The Symphonic Band practiced in the chapel as two friends and I gathered for a prayer meeting in the lounge. As we waited for other students to arrive, my friends played contemporary worship songs to set the mood for our meeting. I suggested to my friends that we not play anything so that we could hear the band’s majestic music. Even though the band was only practicing, playing several sections over and over, it still pointed me to God’s majesty.

Perhaps the distinctive feature of Lane Student Center’s atmosphere is contemporary Christian music played all day, every day, from the speakers. Occasionally, I may mock the song played if it is a “Jesus is my boyfriend” style song, sometimes even thinking about singing such songs to a friend to tell her that I like her. However, most of the time, I pass on. I hear many of the same tracks played over and over, and within these tracks, the same four chords, vocals, drum beats, and measures.

On that same note, what if Lane switched its playbill? Imagine opening the doors to the dining hall to hear Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” blaring from the speakers, or eating dinner in Sunnyside to Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue in D Major.” Knowing what students are used to, this would certainly raise eyebrows.

Indeed, classical music from the 18th and 19th centuries draws me near to God, and I am willing to listen to it many times over. Having listened to Handel’s Messiah many times, I cannot read certain passages in Isaiah without hearing the music Handel put to it. Musical pieces are not isolated. I am overjoyed when I hear a riff from one place and find its source—for example, hearing a musical track from Up! and finding its source in the opera Carmen, complete with vocals. Within single pieces, repeated patterns, or leitmotifs, not only connect one portion of the piece to another, but inspire awe. Listening to them, I am reminded that music is not in isolation, and, on a larger scale, nothing is isolated from God; certain songs and pieces (especially hymns) can bear emotional significance on repeated hearings at different moments, forming leitmotifs in my own life and faith.

The most significant patterns come in the church year. “Worship Christ the Newborn King!” at Christmas time becomes “Worship Christ the Risen King!” at Easter, complete with the same melody. Continuing with the thought experiment, Lane could change its selection of classical pieces depending on what season the church is in.

Among other pieces, “Unto Us a Child is Born” and the “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” would blare from Lane’s speakers during Advent, a sum of Requiem Masses and Passion oratorios during Lent, and “Worthy is the Lamb” and Bach’s Ascension Oratorio during Easter until commencement. The church seasons of Epiphany and Ordinary Time do not attract composers as much as other parts of the church year, but they can also be times to play many other pieces—and not just old masterpieces. More obscure pieces, especially pieces from Gordon’s music students and faculty— from Gabe Southard’s band rendition of Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Antar” and Sarita Kwok’s Chavalier arrangements to original works—could also be played.

Of course, such a change in music would encourage greater focus in Sunnyside, whether for students who eat alone and read as they eat, or for those who eat together and want to listen to each other. The library sometimes plays classical or jazz pieces to create this atmosphere of focus. However, to prevent this type of music, normally played at concerts rather than through speakers, from becoming cheapened, I would recommend Lane not play music when it is not serving food.

Most significantly, the varying tones of the diversity of orchestral pieces, especially at different times of the church year, offer a contrast to the mostly upbeat contemporary Christian music. This contrast would make classical music jarring when first played from Lane’s speakers, especially pieces like Handel’s “He Was Despised and Rejected” or A. J. Gordon’s “They Led My Lord Away.” But, ultimately, this variety is necessary—we must remember that Jesus died and took on our sins before He could rise from the dead. We must remember that the Christian life is not a series of triumphs because we received a ticket to heaven, but a continual journey with the God who redeemed us and who knows all of our trials and triumphs.

Gordon, as an institution of learning, should encourage learning even outside the classroom. It should not endorse music because it has the “Christian” label on it, but because it truly draws its listeners near to God. It should teach students to appreciate what is beautiful, stirring in them an awe of the God of beauty and a longing for His presence and joy.