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Is He Worthy? Faculty produce music video to bring comfort and encouragement because He Is

Dr. Stephen Müller, interim residential dean at the Liberty University School of Music, felt a strong desire to send out some encouragement to the School of Music faculty, staff and students in recent days. With all residential music classes having moved online, Müller knew there was a need to maintain contact in the distance environment of COVID-19.

Left to right, Dr. Stephen Müller, Becca Stegall, and Scott Bullman lend their talents to the encouraging video.

Left to right, Dr. Stephen Müller, Becca Stegall, and Scott Bullman lend their talents to the encouraging video.

A few years prior he had written a song titled “The Lord Bless and Keep You,” based upon Numbers 6 in which Moses gives a blessing to Aaron. Müller felt the song would provide encouragement to his students at this time so he decided to perform the song himself at Mathena Recording Studios in the School of Music and post a video of it on the School of Music’s Facebook page.

According to Müller, the response he got was not “Hey that was great” but “Hey, thank you for the encouragement, thank you for the blessings, this is what I needed.”

Timmy Williamson, director of communications for the School of Music, has been working with Dr. Müller to find ways for faculty, staff, and students to stay connected and maintain relationships during the time that they were not working together on campus.

“Our faculty are doing a great job of interacting with students, but one of the jobs that we have as leadership is to tie everything together,” said Müller. So, as he was listening to “Is He Worthy?” by Andrew Peterson, a song the whole School of Music had been preparing for as part of its annual “Night of Worship” planned for April but canceled due to COVID-19, Müller realized that the lyrics were poignant reminders at this uncertain time.

“There is a verse that says, ‘Do you feel the world is broken? Do you feel the shadows deepen?’ and I thought ‘We do!’” recalled Müller. “I realized that in spite of all that is going on, and in the midst of it, He is absolutely worthy and His worth is magnified in trial: His work, His glory, His provision, His Love, His care, and His concern are all magnified and most greatly demonstrated in crisis and in need.”

It was at that point that Müller and his faculty and staff began to realize that the song’s message was the exact encouragement that they had been seeking to pass on to students.

Williamson began working with the School of Music’s director of events, Kevin Williams, to formulate a plan for producing another video for social media — this time filmed in the school’s state-of-the art concert hall at the Center for Music and the Worship Arts. The video had to comply with social distancing requirements, with no more than 10 involved and participants at least 6 feet apart.

The off-stage crew managed the production and captured the intimacy of the song.

The off-stage crew managed the production and captured the intimacy of the song.

To still create intimacy, however, the video was produced from the point of view of the stage rather than the audience

“The view is from the performers out to the audience which really made the video feel less like ‘I’m sitting here watching this’ to ‘I feel like I’m almost part of what is going on,’” Müller said.

What also made the video more special was the use of vocals, percussion, and accompanying tracks all pre-recorded by students earlier in the semester. (The piece was originally scheduled to include a large choir and orchestra).

“We actually put those in the video, so in addition to the featured singers (faculty, staff and guests), you are also hearing the students,” said Williamson. “We wanted to make sure that listeners heard the singers on the stage, but we also wanted to make sure they could hear the students and the choir in the background. It meant a lot to the students to know that their work mattered.”

The guest soloists included Scott Bullman who is a School of Music professor and worship pastor at Thomas Road Baptist Church. The off-stage production crew included a team of audio and video producers, videographers, a lighting specialist, and a stage producer.

The video was posted on April 3 and has since received over 53,000 views.

The group practiced social distancing yet still maintained a sense of the song’s intimacy.

Müller said that artists and performers can sometimes lose focus of the impact that their message has since they work so hard on the presentation, performance and end product, but the overwhelmingly positive feedback about the video has served as a reminder of the team’s desire to provide encouragement and hope during these difficult times.

The group practiced social distancing yet still maintained a sense of the song’s intimacy.

“I think God is less impressed with my performance and more impressed with my heart and my desire to minister and encourage,” Müller said. “The feedback is a good reminder that it is not about the external stuff, but it’s through the message of love and encouragement that I think we have the most impact.”

On Friday, April 17, the School of Music’s Michael W. Smith Center for Commercial Music will present a Facebook Live streaming event as an opportunity for students to showcase their original music and arrangements.

“Students have been working hard to encourage others, so they titled the event ‘Faithful’ because there is no need for fear since we serve a faithful God.”

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