Louisville, KY 1954-2012
The Motet Singers
About
“Dave Jones works like the devil so his Motet Singers will sound like angels”. This is the opening sentence of an article written by Jean Dietrich in the Courier- Journal in May of 1978. And it very well sums up the man who devoted over 55 years of his life to more than 500 singers fortunate enough to sing in HIS Motet Singers.
A graduate of Union College with 2 majors – economics and physical education – Dave returned to his roots in Louisville and to St. Paul United Methodist Church. There being no youth choir, Dave, who had sung in an a cappella college choir, set about to organize one!
An initial group of 4 singers quickly expanded and began drawing an interdenominational group from throughout the city. The young people began meeting in members’ homes, singing sacred a cappella music, then moved back to the church for twice weekly rehearsals. Dave sang with the group, now dubbed The Motet Singers, until the group numbered close to 20, at which time he took over the direction of the group. He was its only director for its lifetime.
Dave was well known in Louisville as a producer and director at WHAS, from High Varieties to Omelet to The Crusade for Children. He was honored by the Jaycees as an Outstanding Young Citizen in Louisville. His desire to reach out to others through a ministry of music was behind his creation of The Motet Singers. ‘The Motet is more than just a singing group’, Jones once said. ‘It’s a family with everybody concerned for each other. And they all love music. It’s the one thing I can do,’ he added, ‘and get perfection. You don’t have that perfection on TV…there’s never enough rehearsal time.’ The bond born of deep friendship, dedication to excellence and a love of music caused something special to happen when the group performed.
The Motet, as it was affectionately dubbed, represented a strong spiritual commitment for its director as well as its members. They were ministering to others through their singing and always strove for that elusive ‘Motet sound’ that put goosebumps on Dave’s arms ! As an a cappella chorus, perfection in pitch and diction was paramount and Dave would settle for nothing less. All music was memorized and, by the time 6 months of rehearsing was over and concerts began, the finished product soared. He was a task master without parallel. As he said ‘A lot of people can sing loud, but in an a cappella choir, members have to sing softly and blend. It’s one of the biggest problems. Singing a cappella is like being nude out in a field!’
Sacred concerts in sanctuaries were soon joined by pop concerts afterwards in social halls, with churches very generously offering refreshments to chorus and guests. The Motet toured the United States sharing their music ministry and were even invited to sing at the White House in 1974, performing for President Nixon during a service featuring Dr. Norman Vincent Peale as the speaker.
The culmination of years of singing together resulted in 6 recordings that were made from 1962 to 1981, with a 7th containing 50 years of the Motet’s favorite songs compiled for the 50th reunion in 2004. Those recordings are available for listening and download on this website.
To a person, anyone who ever sang in The Motet Singers counts themselves fortunate because it was an opportunity to learn outstanding sacred and secular music served straight from the heart of Dave Jones. God spoke through Dave as his vessel and the world was better for it. Thank you, Dave!!!
