Yesterday was a bittersweet day as we celebrated the life and passing of Professor Larry Torkelson in Vermillion. Larry died on Wednesday following a battle with a pretty aggressive cancer. He was our Chamber Singers conductor, my voice teacher for a short time, our conducting teacher and a valued supporter of both Amy and me.
We had an opportunity to rejoin Larry on stage last spring as part of an invitation only alumni choir that he put together. We had the chance to sing pieces that we had done in college and reconnected with several friends through the experience. In honor of his love for his students and the music we made together, an alumni choir was assembled for the funeral singing a few of Larry's favorite pieces. We did Mozart's "Laudate Dominum" and the "Agnus Dei" from Peter Williams' Missa Brevis which is probably one of the pieces that we all associate most closely with Larry. Making it even more special was the fact that Peter Williams flew from Monterey, CA to conduct the piece himself.
There were probably about 50 singers all told from throughout Larry's tenure at USD and we had the chance to reconnect with friends like Tom Green, Lonny Mitchell, Janice and Kevin Dart and Troy Stephens. We rehearsed in the morning in the choir room at USD, shared stories, caught up with old friends and made beautiful music. So many of us had performed these pieces with Larry (including last year's alumni choir) that we sort of have the pieces hardwired into our memory. I actually sang for the most part without even looking at the music, knowing the notes, dynamics and phrasing that we would be using from hours under Larry's direction.
The funeral was at the UCC in Vermillion where Amy and I attended church in college. The main level was full and the balcony was occupied by several well wishers and the current crop of USD Chamber Singers who performed as well. The words and scriptures that were shared pointed to the beauty of God, the beauty of life and emphasized Larry's uncommon recognition of beauty. He had a way of recognizing a moment and pulling all of us into it as well. Rehearsals were often marked with moments of transcendence when the music we were making connected with something beyond our comprehension. In hindsight, Larry was a great worship leader in this respect. He helped us recognize beauty and invited us to experience God through it. His use of liturgical and spiritual texts was more than academic, it was a way for him to connect his students' love of music with his love of beauty in the power of God.
As we sang, we were in rows behind the casket and his conducting chair from the choir room and a music stand were placed in front in the aisle. The music was beautiful, tearful, worshipful and held us in the tension between this life and the next as we celebrated a friend, advisor and co-conspirator who will be missed.
A few of those that shared at the service spoke of how they could see Larry in Heaven organizing the next rehearsal and preparing to make even more beautiful music. The way I see it, Larry was more about beauty than music. Music was simply his portal to the expression and experience of beauty. Larry's desire for beauty has now found it's ultimate inspiration and I see him captivated before the throne of God basking in a beauty beyond the greatest things he ever imagined in this life. He will be missed but he continues to inspire those who knew him and hopefully his funeral has helped move a few people closer to God through the shared pursuit of beauty with a great man.
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