By: Kacey Heinlein, contributor
Published: Sept. 14, 2012
"I believe in music."
This is how Shederick Whipple, Associate Professor of Music and Director of Opera at Taylor, described his life's passion. After 27 years of education and seven years teaching at Taylor, this is one thing that hasn't changed.
"I was called into this," Whipple said. "My first degree was in biology. I had won an internship to a medical school, and it was in that internship that I began to realize that I was not called to do that, but to do music."
Whipple did undergraduate work in biology and music at Mercy University of Georgia. He received his master's in vocal performance from the University of Kentucky followed by a doctorate at Cleveland University of Music in conjunction with Case Western.
He is currently taking classes at United Theological Seminary in Ohio, marking his 27th year as a student. Whipple said he is amazed that God has brought him so far and provided for his education.
"He's a great teacher, very knowledgeable in his field," said music major Jenna Clark who has sung in Whipple's opera program for the past three years. "He has a passion for what he does."
That passion spills over into Whipple's love for Taylor and the surrounding community.
"The idea of integration of faith and learning just resonates with me one thousand percent," Whipple said.
Whipple proudly displays every one of Taylor's "Best College in the Midwest" awards on his office piano. He admits this is partly for recruiting prospective students.
Through active recruiting and meticulous directing, Whipple has helped vocal students compete and win awards at the National Association of Teachers for Singing. Whipple's students have won awards every year since his arrival, even while competing against premier music school Indiana University.
"He definitely has a vision for what he wants done and how he wants it done," said senior Tim Vest, member of Whipple's opera program for three years. "He's a very detailed director."
"I have the best students," Whipple said. "The freshmen (this year) are absolutely phenomenal. I want to be around and watch these people develop. I want to nurture them in their careers."
In addition to directing the opera program, Whipple teaches voice and diction classes and coordinates accompaniment for many of the campus musical performances. He has also served as co-chair for the Performing Artist series and as president of the Marion Philharmonic Orchestra.
Sunday, the Performing Artist series will feature Whipple in a vocal recital, one of several he's performed at Taylor over the years.
"This is sort of a reinvention of the first recital that I did when I first came," Whipple said. The program will include Vaughan Williams's "Four Hymns," Liszt's "Three Petrarch Sonnets," Poulenc's "Métamorphoses," as well as a piece by Bach and various spirituals.
Whipple said performing is a way to connect with students, but he also performs purely for the love of singing.
"I've had conversations with (Whipple) about opera where he just gets so caught up in the music, he just starts smiling and waving his hands, and he's speechless about how beautiful the music is," Vest said.
Whipple said he feels he has been guided during his journey to Taylor.
"Opportunities kept coming," he said. "Who would have thought that I would have the opportunity to go to six different countries singing? Study four different languages? Be a president of an organization? Work with some of the greatest Christian minds on the planet?"
Whipple's recital will take place Sept. 16 in the Butz-Carruth Recital Hall at 3 p.m. Admission is free.
