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A look at one of the many organizations in metro Atlanta that are making a difference in people's lives. Focus on VOLUNTEERISM Derrick Henry - Staff Saturday, January 13, 2001 MERIDIAN HERALD 404-525-4722 www.orpheusdei.com/meridianherald.htm What: A nonprofit corporation formed to enhance worship through creative music. The Atlanta-based organization presents worship services, concerts and recordings. Meridian Herald sponsors the Meridian Chorale, a 25-member community chorus specializing in sacred repertoire. Performances are free. History: Singer-composer-conductor Steven Darsey, longtime music director at Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church on the Emory University campus, was enjoying barbecue on a country outing with parishioner Jack Davidson in 1997. They drove past the historic Salem Camp Ground near Covington and Davidson had a brainstorm. The retired Emory medical professor suggested that Darsey stage a camp meeting service with authentic music in updated arrangements at the 19th-century site. To make that possible, Meridian Herald was organized; it was granted nonprofit status on Jan. 8, 1998. Meridian Herald's first camp meeting services took place in the fall of 1998. The name: "I believe that names are very important, that they have a prophetic kernel for the character of an organization," says Darsey. "I wanted a name that would inspire us." After an extensive search, he decided on "Meridian" because of its multiple meanings: It refers to the highest point in the daily course of a celestial body, and by extension, the highest point of art, achievement, etc. And it derives from the Latin meridianus, meaning southern. "I liked the word because it suggests excellence and things that uplift us," says Darsey, "and because of its allusion to southern. I chose 'Herald' because we are proclaiming these things." Something for everyone: Programs encompass a wide spectrum of musical and worship styles, from formal to informal, classical to bluegrass. For instance, Darsey, who had written his master's thesis on "Sacred Harp" folk hymns at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, devised an Advent service using "Sacred Harp" texts and tunes. The texts --- reflective of the rough lives of rural folk in the early 19th-century South --- were organized into a theological presentation, and several tunes were transformed by sophisticated choral-instrumental arrangements that incorporated a bluegrass band. Other Meridian Herald programs have included a storytelling event; a folk Passion; a jazz opera, "The Samaritan Woman," based on the biblical story; and a service on the creation of the universe that combined science, theology and a wild blend of rock, Gregorian chant and aleatoric ("chance") music. Programs are presented in both rural and city settings. Recordings (CD or video) are available of the "Southern Folk Advent," "Southern Folk Passion" and camp meeting services, all enhanced by the folksy, spellbinding preaching of Fred Craddock. Thoughts from Steven Darsey: "We are building on spiritual traditions of our forebears, grafted onto modern intellectual tradition. But we're doing things, experimental things, that traditional churches don't usually do. We are open to all manifestations of worship and want to make the music exciting, interesting and alluring. We want to enhance the communication between generations and diverse cultures in a positive way, to help the interface of the arts and the human condition. There can be a prophetic power in bringing disparate elements together." Future plans: Commissioning works based on Georgia poets: a rock oratorio on poetry by Byron Herbert Reece and a choral-orchestral setting of Sidney Lanier's "The Marshes of Glynn." Darsey dreams of having an old church that Meridian Herald can use for rehearsals, worship services and to make recordings. Funding: Collections, contributions, grants, album sales. Upcoming programs: Jan. 27-28: "Winged for the Heart: Folk Stories and Songs." Fred Craddock, storyteller. Brasstown Valley Resort. Feb. 13: "The Creation of Life: Science and Theology." Music by the Meridian Chorale. Emory University. April 8: "Wondrous Love: Folk Passion Service." With the Meridian Chorale and narrator Brenda Bynum. Old Church, Oxford. May 1, 8, 15: "The Samaritan Woman." Reading sessions of a sacred opera-in-progress by Emory University's Dwight Andrews. First Congregational Church of Atlanta. To hear passages from "Southern Folk Advent," dial 511 and enter
8600 and Soundline number 375. Each call costs 50 cents.
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