Larry Bach

By Jaclyn Schmeichel

An Interview with Larry Bach

Share about your journey to becoming a choir director. Did you always want to direct choirs?

Actually, my first goal was to be a professional singer. I was interested in opera, musicals, solo singing, recording, pop, I didn’t care! However, I was the assistant conductor for my college choir, and in my senior year I actually conducted the choir rehearsals five days a week. Little did I know what a big impact that year would have. After college, I naturally gravitated to conducting because I like to be in charge of things. So, I started working at a church in Pennsylvania where I met my wife Jerilyn, and conducted the kids, youth, and adult choirs. The National Youth Director for the Assemblies of God church came and heard our choirs and couldn’t believe how great we sounded, so he recommended me to North Central Bible College for the open music position, and that’s where I spent my career teaching.

What are some of your memories from the first years teaching?

When I took the job at North Central, I didn’t realize that there were only a handful of music majors with limited musical experience. Because it was a bible college, they didn’t really have any kind of tradition built up for choral singing. Right away I knew I wanted to shape the sound and musicianship of the choirs. So, I spent a lot of time teaching the students how to sing and teaching private voice lessons to every member of the Chorale. It was crazy, but I was young, and I was very focused on building the program.

Lary in his choir room in 1981

How did ACDA inspire you early in your career?

The end of my first year at North Central, I went to the Minnesota ACDA conference, and the Dale Warland Singers were singing. I had never heard a choir like that in my entire life! I said to myself “I gotta find out more about that.” I auditioned for the group that summer, and becoming a member changed everything for me. At that point, I no longer cared about being a professional singer; I auditioned for the sole purpose of learning how he got his choir to sound so incredible. Over my 20 years with the Dale Warland singers, I learned so many things that I took back to use with my singers.

Which choral conductors or composers inspire you today?

Conductors that inspired me in more recent years are Matthew Culloton, Eric Ericson, and Jerry Rubino. I also enjoy working with composer Michael John Trotta.

How do you select your repertoire? How has your programming changed over the years?

Well, the first and most important thing is to know your group and what they are capable of and interested in. Then, the one thing that has never changed for me is something I call the 15-70-15 rule. I try to make 70% of the repertoire stuff that really fits their normal abilities and success rate. Then 15% of the music is easy and they can find immediate success or focus on one musical skill, like tone. Finally, I love that final 15% of repertoire that is risk taking, and I wonder “how in the world  are we gonna do this?” But of course, those are the pieces that everyone remembers and loves. That strategy has served me well over the years.

Now, as far as programming goes, the term multicultural music did not exist when I first started at North Central. People did not talk about programming multicultural music! Working at a faith-based school, almost all of our repertoire was sacred. I liked pop and blues, and I found that the blues and gospel music were not that different. So, I programmed a lot of different styles of music and tried to reflect what people were singing in the churches we visited. What was fun about the Chorale was we could do a short classical work, a choral anthem, hymn arrangements, and gospel pieces. People were surprised at how well we could just switch between styles while still being healthy.

What are some of your favorite pieces that you would recommend to others?

I love repertoire that connects the old and the new. Some of my personal favorites to conduct are The Gospel Mass by Robert Ray, Precious Lord by Arnold Sevier (unpublished), Handel’s Messiah, and Mendelssohn’s Elijah. I also love all the music by Stephen Paulus and Michael John Trotta.

Now, as far as programming goes, the term multicultural music did not exist when I first started at North Central. People did not talk about programming multicultural music! Working at a faith-based school, almost all of our repertoire was sacred. I liked pop and blues, and I found that the blues and gospel music were not that different. So, I programmed a lot of different styles of music and tried to reflect what people were singing in the churches we visited. What was fun about the Chorale was we could do a short classical work, a choral anthem, hymn arrangements, and gospel pieces. People were surprised at how well we could just switch between styles while still being healthy.

Over the years your choirs have performed at various conferences and traveled around the world. What are some of your most memorable musical performance opportunities?

