Do you recognize the names Cindy Morgan, Buddy Greene, Nichole Nordeman, Michael Kelly Blanchard or Gloria Gaither? These influential songwriters were on the IWU campus last week as part of Gloria Gaither’s annual Songwriting Intensive.
In past years, this event has taken place at the Gaither Family Resources (GFR) headquarters in Alexandria, Indiana but Bill and Gloria have decided to close the GFR in order to focus their attention on other things. Gloria made the request that IWU host the 2019 Songwriting Intensive – an opportunity that Todd Syswerda, IWU-Marion Professor of Music, was happy to accept.
In addition to the famous songwriters listed above an additional 40 people attended this intensive. In January 2016, Gloria Gaither was instrumental in assisting the launch of our songwriting major. Hosting this Songwriting Intensive allows our songwriting majors the opportunity to volunteer and attend the majority of sessions.
The recognition gained for IWU and specifically the music department within the Christian songwriting community is hard to quantify. We are grateful for this opportunity and look forward to seeing how God will use it to flourish the mission of IWU.
David Wright, Ph.D.
President
Indiana Wesleyan University