Bethany College has received a $100,000 donation to establish two new music endowments.

According to the school, the gift from the David and Kathleen Hurty Trust, in memory of David ’52 and Kathleen ’55 (Segerhammar) Hurty,  will fund the David and Kathleen (Segerhammar) Hurty Messiah Academy and Scholarship, in addition to an already existing music scholarship.

Mark and Jon Hurty, sons of David and Kathleen, established the endowments to recognize the profound impact the 142-year-old Messiah Festival had on their family. Their parents met at Bethany College and fell in love during the Messiah performances. “Mom played violin in the orchestra, and Dad sang with the basses. Mom somehow worked her way into a particular chair in the rear of the violin section to see Dad during the performance. She told that story often over the years, and I cannot think of the Messiah at Bethany without recalling the twinkle in her eyes. Their love for Bethany and the college’s commitment to the arts was strong,” says Mark.

“Mom and Dad were life-long supporters of Bethany and the music program,” said Jon Hurty ’81, Director of Choral Activities and Henry Veld Professor in Music at Augustana College. “Their encouragement and support brought me to the Bethany music program, which laid the foundation for my music career.”

The Messiah Academy program on the Bethany College campus will offer music education to area youth through choir, band, orchestra, chamber orchestra, and new after-school music education and instrumental lessons offerings. This endowment will also provide scholarships for K-12 students to participate in music education programming. Enrollment will open in late summer, and classes will begin in the fall of 2023.

“We are grateful for the Hurty family’s generous support of Bethany College and the Messiah Academy program,” said Leslie Mangrum, Assistant Professor of Music at Bethany College. “The Messiah Academy will be our local music and art instruction hub. We will offer private lessons as well as small group classes and ensembles. Instructors will include our own Bethany faculty and our Bethany College students, providing them with invaluable teaching experience.”

The Hurty family’s gift underscores the continued commitment of the Bethany College community to the arts. It will enable the institution to enhance music education opportunities for future generations of young musicians.