By Richard Tew/ Faith Columnist for The Post Newspaper
Recently, I sat down with Bay Area Chorus of Greater Houston’s Conductor Milton Pullen who told me his interest in music started shortly after he was baptized at 12-years-old at the Channelview Church of Christ.
Pullen says there were two Churches of Christ in Channelview at the time: one with Sunday school and one without. “We went to the non-Sunday School Church of Christ. On a good day, on a Sunday morning, we’d have 40; that was a crowd.”
Pullen, a Clear Lake resident, says he was one of six children who grew up listening to country, southern gospel and the music of his church.
“Our entertainment after supper at night was singing gospel music,” said Pullen
Pullen said he really liked baseball and played throughout his youth but it wasn’t his calling.
“I wanted to be a baseball player,” said Pullen. “But I couldn’t do that because there were games on Sunday and I had to go to church on Sunday so that was a problem. Baseball was my love but it wasn’t my calling.”
Pullen says his older brother Don—also a member of the Bay Area Chorus of Greater Houston—served as an early inspiration for him.
“He was in a high school choir. We would go to his concerts when I was in elementary school. I would listen to his choirs; I remember them to this day just like it was yesterday,” said Pullen.
Pullen said he remembers thinking how he wanted to be in a choir like his brother’s and to sing the same kind of music his brother was singing.
Wednesday night services offered a good start for Pullen to learn the ropes and hone his skill. As his song-leading skills improved, invitations to lead singing Sunday mornings and nights came.
After high school, Pullen said he had to decide between baseball and studying music at the recently-formed San Jacinto Junior College, then in its original north Pasadena location.
Music won out over baseball and Pullen never looked back.
Pullen would later transfer to Texas A&I University, later known as Texas A&M at Kingsville, where he would finish his degree in music.
In 1965, fresh out of college, a teaching opportunity opened up in Freer, located in south Texas.
Three years later in 1968, Pullen would find himself teaching in CCISD where he taught for a total of 21 years. He has also taught at Abilene Christian University for six years, where he was the director of choral activities before accepting a position at Pepperdine University. He would end up teaching 16 years at Pepperdine before leaving in 2011.
While teaching at different schools, Pullen has served local churches through his music. He served as a music minister at both the Clear Lake Church of Christ and also at the Northwest Church of Christ in Abilene. He was also the director of a small group ministry at the Main Street Church of Christ in South Houston.
Reflecting on the confluence of music and his faith as a teacher, Pullen says “My kids—especially in high school—were unchurched; choir was church for them. They learned about life and a lot about living in a choir.” He says he has remained close to some of those students over the years and now conducts 14 of them in the Bay Area Chorus of Greater Houston.
It was while Pullen and his wife of 56 years, Evie, moved to Colorado after retiring from teaching he received a fortuitous call to come and work with the Bay Area Chorus of Greater Houston for their Spring concert. Four years later (2014) the Pullens would find themselves living in Clear Lake, with Milton taking the reins as the Bay Area Chorus’ conductor.
After nine years as conductor of the Bay Area Chorus, Pullen will book-end his professional music journey, spanning 58 years, at a concert which is sure to satisfy anyone with a taste for reflective, inspirational music.
Pullen says seven of his first students he taught in Freer will be attending his last local concert as conductor. It’s a befitting tribute to the teacher who shared both his love of music and his faith with them so many years ago.
The “Celebrating the Masters” concert will be held Sunday at the Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, located at 18222 Upper Bay Rd. Showtime is at 4 p.m. The performance will also feature an orchestra and singers from CCISD’s choir program.
Learn more including ticket information at: http://www.bayareachorus.org.
When he’s not writing on NASA about matters of faith, Richard Tew teaches Irish dance to all ages in Clear Lake. Learn more at www.tewirishdance.wordpress.com.
To listen to the complete audio interview go to https://soundcloud.com/richard-tew.
Photo cutline: Bay Area Chorus of Greater Houston Conductor Milton Pullen will conduct his last local concert this Sunday. Photo from Bay Area Chorus of Greater Houston.
