'This is a legacy project': Nearly 70 years into existence, KCC finally has an alma mater

BATTLE CREEK — It all started with an email.

Kellogg Community College Music Area Coordinator and Vocal Arts Director Gerald Case-Blanchard was scrolling through his messages on a September day when he came across a particular email from KCC President Paul Watson II's secretary.

"Dr. Watson said you should see this," the email read. Attached was a picture of the lyrics to the Grand Rapids Community College alma mater, included in a program at an event Watson had just attended.

"I knew what it meant," Case-Blanchard laughed, acknowledging he'd previously been asked to develop an alma mater for KCC back in 2007, but at that time, he'd only been at the college for roughly three years and did not feel qualified to do so.

"Now, I can’t use the 'I’m new' thing because I’ve been here 20 years at this point," Case-Blanchard chuckled. "I said, 'I can do it, but I need other people.'"

KCC English Professor Ronald Davis came to mind almost immediately, as did former KCC music instructor Mark Wells. Together, the three have developed the first-ever alma mater in KCC's nearly 70-year history — "Alma Mater KCC: Beacon of Hope."

The song made its world premiere at the college's "Singing in the Spring" concert April 21 at First Presbyterian Church. The KCC Choral Union, joined by about 14 alumni, brought it to life.

"This is a legacy project. When I am long gone, when Ron is long gone, this will last," Case-Blanchard said. "I want people to really understand who we are and that we’re doing this out of real love. Neither one of us were compensated to do this, so it really is a labor of love for the institution that has given us so much."

Davis had actually been delving into more lyric writing on his own when he received a call from Case-Blanchard out of the blue in October asking to be a part of the alma mater project. The opportunity to write the words for the piece was one he couldn't pass up.

Reading through the lyrics to other community college alma maters from across the country, Davis soon discovered a number of common themes and patterns in the songs. He also found aspects he felt aligned with KCC as well as those he felt really didn't.

"I just kind of went from what I saw," Davis said of his lyrics for the song. "For the 22 years I’ve been here, I’ve always marveled at how (the college) just sits on this hill ...  It’s always beautiful to me."

The lyrics were also heavily influenced by the many people Davis has worked with in his more than two decades at KCC.

"I was hoping that people who worked here or went to school here saw the same things that I saw," he said. "I tried to put those images in there."

Overall, the lyrics focus on the concept of the KCC as a shining beacon on a hill, a beacon that gives life to the dreams of generations of students. A strong refrain — “Alma mater, KCC” — is repeated throughout.

Case-Blanchard was tasked with composing the music for the alma mater. He let Davis' words guide everything he did in the process.

"Believe it or not, I actually wrote the tune in 10 minutes," Case-Blanchard explained. "I read his words and I wrote that tune in 10 minutes."

Prior to receiving Davis' lyrics, Case-Blanchard did a rhythmic sketch for the alma mater. He listened to about 40 different alma maters from different institutions around the country, both community colleges and universities, and "the same six or seven songs kept coming back, just with different words."

"I decided, if we’re going to do this, because we are almost 70 years old and we’re just now getting around to doing an alma mater, if we’re going to do it, it needs to be something that’s very original," Case-Blanchard said. "So I sat down and I did that rhythmic sketch and then I looked at his words and I matched his words with the rhythms that I had written out. About 70% of the words were almost right on (with the sketch) … I’m like OK, we are doing this."

The vocal arrangement of the song was left up to Wells, a longtime music instructor at KCC. Further instrumental arrangement by KCC Jazz Band Director Eric Campbell is also in the works.

“The harmonization seemed to reveal itself quite naturally in the process of thinking through the possibilities inherent in both the shape and structure of the melody,” Wells said in a statement. “Initially this melody was presented to me in a lower key. From the first copy of the melody that I saw, my thought was to raise the key to a higher one that would easier for more people to participate. As the vocal range of the melody was not too wide, this increased the range of possible tonal centers, so that the arrangement of the melody was neither too high nor too low for most singers.”

The KCC Choral Union began rehearsing the song in January. Hearing the music come to life was admittedly an emotional moment for Case-Blanchard.

"You could hear the parts starting to come together and I started to see these images from (Davis') words come to mind," Case-Blanchard said. "Beacon of hope, that’s who we are. … When you think about KCC, we are that beacon of hope for people to move forward in their lives through education."

The project was kept completely under wraps throughout the process, with very few people — not even Davis — hearing the song until its world premiere April 21.

"I didn’t even hear the words as they were singing, I just heard the melody and I heard the chorus," Davis said. "It was just beautiful … I heard all the voices together and the music all working together. It felt amazing just to know I contributed to that.

"You’re sort of humbled in the sense that your words and your perspective have been chosen, or selected or you were just in the right place at the right time, and that's what people are likely to be signing for who knows how long," Davis continued. "It’s sort of one of those unexpected legacies that sort of falls in your lap and it may even take a couple years for it to really sink in how meaningful it is."

Case-Blanchard will sing the song, accompanied by Nancy Brown on keyboard, at the college’s upcoming commencement ceremony May 9 at Kellogg Arena.

"That’ll be the first time the graduating class as a whole gets to hear it," Case-Blanchard said. "The hope is, starting next year, enough people will know it that we can all sing it together."

Watson, who encouraged Case-Blanchard to take on the project, called the alma mater “a legacy achievement that presents the college as the pride and reflection of the communities it serves.”

“We’re thankful to our talented faculty for creating such an apt and beautiful statement that captures our strong community-focused tradition while also presenting a clear focus on our unwavering commitment as we continue ever forward,” Watson said in a statement. “Kellogg Community College has served as a true beacon of hope for generations of students, educating our Bruin family in humble pride. Yet as stated so well in the words of this new song, ‘Loyal scholars we march on,’ ready to serve generations more.”

Contact reporter Greyson Steele at gsteele@battlecreekenquirer.com

This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: 'This is a legacy project': Nearly 70 years into existence, KCC finally has an alma mater