Dan Forrest Returns from Leave of Absence
By Paul Overly
He has no ruby slippers—thankfully. He’s not in Kansas anymore, but he does have that “there’s no place like
home” feeling. After a three-year leave of absence to complete doctoral work at the University of Kansas,
Dan Forrest has returned to his ministry in the Division of Music at Bob Jones University. “My time away
was incredibly rewarding and enriching, but it is wonderful to be back in the ministry the Lord has called me
to.”
While Dan had many positive experiences with teachers and fellow graduate students alike, his composition professor, James Barnes, is the one man to whom he credits the greatest contribution to his academic and compositional accomplishments at KU. Prior to his leave, Dan had already experienced success as a choral composer, and several of his colleagues and mentors cautioned him about pursuing doctoral work. “Mrs. Pinkston expressed concern that some teachers would seek to create drastic changes in my style, and Craig Courtney cautioned me that he had often seen doctoral work negatively influence young composers, effectively making them unpublishable. James Barnes was a perfect fit for me.” Barnes is a nationally known composer, especially well known for his compositions for band. His compositional style is accessible, his musical knowledge is extensive, and his musical interests are diverse. His encyclopedic knowledge coupled with a gracious, generous disposition profoundly shaped Dan’s time at the University of Kansas. “I remember at one lesson we were discussing a problem I was having with one of my pieces. He gave me some thoughts on it, and I left. At my next lesson, several days later, I walked in, and he was dying to tell me about the better solution he had thought of since he had last seen me. He could have been thinking about a million other things or just thinking about the pieces he was working on; but come to find out, he had been mulling over my compositional problem until he came up with a better answer!”
Dr. Forrest will have ample opportunity to model the teaching excellence he experienced during his doctoral sojourn. He is busily teaching new classes: Fundamentals of Music, Advanced Harmony, Composition class (undergraduate level), Choral Writing and Arranging, and two graduate Church Music composition classes. His return affords the Division of Music the opportunity to offer Advanced Harmony classes on the off-semester. We can’t help but note that his return highlights our amazing collection of the most talented Christian composers and arrangers in the world!
Ample time to compose may be a bigger test, but Dan is gearing up for the challenge. He has begun
work on a piece BJU commissioned him to write for wind band and choir. This as yet untitled work will
be premiered at the 2008 Commencement Concert. He has several other commissions simmering on the
back burner. In October, the whole Forrest family will travel back to Lawrence to attend the premiere of
Oread Farewell, a choral work commissioned by The University of Kansas. Dan collaborated with
well-known poet Anthony Silvestri on this composition. Several days later, the Forrests will hurry back to
Greenville for the South Carolina premiere of Three Nocturnes by the BJU Chorale. Later in the
semester Dan will visit Anderson (S.C.) University, where Mike Hall, professor of trombone at Old
Dominion University, will perform Dan’s Sonata for Trombone and Piano.
Dan Forrest is not in Oz, or even in Kansas, but he has assumed the magical task of molding the musical lives of young students. It’s not magic that interests Dr. Forrest. It is the opportunity to be used by God to make a difference for eternity in the lives of students. We are delighted and thankful to have him join us in this most essential mission.