Storm Lake Times Pilot

BVU victory bell tolls for new director of choral activities

Benefactor’s gift helps camps, clinics return to campus

Somewhere on a refrigerator there exists a faded photograph showing David Phalen ringing the Buena Vista University Victory Bell following commencement in 1992. Standing next to David is his son, Chris, shy of four years old.

Nearly three decades later, Chris Phalen has returned to the Victory Bell on BVU’s idyllic lakeside campus, to start work as the university’s director of choral activities.

“I’m not sure I was back on campus between having that photo taken as a boy and returning here to interview for the director of choral activities,” Phalen says. “The campus is beautiful and beautifully unique. You stand on the steps of Schaller Memorial Chapel and look south to Storm Lake. When I returned to campus to meet students at orientation, I was struck by the beauty of campus, from the tradition of Old Main’s Victory Arch and other historic buildings to the state-of-the-art Siebens Forum with all of its wonderful amenities for students and guests.”

Phalen also mentions his “home” on campus, venerable Edson Hall, home of BVU’s music programs, including the choirs he’ll grow and direct.

“Being in Edson Hall, which was the University’s original Fieldhouse, is cool, too, as you soak up the history and have the chance to work with students who bring their talents and energy to campus. It’s a great pairing of history and legacy,” Phalen says.

Benefactor’s gift funds return of camps, clinics to campus

Phalen’s arrival on campus coincides with news of a gift that will help fund current and future vocal music outreach, including a return to camps and clinics on campus.

“BVU and its choral music programs have been blessed to receive a major gift of land from the estate of Doris W. Grau, a member of the BVU Class of 1945,” says Joan Canty, vice president for university advancement. “Proceeds from the eventual sale of land in Doris Grau’s estate will enable BVU professors and students to increase their efforts in sharing their musical gifts and talents with the broader community by virtue of the Doris W. Grau Endowment Fund, an exciting development for director Phalen, our vocal students, the BVU department of music, and the entire region.”

With overriding fears of COVID-19 dissipating to a degree as more and more people are vaccinated, Phalen seeks to introduce BVU choral students to singers in local and area high schools and middle schools.

“I want BVU students to share their talents with younger students and set an example, which represents one way they can give back to their community,” he says.

From Clear Lake to Storm Lake

Phalen, a Clear Lake native, sang in the prestigious Iowa High School Music Association All-State Choir as a senior, an experience that inspired him to seek a career in choral music. Following his graduation from the University of Northern Iowa, Phalen directed choral activities at Garner-Hayfield-Ventura Junior High School.

“I worked with the choirs at Garner-Hayfield-Ventura, and I taught theatre arts, general music, worked with high school musicals, speech, and more,” he says. “I then returned to UNI for my master’s degree and finished it in 2018.”

From there, Phalen headed to Florida State University to embark on a three-year program to earn a Ph.D. in choral music education. He also served as director of music at First Presbyterian Church in Quincy, Fla.

As Phalen began wrapping up work on his dissertation, a return to family – and Iowa – beckoned.

“I jumped at the opportunity to return to Iowa, the place I’ve always called home,” he says. “Being at BVU represents an incredible opportunity to work with a great choir on a wonderful campus. Coming back also gives me the chance to become involved with the Iowa Choirs Directors Association and really get into the high schools and middle schools to work with teachers and offer them some of my assistance and support. So much of my life has been shaped by choral music in Iowa. Being in this position at BVU allows me a chance to give back to the programs that have meant so much to me.”