I think we went on 23 trips over the years. One memorable performance was when we were selected to sing for the ACDA conference in the 90s. We sang for 400 people at Augsburg college and got a huge standing ovation. It was really incredible. No one had heard of us then, and that performance changed a lot for us. We also took a tour that visited Graz, Austria, where I studied for two summers as an undergraduate student. I got to conduct a concert in the same school where I had studied years before, so that was very special. My undergrad traveling experience changed my life, so I always wanted to show my students that experience, too. Those trips were a big part of my life at North Central.

Larry conducting the North Central Chorale

Beyond just directing the choirs, what are other roles you held in your time at NCU? How did your leadership shape the music department?

In my second year teaching, I became the  head of the music department. By the time I was five years in, I had gained the trust of all the faculty, so I had a lot of space to do things the way I wanted them done. I don’t think anybody questioned anything I did in the music world! People stopped asking me how I would fund projects and trips because I always found a way, and money was never a problem. That was a big role that I took on as Dean of  the College of Fine Arts, and eventually the school as a whole. I worked closely with the development team for at least 25 years on our biggest fundraising event of the year, Partners for Progress. It always went through me because I have a knack for programming and strategic planning. Then, about 11 years ago, the thought came to me to start an Endowment to keep the music department well-funded after I retired. Now, the Fine Arts Endowment has $750,000 set aside just for music projects. So, fundraising was a big part of my leadership at NCU.

Then, of course, on the recruitment side, I did a lot of work. When I started we didn’t have many students, so I went on the road every summer for eight years with our worship band to recruit at Christian summer camps. This wasn’t a part of my job description, but it was important to me. I came up with all kinds of recruitment strategies, and through that I proved to the rest of the school’s leadership how valuable the music program could be not just to recruit music students but all types of students for the school.

Over time, I wanted to make a difference in more than just music. I’m a person who always needs new challenges, so I worked to be a leader in strategic planning for North Central’s academics as well. I pushed us to build new major programs: elementary and secondary education, and business. I also advocated for and implemented the development of the theater program and our recording studio. Athletics are a big part of my life too, so I coached golf and tennis on and off throughout the years. There was a joke at one time, where people said “Larry Bach IS North Central!” because I was so involved in everything. Honestly, I think I would have gotten bored working anywhere else, because I always had new opportunities to work on things that interested me. I am grateful for that.

You taught at North Central University from 1981 to 2022. That’s 41 years! During that time, what changed and what remained the same?

What always stayed the same for me was the passion to do everything to the best of my ability. The atmosphere of our ensembles was always one of “how do we get the best, together?” The quest for excellence and caring for others has never changed. What changed drastically over time was the way I motivated students. About every 5-10 years there’s a shift in values and the way young people relate to each other. When I started, I would make big speeches about excellence and students would get really excited. In recent years, I took more time to build relationships and get them onboard that way. Each generation presented its own challenges and its own triumphs. The big challenge is to understand who you’re teaching and adapt. You need adaptability to be a good leader.

Faith is clearly a huge part of who you are. How has your faith shaped the way you teach? I decided early on that God was going to be the center of my life, and I was very drawn to scriptures like Colossians 3:17 “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” I felt like I should be the very best I could possibly be, not for myself, but to bring glory to God. Then I had the radical realization that if I was going to put God first, that also meant putting people first. I loved all my students because they’re children of God. It’s a mindset of “we” over “me”. In the midst of pursuing excellence, I hope that my students always felt loved.

What words of wisdom would you share with young choral directors?

• Make sure you love the people you teach just as much as you love the music you are teaching.
• Build positive relationships with your administrators and athletic coaches.
• Look for ways to bring life to the non-musical parts of your job.
• Change your attitude to embrace all parts of your job.
• Make the best of your situation because that will make you happier.
• When you’re not happy, look in the mirror and say “can I change?” If you can change, then do it. If you can’t, then you know it’s not a good fit and it’s time to move on.