Cedars, March 2018

March 2018 14 ART & ENTERTAINMENT by Katie Milligan C edarville University’s HeartSong worship ministry has been turning hearts to Christ through song on campus, at churches and at summer camps for over a decade. Now, they’re gearing up for the production of a live album. Jim Cato, the associate vice president of Christian Ministries, has been involved with HeartSong from its beginnings. He first took a job at Cedarville in 1983 as the overseer of the Swordbearers, one of several worship groups on campus along with the Kingsmen Quartet, the Abundant Life sing- ers, and the Sounds of Joy women’s trio. These teams, composed of a pianist, a technician, and singers, mainly performed at churches. Their style resembled that of a choir, often standing in a straight line on stage and singing to a boombox or cassette tape. Cato’s main job was to coordinate the group’s church performances, but as his ca- reer continued, he felt the need to combine all the worship bands together under one name, and in 2005 HeartSong was born. “I didn’t like the feeling of any compe- tition between different teams,” Cato said. “We all do the same ministry, same mission, same focus.” Now, 13 years later, HeartSong has evolved into a thriving ministry. Cato, along with the director of production ser- vices group Brandon Waltz and ministry and event coordinator Ashlynn Kelly, keep things running smoothly. Cato and Waltz serve as the visionaries who think in terms of the big picture, mapping out the mission statement, each year’s teams, album plans and other big ideas. Kelly, who graduated from Cedarville in 2014 and was a HeartSong member, focuses on more detail-oriented matters, such as travel arrangements, song and set choices, rehearsal schedules and social me- dia upkeep. Each is crucial to the ministry’s success. HeartSong is a campus job and a year- long commitment. The audition process to join begins in August immediately after Getting Started weekend. There are 32 slots to fill on four teams, with four already occu- pied by team leaders who were chosen the previous season. Team leaders have many responsibili- ties, including running rehearsals, checking up on their team members, contacting trav- el destinations and keeping records. Senior biblical studies major Chris O’Mara is a four-year HeartSong member and a three-year team leader. “Our job isn’t just to manage resourc- es, but to manage people,” O’Mara said. “If a team leader doesn’t love their team, the team won’t find unity.” HeartSong’s remaining 28 slots are open to all current students, and usually between 230 and 250 students audition. The audition requirements fluctuate de- pending on the student. Musicians usual- ly play a song along with an accompanist, and singers normally perform a solo as well as sing parts. In addition, all Heart- Song hopefuls attend a 20-30 minute in- terview process with Cato and Waltz in which they share about themselves and their passions. “It’s really fun because you get to see the incredible talent of the Cedarville stu- dent body,” Kelly said. Following auditions, the 4 teams—Red, Green, Blue, and Orange — are constructed around the formula of one drummer, two vocalists, one acoustic guitar, one electric guitar, one bass guitar, one keyboardist and one technician for lights and sound. Many factors go into deciding which people to put together, including previous experience and talent level. The staff spends nearly all night praying over the decision before sending out emails to notify students of their positions around 2 a.m. “It’s a big puzzle,” Kelly said. “So much goes into it, but we trust in a sovereign God who is going to work it all out for His good.” Once the four teams are chosen, the real work begins. All teams go on a week- end retreat in which the staff introduces a master list of songs for the students to learn, practice, and memorize. Senior communications major Tori Butts, a three-year member of HeartSong, admits that at first, the memorization is overwhelming. But the staff teaches its stu- dents to both memorize and internalize the lyrics, taking their true meaning to heart. “When we’re up on stage it doesn’t just become going through the motions,” Butts said. “We’re preaching the gospel to these people, and we’re also preaching the gospel to ourselves.” Each year the song list is revamped based on what the staff feels it needs and is carefully adapted to the diverse array of HeartSong audiences, whether it be con- servative or modern churches, youth group retreats, or summer camps. The staff prior- itizes making each group comfortable. To do so, they annually retire or refresh songs, ask local churches what they’re singing with their congregations, and constantly ensure that their song lyrics are theologically rich and embedded with truth. “We’re not just up on the platform sing- ing fluff. We want to be able to preach the gospel through what we’re singing,” Kelly said. “It’s a big responsibility for a worship Impress From a Distance, Impact Up Close Cedarville’s HeartSong seeks genuine worship through music and ministry Photo provided by Heartsong The cover art for Heartsong’s upcoming live album, “Foundations.”