By Samantha Moats
University of Mobile
For more than 100 years the Billy Graham family has held deep ties with Christians in China, particularly in Huai’an, so the opportunity to travel with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) in February was especially meaningful for Kenn Hughes.
Hughes, University of Mobile (UM) professor and trombonist, traveled with BGEA for the 2017 Music Celebration there.
“I’m thankful for people who love to share the good news of Jesus Christ and grateful to be part of an incredible movement in China,” he said.
Group reunion
Hughes once served as music director for the Dove Award-winning group Denver and the Mile High Orchestra, and while in China the group reunited with Hughes to perform at three separate BGEA services.
During the celebration Billy Graham’s grandson, Will Graham, served as a speaker. One service was held at Huai’an Christian Church and two others were held at Xuan’De (Hudson Taylor Memorial) Church, Zhenjiang, China. Thousands of Chinese Christians were present for the services and, according to Hughes, many Chinese made decisions to become Christians.
‘Great experience’
“It was a great experience to witness hundreds of lives receive Christ through the evangelistic services,” Hughes said.
While in China, Hughes also was given the opportunity to collaborate with the Shanghai Disneyland Band that performs five days a week in the park.
“A friend of mine in Orlando heard I was going to be in Shanghai with BGEA,” Hughes said regarding the opportunity.
That friend is Bob Franklin, who is responsible for the inception of performing groups at Disney World in Orlando, including Future Corps that performed in Disney’s Epcot theme park.
For two months in early 2016, Franklin spent time putting together the Shanghai Disneyland Band and working with musicians there. So when he discovered Hughes would be in Shanghai, Franklin contacted the band. They invited Hughes to work with them and collaborate on musical approaches to American music.
In addition to teaching at UM, Hughes is the director of RamCorps and professor of other instrumental studies for the Alabama School of the Arts at UM. RamCorps performs more than 120 concerts a year in various venues across the country.
International travel
The group also has performed internationally under Hughes’ direction, playing in places like Sochi, Russia, during the 2014 Winter Olympics. The ensemble also performed alongside other Christian artists aboard the MSC Divina for the K-Love Cruise.
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