By Emma King, Staff Writer
Yesterday, Dr Pepper Hour was crashed by the Baylor Men’s Choir as they stood in a strong circle of voices and serenaded unsuspecting students.
This flash mob came as the conclusion to the choir’s annual Men’s Day Out, which began at 11:00 a.m. and welcomed over 250 high school students from local schools to Baylor’s campus. These students got the opportunity to participate in sectionals led by members of Baylor’s Men’s Choir, rehearse as a large group, fellowship over lunch and then perform a concert alongside the Men’s Choir.
“I think one of the cool things to see is we aren’t so removed from where the high school guys are,” said Mason Everett, president of the Baylor Men’s Choir.
Everett said the event is a good opportunity to influence and mentor the high schoolers in a positive way.
“It’s really trying to build relationships and give high school guys role models,” said Dr. Randall Bradley, director of the Baylor Men’s Choir.”
Bradley said that Men’s Day Out was an inspiring day. He said he loves the connection of music with people.
“I have always loved music, since I was a child I was drawn to music,” Bradley said. “As long as I can remember I’ve loved to sing.”
Bradley began playing the piano in church when he was in the fourth grade continued throughout high school.
Bradley grew up in a small town in Alabama and attended a high school that did not have a choir. His junior year, however, his band director insisted that he try out for the Alabama. All-State Choir. Bradley made it. The next year, the school hired a choir director.
“You have these guys that are coming to Men’s Day Out, and some of those guys are me,” Bradley said. “There’s some guys up there that are just hungry for anything musical and they’re hungry for role models and they’re hungry to see these college guys to say, ‘that could be me.’”
When he graduated high school, Bradley became a church choir director.
“A connection between music and faith is a very natural one,” Bradley said. “The juxtaposition of music and my faith, and then my own recognition of what music did for me as a person and my spirit and my soul and then feeling passionate about being a catalyst for that kind of transformation for others is really kind of the heart of why I do what I do.”
He came to Baylor in 2000 to enhance the church music program and began directing the men’s choir as well.
“The guys that sing in men’s choir are amazing guys,” Bradley said.
He said the organization has a very accepting and open culture that wants members to bring who they are to the group.
“We are strong because of our diversity,” Bradley said. “We’re strong because we have a lot of majors and people involved in all sorts of organizations on campus and people from all over the world.”
The Baylor Men’s Choir began in 1895 and now has about 100 members.
