Forty Harding chorus members went on tour Jan. 4-12, allowing the group to spend time together outside of class before the spring semester began.

“We are singing from when the bell rings to when the class ends so we don’t get a whole lot of time to socialize,” senior Melanie Routt said. “So when we go on a chorus tour we all get to have our time to hang out.”

Chorus director Dr. Cliff Ganus said the tour was not only a time for the chorus to spend time together, but it also gave them the opportunity to meet others and have an impact on them through their music. Ganus said the music affects the listeners in many different ways that words are not always able to.

“They really enjoy being together. They really enjoy singing,” Ganus said. “They do it well and they know they do it well and people respond in ways that you don’t really expect. We were reminded a number of times on this trip of the power of music.”

During their tour, the chorus visited the Cincinnati Zoo in Ohio. A group of the chorus members decided to gather in the reptile house and sing a well-known hymn, “Down in the Valley.” A woman took a video of the chorus’ performance and sent it to a Cincinnati news station.

Later that night, the video was broadcast on Cincinnati’s News Channel 5, and has since had over 85,000 views on the channel’s website. Junior Lindsey Farley was one of the chorus members who sang in the reptile house that day.

“It is a truly humbling feeling to know that so many people have shown interest in an act that was so normal for us,” Farley said. “We weren’t asking for attention when we did it. We found a place with great acoustics and just decided it was a fun opportunity to do what we love. It is amazing to know that all of this publicity could be used by God to touch just one person, and it is worth it even just for one person.”

Junior Richelle Pettit said music is one of the most powerful forms of communication.

“You can demonstrate so many emotions through music that everyone can find a way to relate it to what you are saying,” Pettit said. “Our music has been such a blessing to so many. God has used us to communicate his word through our music and it has moved people in ways that we could never do if we were just speaking. God does amazing things through music and he has proven it to me through the reactions we have received from our audiences.”

Pettit said music has the ability to bring people closer to God, and something as simple as singing in a reptile house can really have an impact on someone’s life.

“I never thought walking into the reptile house that day that later that night we would be seen by thousands of people,” Pettit said. “God truly showed me how he makes everything come together in ways that bring him glory. He is constantly working through us in ways we don’t always see and provides us with blessings beyond belief.”