During this winter quarter, I had the wonderful opportunity to meet and speak with Dr. David Kendall, one of the professors within La Sierra University’s music department. Kendall recently published his book, “The Music of the Spheres in the Western Imagination,” and, returning from his sabbatical, is now involved in the Honors department as the main professor for UNHR 115: The Arts.
Kendall grew up in a family that was heavily involved in both education and music, which started his passion to become a musicologist and a music history professor. He received his bachelor’s degree here at La Sierra. Soon after graduating, he went to Taiwan to teach English. He described this as a “transformative experience” that led him to be more open in delving into the unknown. Continuing his education, Kendall received his master’s and doctorate degrees at University of California, Riverside. At La Sierra, he has been described as the “Indiana Jones” of Hole Memorial Auditorium (HMA), because of his many travels outside of the country to do fieldwork in places like the Philippines. Besides opening ancient books full of termites and spiders, Kendall lives a relatively quiet life with his wife and two daughters and continues to be actively involved in La Sierra University’s wind ensemble and orchestra.
Kendall was also an Honors student while at La Sierra. To him, the appeal of Honors was the community and the relationships that can be developed among students of various majors within a cohort. He describes the Honors Program as a microcosm and values how the program itself can help many students grow to realize their own potential. With his experience as an undergraduate student, graduate student, adjunct instructor, and finally full-time professor, Kendall expressed his love for La Sierra’s environment: “I always wanted to come back to La Sierra, so I never left.”
Kendall recently published his book, “The Music of the Spheres in the Western Imagination,” was partially motivated by the excellent teaching he received from previous music history faculty member Dr. René Ramos. Inspired by the hymn “This is My Father’s World,” Kendall worked on this book all throughout COVID-19 with the publisher Lexington Books. Through this writing process, he learned many different lessons such as pacing, overcoming writer’s block, and editing. “Finding what excites you” is advice that Kendall gives to those who are interested in musicology. Moreover, he finds that sifting through “nothing” will often lead you to find that “something you are looking for”.
Looking forward to teaching The Arts beginning this spring quarter, Kendall is excited to help students “think about thinking.” He hopes to guide them in becoming more self-aware about why they react a certain way or how they feel about certain things. As a trombonist, general practitioner of music and researcher, Kendall will give different points of view on the various realms of aesthetics that encompass the class. His advocacy for “quality of thinking and intensity of struggle,” will enable students to learn more about themselves and uncover what sort of knowledge is to be found through the arts.
—Bridget Lee, Class of 2024: Music Vocal Emphasis/Pre-PA