From April 24–25, 2026, over 350 Andrews University alumni returned to campus for a special reunion weekend honoring Stephen Zork, director of choral studies, as he prepared to retire after nearly 35 years of dedicated service.
“Singing together is a natural, convictional, cathartic, vulnerable and unifying enterprise that creates blessed and meaningful bonds,” says Stephen. “And it produces greater dividends than would otherwise result. This was true of my experience each year in teaching and conducting choirs. And it culminated in the most precious and meaningful of ways when my former students/singers planned and administered the most amazing gift for my retirement—in returning to sing once again, together with each other and with me.”
Stephen’s enjoyment of singing with friends and improvising harmonies began as a child. He recalls that in sixth grade, as a student at Andrews Elementary School, he and his classmates made the trek across campus to what is now Hamel Hall. It was Stephen’s first-ever choir festival.
“I’ll never forget the pleasure I experienced,” he says. “I loved the disciplined approach of conductor Bjorn Keyn of the Andrews music department and how he inspired us to sing with intentionality and meaning. That experience influenced my approach to music-making for the rest of my life.”
Stephen completed his secondary education at Helderberg College Academy, South Africa, and also advanced through level 8 at the Royal Academy of Music, Zimbabwe.
He continued formal music studies in the United States, where he earned a Bachelor of Music Education from Atlantic Union College. It was there that Stephen and his wife Susan met, fittingly, as first-year music theory students and choir members.
Stephen went on to complete a Master of Music in choral conducting from Pacific Lutheran University.
Stephen began his professional career in 1977, first teaching at Maplewood Academy and later at Auburn Adventist Academy, Shenandoah Valley Academy and Walla Walla College (now University). After two years at Walla Walla, he received a call to join the Department of Music at Andrews University in 1991.
It was when Stephen returned to Andrews as the director of choirs that he more deeply understood the value of his passion for choral pedagogy. “I began developing and codifying teaching methods that monitored the balance between goal-oriented and method-oriented teaching, with the goal of finding satisfaction in both approaches,” he says.
Stephen started as an assistant professor and eventually attained full professor status. In 1996, he took on additional responsibilities as director of choral studies, overseeing the Master of Music degree in choral conducting. For the majority of his years in the Department of Music, he maintained a voice studio, and throughout his tenure he taught orchestration, composition, singer’s diction, conducting, methods courses in vocal pedagogy, choral pedagogy and choral literature, and the University’s general education class Enjoyment of Music. In his last year at Andrews, he also served as visiting professor and director of the Notre Dame Chorale at the University of Notre Dame.
Stephen’s accomplishments in performance, scholarship and education were recognized with several honors, including the Siegfried H. Horn Excellence in Research & Creative Scholarship Award and the Teacher of the Year Award from Andrews University as well as multiple awards from the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA).
Naturally, a significant part of Stephen’s time involved performances with the Andrews choirs—regular concerts on campus, special selections for church services, and tours locally, nationally and internationally.
He led the University Singers, the select choir from the Department of Music, at four ACDA conferences and on highly acclaimed concert tours throughout England, Scotland, Iceland, Norway, Brazil, Zimbabwe, Chile, The Bahamas, Bermuda and Puerto Rico. Under Stephen’s direction, the Singers performed with noted musical artists and ensembles such as Bobby McFerrin and The King’s Singers. They participated in frequent choral collaborations with the Andrews University Symphony Orchestra and in numerous master classes. The Singers also recorded seven albums, some of which included early Seventh-day Adventist hymns.
Stephen continually looked forward to new experiences and interactions. “The next adventure, the next musical challenge, the next student and their unique gifts and potentiality … these are the things that have always motivated me.”
He shares, “I believe pedagogy is at the core of achieving transformative and artistic expression—inspiring people to use the skills and technical tools they innately possess to help them experience accomplishment and artistry that transcends individuality for the collaborative common good.”
It is fitting that Stephen’s favorite part about working at Andrews was, first and foremost, the students—their talents, curiosity, intellect, dedication, and desire to learn and excel. He says, “So many students possessed such devotion and sacrificed so much for the sake of genuine learning and advancing their education.”
Those students have gone on to make an impact around the world. Some teach music and direct choirs in the largest high schools in the United States and abroad. Others have gone on to earn doctoral degrees and teach in colleges and universities, including Pacific Union College, Southwestern Adventist University, Washington Adventist University, and international institutions in the Philippines, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Colombia and Egypt.
Students remember Stephen and their choral experience as a favorite part of Andrews, too. When the opportunity came to celebrate Stephen over the reunion weekend in April, they responded enthusiastically, traveling long distances to attend.
In preparation for the performances, returning alumni submitted choral music that they hoped to sing once again. The long initial list was narrowed down by a student-led planning committee.
Stephen then had to select 12 pieces from that list for the concert on Friday evening and the service in Pioneer Memorial Church (PMC) the next morning. “It was a difficult task,” he recalls, “as every song was a marvelous piece with many ‘votes’ and beautiful melodies and precious messages. My wife, Susan, and I spent a day discussing, reviewing, doing quite a bit of crying and then determining which songs would be included.”
