Adventist Musicians of the 20th Century . . .

The following biographies honor the contributions and lives of three noted Adventist musicians who have recently died. Each made significant and unique contributions in the 20th Century, an important transitional time in Adventist music education.

John J. Hafner

1909-2001

John J. Hafner, pioneer band and orchestra director in Adventist music, died March 1 at the age of 92. The son of immigrants from Austria-Hungary, Hafner began study on violin at age nine, eventually receiving instruction at the Julliard School of Music. While a student at Greater New York Academy, he met Charlotte Briggs. They married in 1929. Hafner directed orchestras and bands in five Adventist colleges, beginning when he was still a student at Atlantic Union College. He would eventually do the same at Washington Missionary College, now Columbia Union College; Emmanual Missionary College, now Andrews University; Pacific Union College, where he also chaired the department; and Walla Walla College. After retirement he continued to teach and direct, his final position being at the Tawain Adventist Academy.

Hafner enjoyed a reputation as a highly successful teacher who loved both music and young people. He was described by WWC's school paper, the Collegian, as a "phenomenally good-natured person" whose never-failing sense of humor [kept] aspiring musicians in a matching mood."

Noted for his work with both orchestra and band, Hafner was also known for his expressiveness as a performer on the violin. A 1941 graduate of EMC, he received a master's degree in performance from the Chicago Musical College, now Roosevelt University. In 1985 he was named an emeritus professor at WWC, where a scholarship endowment in his name provides an annual scholarship to string students.

John T. Hamilton

1916-2000

John T. Hamilton, noted Adventist music educator, died in October at the age of 85. Noted for his work in voice and as a choral director, Hamilton taught and worked in a variety of roles for over thirty years at both La Sierra and Loma Linda University campuses. Hamilton graduated from Washington Missionary College in 1937 with a degree in history. Oliver Beltz, an Adventist musician who chaired the church music and choral program at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, encouraged him to get a degree in music at NWU, where he completed a B.Mus. in 1941.

That year he married Arlene Winsor and for the next five years taught at Walla Walla College, while completing a M.Mus. degree in the summers at NWU. During his graduate study he served as associate conductor of the NWU Summer Festival Chorus, preparing them for performances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. After leaving WWC, Hamilton taught at Andrews University for one year before going to LSU.

In 1948 Hamilton founded the La Sierra Collegians, a well-known eighteen-voice choral group which continued for the next thirteen years, becoming the La Sierrans in 1955. He founded the John T. Hamilton Chorale in 1976, which continued until 1990. The group became internationally known, performing concerts in Hong Kong and in Canterbury, Exeter and Winchester Cathedrals and Westminster Abbey, in England. The Chorale was the first American choir ever invited to perform at the prestigious Three Choirs Festival in Worcester, England.

Hamilton attended the Festival thirty-two times and was asked to contribute articles to the Festival Book and the 250th Anniversary Book. He took the Chorale on a special tour of Paris, Brittany and Normandy in 1992, giving concerts in the cathedrals of Harfleur, Tours and Chartres, and at the Madeleine Church in Paris.

Earlier, at the invitation of Sir David Willcocks, noted British choral conductor, Hamilton had spent two summers at Kings College, Cambridge University, observing rehearsals and performances of the choir. Following this, he established the Sir David Willcocks Choral Workshop which was held for nine years at LSU.

While serving as Director of Public Relations at LSU, Hamilton founded Adventist Colleges Abroad which he directed for fourteen years. He traveled in more than seventy countries, including China and the Soviet Union. In 1955, he began conducting student tours of Europe and other areas of the world, doing over thirty. These were the first student tours for credit in Adventist higher education.

He loved great music and poetry. He could recite a vast number of poems at length and is remembered for his sense of humor and wonderful anecdotes. Hamilton retired in 1980 and was given Emeritus Professor of Music status in 1982. He received the LLU Distinguished University Service Award in 1987 and was awarded an honorary D.Mus. by LSU in 1998. A John T. Hamilton Endowed Scholarship Fund provides an annual scholarship for students in voice at LSU.

George Wargo

1911- 2001

A virtuoso violist, composer, conductor, chamber music and recording artist, music educator, and music department administrator, George Wargo died from a sudden heart attack at his home in Yountville, California, on January 29, 2001. Wargo began his music education at age seven. His musical gifts won him a scholarship at the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music where he studied violin with the eminent Russian violinist Boris Koutzen.

At age 16 he had a successful debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra, playing the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto. At age 19 he became principal violist of the National Symphony in Washington, D. C., where for many years he was its youngest member. During his fifteen-year tenure with the National Symphony he appeared as soloist and as guest conductor, conducting the premiere performance of his Symphony in G Major.

In 1932 Wargo accepted an invitation to teach at the Peabody Conservatory of Music, a position he would hold for ten years. During those years he performed in the Conservatory Faculty String Quartet and earned B. Mus. and M. Mus. degrees at Peabody, while still serving as principal violist of the National Symphony.

Midway through that decade at Peabody, Wargo taught for a year at Washington Missionary College (now Columbia Union College). While teaching there he became acquainted with Seventh-day Adventists, was baptized, and helped with evangelistic meetings in the area. At this time he met and married Audrey Beekman, a piano student at the college.

From 1942 to 1955, Wargo served as Chair of the music department at Washington Missionary College and conducted the CUC Chorale and Orchestra. He also continued performing as a member of both the Washington String Quartet and the American University String Quartet. He completed a D. Mus. at the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music in 1946.

From 1955 to 1959 Wargo taught at the University of Virginia, moving from the area when he accepted the Chairmanship of the music department at Pacific Union College. During his ten-year tenure as music chair at PUC he was the driving force behind the building of the new music facility, Paulin Hall, and strengthened the music graduate program.

Shortly after arriving at PUC, he became conductor of the Vallejo Symphony, a position he would hold for 21 years. The music editor of the Vallejo Times-Herald observed that Wargo's demanding but inspiring leadership lifted the level of performance and molded the musicians into a very fine ensemble. He retired from PUC in 1973 with the rank of Professor Emeritus of Music. For thirteen more years he would conduct the Vallejo Symphony and continue performing, forming the Wargo Trio with himself as violinist.

Wargo's compositions include works for piano, voice, chorus, chamber groups, viola, chamber orchestra and symphony orchestra. In addition to his Symphony No. I mentioned earlier, the Vallejo Symphony also performed his Concerto for Strings. A friend of George Vandeman, Wargo composed and conducted the theme music and other numbers for the It is Written television program. He also recorded for Chapel Records with The Wargo Symphonette.