with one from Kenya, perform so well together was quite a treat,” junior Stephen Magyar said.

Baylor Men’s Choir Director Randall Bradley, and his counterpart from Southern Nazarene University, Phillip Miller, knew each other from attending Oklahoma Baptist University more than a decade ago, but they were not aware they would run into each other during the ceremony.

“I knew Dr. Miller because I was a student at Oklahoma Baptist when he was the president of the choir there in 1994. It certainly goes to show that it’s a small world after all,” Bradley said.