Bill Edgar and Gerald (“Jere”) Boyer, circa 1979
Barb and I arrived in Aix-en-Provence early in 1979 to work at the Reformed Seminary. I was to teach apologetics. Barb helped run the Sunday School at our local church. Many things surprised us there. Pleasant ones such as the relatively slower pace of life, the extraordinary food, the good nature of the Southern French people. Less pleasant ones including long lines, endless bureaucracy, and unruly student assemblies. Perhaps the most pleasant surprise was the first-rate student choir. They (soon to be we) rehearsed twice a week in the little chapel nestled at one corner of the campus.
The sounds coming from the twenty choristers were astonishing. Handel, Fauré, Huguenot hymns… The conductor was the dashing Gerald Boyer. The accompanist was Jere’s wife, the lovely Eleanor. At that point she was playing an upright piano. The choir would soon acquire a state-of-the-art Rodgers organ. The choir toured around France. One of my memories was being held up on the way to Paris because of a steel workers strike (constant strikes were another less pleasant feature of French life!). The schedule was tight as we were due to perform in the early evening in a prestigious church in the heart of Paris. Negotiations had broken down. What was to be done? Jere had a brilliant idea. We would get out of the bus and sing to the strikers. We did, and they opened up an off rail for us to go through. We got to Paris on time and the concert was a resounding success.
Other memories abound. Jere turned out to be a first-rate technician. He organized a video clip featuring the choir in a beautiful Huguenot church in the country. Most oof us had little idea of what was involved. Sound checks, dubbing, adjusting lights, the outdoor keyboard… A beautiful video was produced and circulated around French television. It ought to be a no-brainer, but how many seminaries can boast a world-class choir?
Gerald Boyer went home to be with the Lord May 2, a few months shy of 90 years old. He contracted complications from Covid. He leaves behind his beloved Eleanor, and four extraordinarily talented children. His memory will live on in our hearts and in the musical legacy of the recordings. Is it right to imagine he is now directing one of heaven’s choirs?
Bill Edgar