...........................................................
This history of the napervillechorus
and Paul Warren Allen's contribution.
Here is a portion:
The history of the Naperville Chorus is about music:
Centuries-old choral works of timeless beauty by Bach,
Beethoven, Haydn, Handel, Schubert, Strauss…
Reggae-style Christmas carols
The Requiem, or Mass for the Dead, Mozart left
unfinished at his own death
The Motet composed to honor Naperville
native Commander Daniel Shanower,
killed in the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon.
Modern masterpieces evoking despair and delight
and so much more.
The history of the Chorus is also about people:
In the 1960's Dr. Paul Warren Allen of the
North Central College Music Department melded
the vocal talents of students, college personnel
and community members into a forerunner of
the Naperville Chorus. The NCC-Community
Chorus flourished and performed contemporary
and traditional choral works until 1971, when
financial cutbacks at the college eliminated
the Music Department.
UPDATE December 10, 2010
Obituary & Life Histo
Paul Warren Allen, 96, of Orange City, passed away on December 4, 2010, and joined Eleanor Schuyler Allen, his wife of 67 years, and their only son Richard...
Paul Warren Allen, 96, of Orange City, passed away on December 4, 2010, and joined Eleanor Schuyler Allen, his wife of 67 years, and their only son Richard Ethan Allen, for a glorious reunion on Heaven’s shores. Born in Rochester, NY, on December 21, 1913, he died from complications after surgery. Survivors include daughters Bonnie-Jean Hisgen (Conifer, CO); Gail Townsend (Fern Park, FL); Paula Billingsley (Clearwater, FL); their spouses; 12 grandchildren; and 19 great-grandchildren. Surviving also are myriads of devoted students worldwide, as well as followers of “Prof’s” illustrious musical career. He earned his Bachelor and Master degrees in music at the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester (NY), where he was Director of Choral Activities for several years. He moved to the Midwest in 1953 and was on the music faculty of Wheaton College (IL) and then Chairman of the Music Department at North Central College (Naperville, IL). Called “the Robert Shaw of the Christian world”, Allen was well-known in church and school music as an adjudicator and guest conductor at music festivals and contests. Several of his groups toured abroad and always received rave reviews. Always giving the glory to God for his success, Allen has laid down his baton and is with his “Messiah” this Christmas!
A graveside service will take place at the Hollywood Cemetery in Orange City at 4pm on Saturday, December 18. Online condolences may be left at www.allensummerhillfuneralhome.com. Allen-Summerhill Orange City is in charge.
UPDATE December 16, 2010Credit to
napervillesun.suntimes.com/news/2858095-418/allen-music ‘One of those jewels’
Former North Central College professor
Paul Warren Allen died recently at age 96.
Dec 16, 2010 02:37AM
Music professor Paul Warren Allen could be moved to tears by the beautiful sounds created by students in his choir at North Central College. “I remember one Christmas, he was conducting the choir singing Handel’s ‘Messiah.’ The truth of the words gripped him and he had ... tears running down his cheeks,” recalls his daughter, Paula Billingsley.
Allen, of Orange City, Fla., died Dec. 4 from complications following surgery. He was 96. He was a direct descendent of American Revolutionary War patriot Ethan Allen, his daughter says.
Allen came to North Central in 1957 after serving on the music faculty at nearby Wheaton College. He assembled a choir that eventually grew to more than 100 students who toured the United States and Canada, performing for as many as 17,000 people a year.
At its peak in the 1960s, North Central’s Concert Choir performed in such prestigious venues as Orchestra Hall, home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Allen left a lasting legacy among former students.
“He always kept by his side a notebook of choir concert programs and letters from former students, some decades old,” Billingsley says.
In addition to directing the choir at North Central, in the 1960s Allen was instrumental in establishing the NCC-Community Chorus, also known as the Oratorio Association, a 200-member ensemble that evolved into today’s Naperville Chorus.
“He left a great legacy,” says Jeordano “Pete” Martinez, a North Central music professor and Naperville Chorus director. “Alumni just rave about him. There was a strong kinship among members of the choir from that era.”
Under Allen’s leadership, North Central’s Concert Choir undertook an annual spring tour that took it from coast to coast and included numerous appearances on radio and television. The choir’s repertoire included works of the Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Contemporary periods, as well as Christian hymns and spirituals.
One former student says Allen, known as “Prof” to many, had a profound impact on her life.
“Some people enter our lives, and the effect that they have on us never fades, but becomes more meaningful, more powerful and our gratitude deepens,” says Sandra Hammel, a 1972 graduate of North Central. “I treasure the music that ‘Prof’ Paul Warren Allen — with his understanding and interpretive, expressive movements — lifted out of us.
“He truly had a gift. Those rare ones who elevate our experience contribute to a richness in our lives, especially in the arts. ‘Prof’ Allen was one of those jewels.”
Allen remained at North Central as chair of the music department until 1971, when financial pressures caused the suspension of the college’s music program. He continued working with school and church choirs and as an adjudicator and guest conductor at music festivals and contests.
Today, the restored music program at North Central includes more than 20 instrumental and vocal groups performing in the $30 million Wentz Concert Hall and Fine Arts Center, dedicated in 2008. Faculty include acclaimed classical music educators and internationally known jazz performers, and degrees are offered in vocal and instrumental music, jazz studies, and choral and instrumental music education.
The college’s revived Concert Choir once again tours the country and abroad each spring.
“In many ways we are keeping alive the traditions that Paul Warren Allen was instrumental in starting at the college,” Martinez says.
Allen was born in 1913 in Rochester, N.Y., and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music at the Eastman School of Music at New York’s University of Rochester in New York, where he was director of choral activities for several years. He moved to the Midwest in 1953.
Allen is survived by Billingsley, of Clearwater, Fla., and two other daughters, Bonnie-Jean Hisgen of Conifer, Colo., Gail Townsend of Fern Park, Fla., and their spouses; 12 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 67 years, Eleanor Schuyler Allen, and a son, Richard Ethan Allen.
A graveside service will be at 4 p.m. Saturday at Hollywood Cemetery in Orange City, Fla.
Online condolences may be left at www.allensummerhillfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Paul-Allen
Other locations of Paul Warren Allen obituary in Chicago areachicagotribune.com/features/obituaries/ct-met-allen-obit-20101215,0,3525223.storynorthcentralcollege.edu/news/legacy-paul-warren-allen
❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧
Precious Lord, take my hand
Lead me on, let me stand
I am tired, I am weak, I am worn
Through the storm, through the night
Lead me on to the light
Take my hand precious Lord, lead me home
When my way grows drear
Precious Lord linger near
When my life is almost gone
Hear my cry, hear my call
Hold my hand lest I fall
Take my hand precious Lord, lead me home
When the darkness appears
And the night draws near
And the day is past and gone
At the river I stand
Guide my feet, hold my hand
Take my hand precious Lord, lead me home
Precious Lord, take my hand
Lead me on, let me stand
I'm tired, I'm weak, I'm lone
Through the storm, through the night
Lead me on to the light
Take my hand precious Lord, lead me home
