ON CAMPUS AT VANGUARD:

James Melton is dean of the School of Communication and the Arts at Vanguard University, and a visiting guest maestro at Carnegie Hall. Since coming to Vanguard in 1997 he has turned the university music program into one of the best in the country. Melton spoke with journalist Joel Kilpatrick about Vanguard University’s popular Christmas Fantasia concert, performing at Carnegie Hall and where the program is headed next.

Question: How did Christmas Fantasia become one of Vanguard University’s flagship events?

Answer: It started in 1997 as a banquet for leaders and supporters of Vanguard, and it really took off from there. We felt that Christmas was an optimal time to bring the community together for a major concert. Christmas Fantasia celebrates the songs of the season with a variety of music, from medleys of carols, to popular music, to classics like selections from the Nutcracker and usually a spoof of a major classical theme. All 12 of our ensembles perform, including the jazz ensembles, and the guitar ensemble, which brought the house down last year.

I also interview a few students during the concert, so people get to know the types of students we have at Vanguard. We let our students tell the Vanguard story. That showcases the relationship that our faculty have with our students. The strongest part of our music program and our university is being small enough to know everybody’s name. We invest in the students and help them to be successful not only in college but in the future, as world-changers. The relationships between students — and with their mentors and faculty advisors — are what make Vanguard unique. Students are engaged, they enjoy serving together and worshiping together. They grow here as people and academically.

Also, I don’t know too many Christmas concerts where the students mix with the people, walking them in, seating them, introducing themselves like we do. It always brings an immediate warmth to the event. We sold out the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts and St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church last year.

Q: The Vanguard choirs have performed at Carnegie Hall three times in five years, and you are a guest maestro at Carnegie. How did that come about?

A: A resident conductor at Carnegie heard our first CD and was blown away that a university our size had such a nice sound. He passed it on to Mid-America Productions, and we were invited to perform at Carnegie in 2001. After that we had a solo command choral performance, and I’ve been invited back three other times. We’ve already been invited to perform there again in 2008. We also perform at places like St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine and other major East Coast venues while we’re there. It has become part of our music education process.

We’re the only school I know of that has been invited to Carnegie this much. We’ve also been invited to perform at Lincoln Center next year. This spring I am sending our jazz ensemble to the Town Hall Jazz Festival in New York. Carnegie has opened a lot of doors for us.

Q: What kind of international touring does the Vanguard music program do?

A: I’ve taken the Concert Choir and the Vanguard Singers to dozens of countries in Europe and Asia. Our mission statement is to create world-changers and well-prepared leaders for the next generation, so to achieve that we have to take students to the world. We were recently invited back to South Korea and to China to do pre-Olympics events. We were also invited to the Sydney Opera House next summer.

Our groups also perform approximately 250 concerts a year in and around Orange County. They sing and play at churches, civic events, high schools, conventions, chamber of commerce events, banquets, and rotary clubs. The more we’re out in the community, the more people come to know and appreciate our program.

Q: What makes Vanguard’s music program different from other schools’?

A: The diversity of our music. A lot of schools only do classical, or sacred, or contemporary music. We try to do all these styles well and expose students to a wide palette. I have a conservatory background, a master’s degree and doctorate from Arizona State University. I’ve worked with orchestras, bands for Sun Devils football and with many choirs. I’ve seen the universal language of music in action. Teaching music is about taking people where they’re at and helping them to fall in love with music even more. At a Christian university like ours, it’s also about helping people to love God more through worship. Music will always help you live life to the fullest.

Q: Has Vanguard’s music program grown in recent years?

A: It has grown tremendously. When I first started we had only seven students in the music major. Today, about 25% of our on-campus resident students are involved in one of our music groups. We have a concert choir and orchestra, a women’s chorus, two jazz ensembles, a guitar ensemble, chamber ensembles, Vanguard Singers and Band, and the Barbershop and Beauty Shop Quartets.

Q: What’s ahead for the music program?

A: We desperately need for our new performing arts center to be built. It is part of the campus master plan and Vanguard University’s Vision 2010 capital and endowment campaign. Vanguard is in the top tier of Christian colleges with our offerings in academics. We just need to get our buildings and facilities up to that level.

Once the performing arts center is built, it will open up opportunities to perform major concerts right here on campus, bring kids in from the community for clinics and performances, and provide adequate teaching and office space for our growing faculty and staff. We’re looking forward to having the facilities that will help us provide a better product for our current and future students as well as for the Costa Mesa and Orange County communities.