The First United Methodist Church of Lompoc is well known in the town as a great musical hub. The chapel seats more than 400 and offers an acoustic clarity that makes it the home of choice for the Lompoc Pops Orchestra, the Lompoc Concert Association, and the Lompoc Valley Master Chorale.
But the church also hosts its own concerts, said the volunteer facility use coordinator for the church, LaZelda Clock. The chapel has a fantastic organ, she said, so there are regular organ recitals there as well.
“We try to reach out to the community,” she said. “We want to invite the people in to hear these various groups.”
Over the past few years, Clock explained, the First United Methodist Church of Lompoc has welcomed the Ohio Northern University Tour Choir twice. The group is scheduled to return for a concert as part of its current tour on May 26.
Ohio Northern University is a Methodist affiliated university, Clock said, and the group travels and performs at Methodist churches in a loop across a good part of the United States south and west of Ohio. The Lompoc stop is the only concert for the choir between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
“They asked if we would be willing to host them again on this tour, and we said yes,” Clock said. “They are just really nice people. Our people who housed them have remarked on just how nice the kids were, and many are housing students again because of the pleasant experience they had with them before.”
The First United Methodist Church of Lompoc and its members try to make the students feel welcomed and at home, Clock said. The concert is free, but a free-will offering will go directly to the ensemble and help with any expenses that come up on the tour.
Ben Ayling directs the ensemble, which is made up of mostly young adults and some older choral scholars as well. Ayling was a barbershop society champion before he directed the Ohio Northern University Singers, Clock explained.
“He has really great values and has great musical knowledge, and he’s really kind,” she said. “He gets an impressive musical sound from these kids.”
The Ohio Northern University National Tour Choir is the road name for the Ohio Northern University Singers, the resident chorale at the university. The tour is extensive, including 38 concerts across 18 states in just five weeks.
The ensemble brings with it a repertoire of sacred and contemporary secular music. There are less serious pieces like “Eat Your Vegetables” on the program, as well as various styles of sacred literature, like “The Glory of the Father” by Egil Hovland or “He Never Failed Me Yet” by Robert Ray.
“There’s an international and contemporary music section of the program,” Clock said. “There are songs where they use water glasses and Tibetan singing bowls, so that should be interesting.”
The last part of the repertoire includes exclusively American music and an Armed Forces medley. Many of the church’s members are veterans or active duty at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Clock explained.
Clock said the church welcomes everybody from the community, in and outside of Lompoc, to join the audience at the church. The First United Methodist Church of Lompoc is one of the larger churches in Lompoc, Clock explained, and there’s always room for guests at the concerts.
The church also welcomes anyone to join in its 50th anniversary ceremony and celebration on May 29 at 10:30 a.m., Clock said. The program includes worship and music celebrating the chapel, which was built in 1966 and has housed ceremonies and concerts ever since.
Arts Editor Joe Payne has lots of faith in music. Contact him at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in May 26 – Jun 2, 2016.