Arladell Bond Nelson
1936
-
Arladell Nelson, voice teacher and choir
director, taught at Lodi Academy in California; Walla Walla College, now
University; Mount Ellis Academy in Montana; and Monterey Bay Academy in California.
During her long tenure at MBA, from 1969 to 1998, she became a legend in
developing voices and outstanding choral groups. Her choir, The Oceanaires, was the only choir from the United States to be
invited to sing in the Easter Chorale Spectacular in Sydney, Australia, in
1993.
Arladell, born and raised in California, grew
up in a musical family. Whenever the extended family gathered, music was a
central activity, with piano solos and duets and singing. She began playing
melodies by ear on the piano at age four and years later talked about how it
was discovered she had perfect pitch:
When
I was nine, I was having lunch with my mom and step-dad and a classical singer
was singing real high. My step-dad said, "I wonder what that note
is?" I said, "Well that's an __ and I named
a pitch." So he rushed to the piano to see if it was what I had said it
was. That's when they discovered I had perfect pitch. That ability to know
pitches was something that was like knowing colors. I also learned very early that
I was able to easily do musical improvisation.
Her first piano teacher was
her mother, and later, when she was living with her grandmother, a professional
pianist, she continued study with her. During this time, she was practicing an
hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon.
Clara Howland at San Andreas,
California, and Yvonne Caro Howard, music teacher at Lodi Academy, were two
teachers who particularly inspired her. While at Lodi, she played duo-piano
music with another student, and when they completed their senior year in
academy, as a graduation present Howard took them to have an extended lesson
from a well-known duo-piano team.
Following graduation from
Lodi Academy in 1954, Arladell attended La Sierra
College, now University. While there, she studied with and worked for John T.
Hamilton and sang in the La Sierrans, the select
vocal ensemble at LSC, for four years. She later recalled:
John
T. played a major role in helping me develop and grow as a person and musician.
I accompanied in his voice lessons and learned how to teach lessons and direct
choirs by observing him. I also gleaned much from his world of knowledge and
his joy of music. He helped me learn self-confidence by entrusting me with many
musical responsibilities. During that time I also played for Del Delker's voice lessons. She was a joy to have as a friend
and enriched my life greatly!
From her earliest years, Arladell had wanted to teach music. This desire was
reinforced through the years as she attended school and observed how important
music was in creating excitement and a deeper spiritual experience in her own
life and in the lives of other students.
The year before graduation
from LSC in 1958, she traveled to Europe in a summer music and history tour
group with John T. Hamilton. After graduating, she taught for a year at Lodi
Academy before accepting a position at WWC to teach voice, where she taught for
a year.
During that year, Arladell met Lowell Nelson, one of her voice students, who
was two years older and a senior biology major. They married in 1961 and then
taught at Mount Ellis Academy in Montana for eight years, until 1969, when they
were invited to teach at Monterey Bay Academy. The rest of Nelson's teaching
career was spent at MBA, where she provided an inspiring choral and spiritual
experience for her students, while finding ultimate fulfillment as a musician
and teacher.
In those years Nelson received numerous awards and recognition for her work. She received the Thomas and Violet Zapara Excellence in Teaching Award in 1992, an award for her work as a choral clinician at the SDA Music Camp in the Central California Conference in 1993, and a Paul Harris Fellow Award from Rotary International for her work in "furtherance of better understanding and friendly relations between peoples of the world" in 1997. The Music Teachers of the Northern and Central California Conference also gave her a merit award for her dedication to music education in 1998 and, in 2000, she was honored as Lodi Academy Alumnus of the Year.
Following her retirement in
1998, she served as minister of music at the Auburn Adventist Church in
California, and at Pine Hills Academy while Lowell taught anatomy and
physiology at Weimar Institute. Following his retirement, she served as minister
of music at the Adventist church in Carmichael, California. In 2004, the
Women's Ministries Department and the Northern California Conference of SDA
gave Nelson the Woman of Distinction Award in appreciation for her contribution
in Special Services at the Carmichael SDA Church.
In reflecting on her life and
career, Nelson recently observed:
I
feel I have been truly fortunate to be able to spend my life working in music
and with young people. I was truly blessed to be able to share my love of great
music with my students and encourage them to discover the greater joy of
serving the Lord in music.
ds/2007
Sources:
Interview, 2007; The Walla Walla College student newspaper, The Collegian, 8 October 1959.