CENTENNIAL PRAYER

Composer: Claire Kromminga

(no biographical information available about Claire Kromminga.) Go to person page >

Harmonizer: Dale Grotenhuis

Dale Grotenhuis (b. Cedar Grove, WI, 1931; d. Jenison, Mi, August 17, 2012) was a member of the 1987 Psalter Hymnal 1987 Revision Committee, and was professor of music and director of choral music at Dordt College, Sioux Center, Iowa, from 1960 until he retired in 1994 to concentrate on composition. Educated at Calvin College; Michigan State University, Lansing; and Ohio State University, Columbus; he combined teaching with composition throughout his career and was a widely published composer of choral music. He also directed the Dordt choir in a large number of recordings, including many psalm arrangements found in the 1959 edition of the Psalter Hymnal. Before coming to Dordt, Grotenhuis taught music at Christian high schools in Washin… Go to person page >

Claire Ottenhoff Kromminga (b. Chicago, IL, 1919; d. Grand Rapids, MI, 1995) first composed CENTENNIAL PRAYER in a music theory class at Calvin College in 1939 and then revised it for submission in the 1957 contest (see above). Kromminga studied at Chicago Music College and received a BA from Calvin College, Grand Rapids. She was an elementary school teacher from 1941 to 1944 in Muskegon, Michigan, and Newton, New Jersey, and then returned to Michigan.

Dale Grotenhuis (PHH 4) prepared the harmonization for the 1987 Psalter Hymnal. Sing stanzas 1-3 in harmony and stanza 4 in unison.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook