Orpheus Origins and Directors
Only four directors have presided over Orpheus Choir: Walter Larsen, Naomi Larsen, George Dunbar, and Jeff Bell. When Walter Larsen created the group in 1932, he combined the Men’s Glee Club and the Women’s Glee Club into Orpheus Choir. Following this merge, there were a total of 17 students in the choir.
At that time, the members wore formal attire such as tuxedos and dresses, until a few years later when the choir switched to robes, which has been the staple ever since. Walter Larsen directed the choir for 25 years until he died unexpectedly in a car accident. His wife, Naomi Larsen, took over the choir in 1957 and was the director until 1972. George Dunbar took over and directed for the next 27 years.
Dr. Jeff Bell was a student in Orpheus Choir during that time until he took over in 1999. Dr. Bell has been the director of Orpheus Choir then and he continues to be today. The number of members in Orpheus has increased since 1932 with an average of 70 students each year.
A Ministry in Music
Orpheus’s motto is “A Ministry in Music.” This has not changed since the choir’s founding in 1932. While the main focus is ministry, each director of Orpheus has believed in striving for excellence as the minimum standard for Orpheus’s capabilities. This is excellence in both music and lifestyle.
One of the ways this is lived out is through fundraisers at each Orpheus Choir Reunion. At the most recent reunion, the mission was to provide relief to victims of two hurricanes that swept through Puerto Rico in 2017. The choir set out to fund the purchase and shipping of six generators capable of powering entire neighborhoods with power. Working with the parents of an international student from Puerto Rico, the choir was able to provide some of the most devastated areas of the island nation with power. Even after the initial locations were able to restore their power grid, the generators were sent on to be used in neighboring towns.
DR. JEFF BELL
Jeff Bell is the director of Orpheus. He taught at Indiana Wesleyan University for thirteen years until he felt the Lord calling him to move to work at Olivet. He has been the director of Orpheus for 23 years, and he has no plans to retire. He met his wife, Carole Bell, during his Freshman year in Orpheus in 1978.
Orpheus Tradition
Orpheus has many traditions which have accumulated over its 90-year existence. Every 5 years, Orpheus has a reunion in which all former members are invited to sing with the current group. This year, 2022, marks the 90-year anniversary of Orpheus Choir. So during Homecoming Week in October this fall, everyone who returns will sing together in a concert event. During non-reunion years, Orpheus has a tradition of singing, “The Lord Bless You and Keep You” arranged by Lutkin in 1932 at the end of each of their concerts. When they do, they invite any past Orpheus Choir alumni in the audience to join them in singing the benediction.
Recently, Orpheus moved into the realm of video creation. This was a result of the pandemic limiting where the choir could perform. However, their first video, which can be viewed below, was successful enough to spark a new tradition of (potentially annual) video creation.
“When you come back and you meet people in their 30s and 40s and 50s and 60s and 70s and 80s, (we’ll have some of those there) you instantly have something in common with. They may not be part of your generation; they may be part of your grandparents’ generation, but you share something with them because you’ve been a part of this choir. And yes, Orpheus was a pagan Greek god of music.”
Jeff Bell