The weekend’s full choir consisted of approximately 300 combined alumni and current students. On Friday evening, Stephen was honored by the Department of Music for his leadership and service. He was also surprised with the performance of an original choral piece, “When God Sings,” commissioned by his graduate and conducting students and composed by one of Stephen’s former students, James Lee III. On Sabbath morning, PMC recognized Stephen and Susan’s ministry partnership with a special presentation, as well.
“It was so meaningful to be given the mantle of leadership for 24 hours,” says Stephen, “and to be regarded as the first amongst equals who gathered together in like-minded expectation, intentionality, purpose, musicality, artistry and vulnerability.”
He adds, “The unexpected and overwhelming expression of love and affection people had for each other and expressed for me and my wife was deeply humbling and something we will cherish for the rest of our lives.”
As he retires, Stephen will miss the people at Andrews—both his colleagues across campus and especially, of course, his students.
“I will miss teaching the students and hearing them sing every day,” he reflects. “I will miss working toward thoughtful performances that highlight the progress of the student’s learning, their sound and their interpretation that give opportunity to bless and educate the audiences, too. I will miss the choirs telling the love of Jesus as it relates to His impact on the human race and the world.”
Andrews stood out to Stephen because of the diversity of cultures and the opportunities to make a greater impact for God’s Kingdom. He says, “Andrews has been a wonderful place to work and bring up our family. I learned to be thankful for what God gives you and allows you to do; to look for and help develop the potential in all people.”
In retirement, Stephen plans to maintain his connection to music through a light schedule of guest-conducting workshops, choral clinics and choir festivals. He and Susan will remain living in Eau Claire, Michigan, and will take time to travel to see their children and grandchildren. They also will make an extended visit to Stephen’s place of birth in Cape Town, South Africa, along with visits to Mozambique and Zimbabwe. They look forward to more camping, hiking and enjoying a simple, leisurely pace of life.
Stephen’s legacy will continue on at Andrews University. To honor him and the impact he has made on thousands of lives, Andrews has created the Stephen Zork Endowed Chair of Choral Music with the goal of securing transformative music education for future generations. $1.56 million of the $2 million goal has been raised toward establishing a permanent position for a choral conductor and faculty member in the Department of Music.
Charles Reid, associate professor of music, affirms, “Stephen Zork has fostered numerous leaders that serve throughout the world in Adventist academies and congregations. Choral music is a meeting point, but the welcoming hospitality and the trusting ear of the Zorks has been a cherished cornerstone for the Andrews student body.”
The Stephen Zork Endowed Chair of Choral Music will be the first permanent chair in the music department. “It will guarantee that there is always someone that is the choral conductor here. It solidifies the program,” shares Max Keller, chair of the Department of Music. “It is a huge statement for the University to put that kind of effort into the choral program. For it to be named after Stephen Zork—it’s a huge legacy honor for him. His impact is going to be felt for as long as this institution is here.”
For Stephen, the establishment of an endowed chair is deeply meaningful and an affirmation of Andrews’ commitment to the longevity of the Department of Music and its programs. “Music education is interdisciplinary and cross-generational,” he says. “And it brings contrasting cultures, social groups and emotional temperaments together in an environment where they can be secure while experiencing the art of vulnerability through disciplined expression.”
He adds, “I believe Seventh-day Adventist educational institutions, especially Andrews University, must be at the forefront of this discipline. The mission of Jesus Christ must continue to be eloquently proclaimed through choral music education from the elementary to the post-graduate levels.”
Visit andrews.edu/give/zork for more information on the Stephen Zork Endowed Chair of Choral Music.
1,978—Pieces listed in programs during tenure from 1991–2026
Top 5 composers/origins:
97—Traditional African American Spiritual
55—Johann Sebastian Bach
45—John Rutter
40—Z. Randall Stroope
38—Traditional South African
Most programmed hymn:
“Precious Lord, Take My Hand”
58—Master’s students mentored in choral conducting
Modeled Christ’s love and shared faith with: 7,000+ students
In Stephen’s Words
It is easy, in one sense, to claim one’s fundamental hope in Jesus—to plant it squarely at the center of your life and surely as the motivating direction of one’s career within the church and specifically through teaching at an Adventist institution. And it is accurate.
But, if I were truly honest, I would admit that this is a complex reality that teeters between my own personal growth and faith and the intended and overt task of openly sharing and proclaiming the gospel, in all its varying manifestations, to students and through students to the world in which we live.
And this human believer’s dilemma and reality is understood in three fundamental, biblical concepts for me—firstly, my own shortcomings and unworthiness, yet Jesus’ willing and sufficient grace freely applied toward me: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9, NIV). These words have always undergirded my faith and allowed me to dare to teach at any Christian institution.
Secondly is the biblical concept of the universal priesthood of all believers. “You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5, NIV). Clearly, we are all called to the work of Jesus.
And thirdly, God’s faithfulness to see it through; even in me. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13, NKJV). This is my spiritual foundation, personally and professionally, and how I have always approached my career in teaching.
Photos
