Maestros of Ministry: Their Legacy in the Department of Music and Worship

CHARLES PAGNARD |  17 orchestra is its strings section. He brought in a number of string players from the Cincinnati Symphony Orches- tra, but it was not until Jun Kim came on board that he was able to pass that baton. During the time that he directed the orchestra, he created string quartets and chamber ensembles that toured for recruitment in order to strengthen the string program at Cedarville, even though there were only adjunct string faculty at the time. Recruiting was an area that Pagnard worked hard to promote, especially in his early years. He noted that in the 1960s and 1970s, parents valued Cedarville for being a protected place for students. Students did not leave campus; in fact, at that time Sunday church services and Wednesday night services were held on campus. In order to expose students to quality musical performances, the College and the Music Department invited members of major professional music organizations from Colum- bus, Cincinnati, Dayton, and Springfield to campus to perform. These concerts would double as “date nights” for the students and were very well attended. Because of the value placed on a protected environment, recruit- ment was not an important agenda for the College. In his early years, it took a great deal of work on Pagnard’s part to build a recruiting plan for the instrumental area of the Music Department. Pagnard’s years of faithful service to both Cedarville University and the Department of Music went beyond bolstering performing groups and recruiting as he sought to connect and leave a mark on each student with whom he worked. The joy of the Lord is my strength (Neh. 8:10). A philosophy of excellence in musical skill that derives from both a love for music and a love for God is the foundation of Pagnard’s contribution to Cedarville. To love music means that you are willing to put in the time and effort to produce the best performance you can with your God-given gifts. To love God means that you are happy to use the talents God gave you and are also willing to share them with others, with the public, as a proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In Pagnard’s own words, “You come into the ensemble setting, know- ing you are going to learn something today about God’s gifts, and you are going to be able to take those gifts that He has given you and develop them during the time we have together. If that doesn’t bring joy, you’re in the wrong place.” Driven by this underlying goal of doing everything with excellence for the glory of God, Pagnard worked hard to raise the level of skill in his ensembles. In particular, with the Brass Choir, this meant entering them into competitions with brass groups from other colleges and universities in the region. For a period of time he instituted invitational festivals, at first called the The joy of the Lord is truly Professor Pagnard’s strength, and he has modeled that for many of his students over his blessed forty-year service at Cedarville.