Southern Spirit September 15, 2015 | Page 6

4 Septembe TMI a boon to delegates spiritually, musically C RRITORIAL MUSIC INSTITUTE T E L E B R A T E 2. 1. 3. Continued from page 1 participating in a cornet quartet, “Heralds of Victory,” conducted by the composer’s son – Dr. Richard Holz – the man most recently responsible for the growth and development of TMI. The concert also included the retirement of Major Terry Israel from the territorial band after serving faithfully for many years. The traditional Sunday morning worship service was once again held on Saturday morning – confusing everyone! But we were honored to have Commissioners Don and Debi Bell with us. Commissioner Debi Bell gave the message. Celebrations continued on Monday evening as the Dr. Richard E. Holz Band performed the National Celebrating Anthem at the Texas Rangers baseball game. 75 years Attendance at TMI was significantly up this year and included representatives from Mexico, Chile, Bolivia, Germany, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. Each performance group (dance, drama, band, choir) performed TMI 4. 5. items at the midweek festival and again at the final festival. Commissioners Paul and Jajuan Kellner – perhaps the only true Southerners to ever serve as special guests at TMI – visited and were able to encourage the delegates. There were some very tender moments, too, particularly when two young people – Adam Wallace of Arkansas-Oklahoma and Halie Booth of Texas – received prayer. Both young people experienced great struggles with their health during the week and the delegates and staff wanted to lift them up in prayer. One special dance presentation was dedicated to Adam and his family. It was timely that the Redheads chose “prayer” as their theme, and that spirit of reflection had a great impact. The Redheads have been retired for some years now but brought boundless energy to the week and left with high praise for TMI – particularly the spiritual quality of the young people: “The students were so focused on the right things. They were spiritually motivated and at the same time focused on developing their talents, but with the aim to serve the Lord rather than for their own satisfaction.” Delegate Leah Argot, from Atlanta, is a great example of that spiritual motivation. “Since TMI, I’ve had a burning need to be productive in my home life, school life, and definitely in my spiritual life,” she said. Photos: 1. Katie Hood, flugel horn in the Leslie Hall Band. 2. Prayer was the focus of the daily morning manna sessions led by Colonel Gwenyth Redhead. 3. Emily Fry leading the Kellner Women’s Chorus. 4. Colonel Gwenyth Redhead leading morning manna. 5. Commissioner Debi Bell brought the Word at the first worship service. 6. A highlight of the week was when the Bandmaster Richard E. Holz Band performed at a Texas Rangers game. 7. Delegates and staff had a fun time during “Sunday Shenanigans.” 8. The 313 delegates and staff celebrated 75 years since the first Territorial Music Institute in 1940. 6. 7 Photos by Laura Dake 8.