Alumnus cited for commitment to sacred choral tradition
It was a “forgone conclusion” in the Bingham family that any tertiary education would begin at Avondale, and James Bingham was no exception. Born and raised in Geelong, the recipient of the 2016 Homecoming honour year citation for the Class of 1966 travelled to Cooranbong having been encouraged by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Victoria to “think big for Christ.”
One year into his Bachelor of Arts (Secondary Education), Bingham felt drawn to music but declined an opportunity to major in it when his family “stressed the importance of making a living.” But the love for music grew only stronger and, following his graduation in 1966, Bingham returned to study music at Avondale.
A move to Ontario, Canada, where Bingham would become Chair of the Music Department at Kingsway College in Oshawa followed soon after graduation. So did a wedding to wife Janelle and then the birth of son Daimian. Bingham would also serve as a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal Committee and as Chair of the Music Department and Director of Choirs at Atlantic Union College (Massachusetts, USA). He’s held the same position at Washington Adventist University (Maryland, USA) since 1994.
Thinking big for Christ led to life-changing experiences. Bingham recalls one while directing a choir in competition in Canada. Following strong applause at the end of the compulsory pieces, Bingham is asked to do something unheard of in competition—perform an encore. Resorting to the organist’s copy of “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,” the choir performs by memory. After a moment of silence, thunderous applause. The atheist adjudicator responds with an echo from the New Testament: “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian!” “I learned even a simple hymn can be as powerful as the greatest anthem in the cause of God,” says Bingham.
The Class of 1966 honours Dr James Bingham for a life dedicated to the ministry of sacred music.
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