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

EPILOGUE Five of the six maestros have officially ended their careers at Cedarville University. Dave Matson retired in 2009, Mike DiCuirci in 2016, Charlie Pagnard in 2017, Chuck Clevenger in 2018, and Steve Winteregg in 2019. Their day-to-day contributions are deeply missed, but the Department still operates in many ways as a result of their legacy. However, the maestros not only have left their mark on the past, they also offer both solemn warn- ings and high aspirations for the future of the Department. Clevenger adamantly believes that change in attitude toward the fine arts is both necessary and possible as we educate the “children of our constit- uencies.” His wise departing charge to the Department and University is, “We have great potential to enrich lives. We have an awesome mission and we need to make every moment count.” Complementing this charge, Anderson offers this advice: “Keep the main thing the main thing: we not only educate our students well in the nuts and bolts and techniques of music-making, but make it good for God, realizing that our testimony must shine through even more than our musical prowess. It’s all about God and serving Him and making His praise glorious.” He hopes that faculty would aspire to teach the whole counsel of God with nobility, always calling atten- tion to the Lord regardless of the academic subject matter. And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of (Heb. 11: 32a)… Beth Porter, who chairs the Department in the shadows of Matson, Clevenger, and Winteregg; of Bruce Curlette, who now manages the entire Music Education program in the absence of DiCuirci; of John Mortensen, who has assumed Clevenger’s full piano studio while maintaining his own; of Carlos Elias, who directs the University Orchestra and has brought it to a new level of artistry and skill; of Roger O’Neel, who has taken Church Music Ministries and brought it into the twenty-first century with the B.A. EPILOGUE |  37