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Classical 89.3 program Sing For Joy gets new collaborators in Bruce Benson, John Ferguson

By Elizabeth Child
November 22, 2002

W. Bruce BensonJohn Ferguson
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St. Olaf College Pastor Bruce Benson and John Ferguson, the Elliot and Klara Stockdal Johnson Professor of Organ and Church Music at the college, have teamed up to present the national radio broadcast of Sing For Joy, produced by Classical 89.3 and sponsored by St. Olaf College.

The half-hour program features Christian choral music and can be heard on 150 stations nationwide, including Classical 89.3 in the Twin Cities on Sundays at 10 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. Rev. Alvin Rueter, who has hosted the show he founded for more than 40 years, will retire Dec. 1. He is 81.

Benson and Ferguson already collaborate in preparing and presenting St. Olaf worship services each week. "This will give the two an opportunity to share their talents more broadly," says Marty Pelikan, director of national programming and new ventures at Classical 89.3, and executive producer of Sing For Joy.

"Sharing the enduring classics of Christian music is important," Benson says. "Even if listeners are not religious, I can't help but think that the radiant beauty of the music might cause them to wonder, if even for a moment, what inspires this."

Classical 89.3 has broadcast Sing For Joy under various names for more than four decades. In 1993, St. Olaf College acquired the program from Rueter and kept him as host. After Rueter announced his plan to retire, St. Olaf was committed to continuing the program. "There's a great affinity between the mission of St. Olaf and the mission of Sing For Joy," Pelikan says. "Both are rooted in the Christian gospel and foster the development of the spirit. It's a harmonious match."

Ferguson will oversee music selection for the program, and Benson will be the writer and on-air host. Ferguson is recognized internationally for producing hymn festivals for church congregations and is also Cantor for the St. Olaf student congregation.

Jeffrey O'Donnell recently began working behind the scenes of Sing For Joy, helping make music selections and cataloging them on a computer database. A 2002 St. Olaf graduate, O'Donnell majored in music -- specificially, church music -- and served as an audio engineer at Classical 89.3 while a student.

Sing For Joy is made up principally of choral works, but the program's hallmark is the way in which the work is selected and presented. The pieces are based on the scriptural lessons of the ecumenical Common Lectionary. The Lectionary, which has been adopted by an increasing circle of church bodies over recent decades, is a three-year cycle of lessons upon which most Christian churches base their worship services.

Although the program's format remains largely unchanged, Ferguson is reaching far and wide to introduce choral works that will speak to all Christians. He will seek out recordings by lesser known American and nonwestern choirs. As he says, "All God's children have a place in the choir."

St. Olaf College, a national leader among liberal arts institutions, fosters the development of mind, body and spirit. It is a residential college in Northfield, Minn., and affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The college provides personalized instruction and diverse learning environments, with nearly two-thirds of its students participating in international studies.

Contact David Gonnerman at 507-786-3315 or gonnermd@stolaf.edu.