Calvin music professor Joel Navarro

When Pearl Shangkuan, Calvin music professor, first called Joel Navarro and asked him to consider teaching at Calvin, he was incredulous.

“My first thought was, ‘Why me? There are so many good people in the United States,’” he said.

At the time Navarro was the department chairman in choral conducting at the University of the Philippines. Previously, he and Shangkuan had been classmates there. “When the Calvin Alumni Choir toured Asia in 2000, we partnered with different organizations in some countries for our concerts,” said Shangkuan. “I specifically asked our sponsors in Manila for Joel because I wanted the choir to have the chance to work with him. Thus began Calvin’s connection with Joel. The Lord wonderfully opened the door for Joel and his family to come one year later.

“Joel is an internationally respected conductor,” she added. “I knew his incredible skill as a musician and his personal faith would make him a great asset to our music department.”

With much anxiety, Navarro and his family decided to take on the challenge.

“My wife (Amy) and I were both on the top of our careers; our kids were comfortably ensconced in their worlds with friends and schools,” he said. “It was nothing short of cataclysmic to sell everything and make a complete break.”

While both Navarro’s and his wife’s families live in the United States, the Philippines natives had thought they would never leave.

“We were the only ones with a missionary zeal to stay in the country,” he said. “We were activists in the country—both in the culture and Christianity,” he said. “We felt called to help conditions there.”

A successful professor and conductor, Navarro had taken his choir to five top-rated European choral competitions in 2000 and won highest honors in all of them.

But that type of success takes its toll, he said. “I was spending four hours every day with the choir and usually was away from home at least 12 hours a day. I had great uneasiness in my soul about that imbalance in my life.”

It was then that Shangkuan called, and Navarro felt himself being called to Calvin.

“I knew of Calvin, as we were part of a Christian Reformed Church in Quezon City,” he said. “I didn’t know much about it, though.”

Navarro and his family moved to the U.S. in 2001, so he could pursue his doctorate at Michigan State University. He began conducting and teaching at Calvin this past fall.

“It was very difficult for my wife and me when we first arrived,” he said. “Because of September 11 and (her) not being native, she lagged behind in terms of eligibility for jobs.”

Joel Navarro conducts a Capella rehearsal

In the Philippines, Amy had been employed as a human resources consultant for multinational corporations.

His children also struggled with the adjustment.

“The Grand Rapids community is very unique,” he said. “It’s a very close-knit Dutch community. Sometimes it is so difficult to penetrate. The wonderful thing is that once you are accepted, they never leave you.”

There were adjustments to his teaching and directing as well.

Navarro conducts both the Capella and the Meistersingers. He also teaches courses in conducting.

“For the most part, students have responded so cooperatively and encouragingly,” he said. “I am a fastidious taskmaster, and I work the choirs very hard. I have had mostly positive comments like, ‘This is some of the most difficult music we have ever performed. Thank you; you brought out the best in us.’”

On the flip side, Navarro has also heard, “Mr. Navarro, this is not the army—only the choir,” he said.

Overall, though still coping with cultural differences, Navarro is honored to be a part of Calvin’s music department.

“We have very high diversity in this department—four out of ten full-time faculty. The camaraderie is very special,” he said. “I also appreciate that the overarching goal here is to serve God and the students. That is admirable and truly exceptional.”

Navarro hopes that the transition for both him and his family will become smoother as time goes by.

“I hope to continue to push forward Calvin’s expanding mission to engage God’s world,” he said. “I believe that is why God led me here.”