Music has always been an important aspect of the ministerial education system at all levels for WELS called workers. Luther Preparatory School (LPS), Watertown, Wis., one of the synod’s two preparatory high schools, is looking to build a state-of-the-art music center to accommodate its robust, growing music program.

Pastors, teachers, staff ministers, and laypeople who have graduated from Luther Preparatory School in the past 50 years may recognize a name that has been a staple in that music department: Bethel Zabell.

Zabell is in her 53rd year of teaching piano and organ on the Watertown campus. “It’s hard to wrap my mind around that number, but it was God’s plan for me,” she says. “I’m now realizing that many of my former students have retired from the ministry.”

With teaching 30 students each year, Zabell notes that the number of people she has taught has added up. Many of her former students attended the recent National Conference on Worship, Music, and the Arts, where several of her current students played.

Zabell prepared her students well for this task, with the focus of her teaching on achieving the technical skills needed to produce beautiful, well-prepared music. “I love teaching hymns—how to be a leader when playing hymns for chapel—and how to pedal effectively,” she says.

Over the years, Zabell says the LPS campus has become her second home. She notes that she has seen interest grow among the students on campus in anything musical. “Students vie for chances to be in Prep Singers, musicals, piano/organ accompanists for concerts, playing for chapel, and being chosen to play in the public recitals,” she says. “LPS has become a strong music presence in our community and in the synod.”

She’s excited about a new music center on campus, allowing more opportunities for the students and the community. These opportunities can translate into blessings for congregations around the synod. “Luther said it best: ‘Next to the Word of God, music deserves the highest praise.’ Music and worship are a perfect duo,” she says. “It’s so important that our called workers and laypersons are well-versed in our music heritage. Having a well-trained, accomplished organist and/or pianist is a valuable blessing to any congregation and school.”

For many, that training came from Zabell. It’s a good thing she chose teaching for her career. “Years ago, my mother reminded me that I once said I was never going to teach piano!” she reminisces. “How wrong I was! I love teaching piano and organ. Why else would I teach for 53 years?”

Learn more about the music program and new music center at Luther Preparatory School in November’s WELS Connection and at lps.wels.net/magnify.

A love of Lutheran hymnody

Anna Schaefer, a teacher and member at Mount Calvary, Redding, Calif., shares the importance of music in her life: “Teaching heritage hymns to my own children is one of my proudest accomplishments. I now play organ and piano for worship services and in my classroom, but the love of Lutheran hymnody that was fostered by Bethel Zabell and others at Luther Prep solidified what I had already been taught by my parents: ‘We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD’ (Psalm 78:4). Now that my own children are entering high school, I rest easy in the knowledge that Prep will continue the training that my husband and I strived to instill in our own children. Appreciating historical Lutheran music sometimes feels like swimming upstream. However, Luther Prep and its music program are an answer to prayers going up daily from Redding, California.”

Author: FIC
Volume 111, Number 11
Issue: November 2024