George Friderich Handel will always be remembered for his 1741 oratorio, “Messiah.”
So will James Allen.
Allen taught music at the Mississippi University for Women for almost 50 years, was the organist at First Baptist Church and First United Methodist Church for a combined 51 years and played at innumerable weddings, funerals and social events over the years. But like Handel, he was most broadly known for founding Columbus Sings Messiah, which has been a cherished part of the Christmas season since 2001.
Allen, 87, passed away Monday at his home after a short illness. True to his form, he played organ almost to the end.
“He played organ at church three weeks before he passed,” said his daughter, Elizabeth Swartz. “He very much wanted to continue doing whatever he was doing as long as he could.”
Nancy Carpenter has served on the Messiah’s board since its inception, and while there are many who have made important contributions to the event, Carpenter said Allen’s role was immediately obvious.
“James Allen didn’t just get it started, and he didn’t just perform it. James Allen was the Messiah,” she said. “It is what it is today because of him.”
Jacob Swartz, the eldest of Allen’s two grandchildren, grew up with Columbus Sings Messiah.
“It has been part of my life from the start,” Jacob Swartz said. “I remember sitting with him at the organ and turning pages for him as he played. After all these years, it’s family tradition.”
Elizabeth Swartz said her father was sure Columbus Sings Messiah would be successful when they put together the first performance in 2001.
“He loved the Messiah and he wanted to make sure there was a way for the community to be a part of it, either by singing in it or listening to it,” she said. “There is a lot more work that people might think, talking to sponsors, raising funds. Annunciation had just finished its new sanctuary, and they were very gracious in letting us perform there. We also had a board to help with all those behind-the-scenes things, but dad was involved every step of the way.”
The W years
After earning his undergraduate degree at the University of Southern Mississippi and his master’s degree in music from Indiana University, James and his bride, Ann, moved to Columbus in 1965 as he began his teaching career at The W.
“He taught every course, but he especially loved teaching music appreciation,” Elizabeth Swartz said. “A lot of students who weren’t music students took the class, and dad loved introducing them to the classical music he loved. His enthusiasm was contagious and everyone could see it. He wanted everyone to love music the way he did.”
As a young girl, Elizabeth and her best friend took piano lessons from Allen.
“We went to The W for the lessons where everyone called him Mr. Allen,” she said. “So when I was there, I had to call him Mr. Allen, too.”
Grandaddy
James Allen was a reliable, always-encouraging presence in Jacob and Jonathan’s lives, especially when they were children.
“We called him granddaddy. That was his name to us,” Jonathan Swartz said. “He was always trying to see what we needed. We were always busy with sports practice, and if mom was busy, she would call Grandaddy. He would pick us up, take us to Chick-Fil-A and take care of us. Mom never had to worry because if she was busy, grandaddy would drop whatever it was he was doing and help.”
Jacob said he didn’t have an overarching memory of his grandfather.
“There are really too many to count,” he said. “It seems like he was part of every memory I had as a kid. One of the things I remember is that anywhere we went, people I didn’t know would come up and talk to him. He really loved people. He was always texting people to wish them a happy birthday or congratulate them on something they had done or just to see how they were doing.”
Memories of James Allen have been pouring into social media since his passing.
“Even before this week, I regularly heard from people I didn’t know about how much daddy had influenced their lives,” Elizabeth Swartz said. “They would share their stories about being his student or taking piano lessons from him or participation in the Messiah.”
The 25th production of Columbus Sings Messiah will be held in December. It will be the first without James Allen at the organ.
“I may be stepping out on a limb here, but I believe everything about this year’s concert should be in memory of James Allen,” Carpenter said.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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