Singing from the Same Songbook
by Robert Mitchell
The special relationship that has developed between the Eastman School of Music and The Salvation Army’s Liberty Pole Way Corps in Rochester, N.Y., began with a simple stroll and a sensitivity to the Holy Spirit.
“I was just taking a walk through the city and praying, and I looked up at The Salvation Army building and I sensed in my heart there was an opportunity there,” recalled Dylan Ocorr, a former Eastman student.
The music school is less than a block from The Salvation Army, and Ocorr remembered feeding the homeless there when he was a freshman. Inspired to spread the gospel in his sphere of influence, he set a goal of linking the Christian students at Eastman with The Salvation Army.
Ocorr prayed, then went online to find a contact at The Salvation Army. He was told to contact Envoy Jonathan Soza, but before he could send another email, Soza reached out to him, suggesting a meeting.
“We had the same heart for the gospel, the same heart for people, and wanting to live our lives for the glory of God,” Ocorr said.
Joining forces
Soza told Ocorr about The Salvation Army and its mission. The two eventually grew close and even did a radio show together.
“We just clicked,” Soza said, “like father and son.”
Initially, Ocorr thought Eastman students might play during the community feeding time after service on Sunday, but Soza had bigger ideas. The corps needed help during the Sunday morning worship. Ocorr started playing keyboards in the worship band led by Soza’s wife, Madeline, in July 2019.
“It was really special and unique to be in that environment,” Ocorr said of his first Sunday. “One thing led to the next and I started inviting people. I told everyone this is a real ‘in the trenches’ ministry. This is the front lines. This is real stuff here. I was so excited I started inviting all the Christians from Eastman.
“As they would come, many of them were struck by the same power of ministry that I was. They were like, ‘Wow, this is real ministry. It’s not just fluff. This is service and I want to be where the Holy Spirit is really moving.’ That’s why a lot of people came. It wasn’t anything I did really. It was a movement of God and the anointing of the Holy Spirit that was already moving there. We all wanted to be a part of that.”
Vibrant worship
Soza said the students come and go, “but others keep coming” to replace them. He credited Ocorr with being the catalyst for the bond that now exists between Eastman and The Salvation Army.
“We have a bunch of freshmen coming now and I hope they keep coming for many years,” Soza said. “We’ve had many talented students come to the corps through the years. This one man’s prayer opened up the heavens.”
Today, it’s not uncommon for 10 or 12 Eastman students to play in the worship band on Sunday mornings.
A recent worship night featured about 100 students from various Rochester-area colleges, including Eastman, the University of Rochester, the Rochester Institute of Technology, and Monroe County Community College. A “worship orchestra” of 14 Eastman students led worship and hosted the event.
Hannah Harrow (Doctor of Musical Arts, ’24), the first Eastman student to join Ocorr at The Salvation Army, organized original arrangements for the band to play and had students write special musical pieces for the event. Ocorr handled sound for the evening, while Harrow led the band and sang.
Soza preached on 2 Peter 3, and the night was so successful that it may become a quarterly event.
Building a team
Ocorr calls the Liberty Pole Way Corps the “de facto home” of Eastman’s Christians. The students have also performed at The Salvation Army’s Adult Rehabilitation Center in Rochester and for other local events.
Ocorr and Harrow were both involved in the school’s Christian Fellowship while studying at Eastman together.
“Dylan happened to be hanging out with my brother and me at our apartment, and I remember him getting up to leave and telling me to come with him to play bass for a worship rehearsal he was going to,” Harrow said. “So I went … and the rest is history.”
Soza still remembers seeing Harrow for the first time, walking down the aisle of the church and smiling before picking up the electric bass for rehearsal.
Harrow, after earning three degrees from Eastman, now teaches in the community education division of the school and leads the Eastman Christian Fellowship. Since going to that first worship rehearsal with Ocorr, Harrow has continued to serve on the worship team and now facilitates the same opportunity for other Eastman students.
“This has opened up a whole other avenue for the Eastman students to be able to serve with their musical gifts and really make a difference,” she said.
Mutual growth
Harrow said the partnership has allowed her to develop personally as a worship leader. She also loves seeing younger students have the same chance to develop their God-given skills and participate in the mission of The Salvation Army and the people it serves.
“It’s been amazing how The Salvation Army has given the Eastman students an opportunity to minister and use their musical gifts and to serve the people of the city,” she said. “It’s also been amazing to see how The Salvation Army congregation has been able to encourage and build up the Eastman students. There’s nothing like playing for church.”
Harrow’s involvement with The Salvation Army has led to connections and opportunities to engage in ministry on the Eastman campus even after graduating. She will soon be going on staff with Agape Christian Fellowship to continue ministry at Eastman and considers Liberty Pole Way an integral part of that journey.
“Jon and his wife Maddy (Soza) have been amazing supporters of and resources for the Eastman students, building them up spiritually and also opening their home for cookouts and gatherings,” she said. “They’ve helped us create a strong Christian community at Eastman. I truly could not do this ministry without them.”
Ocorr graduated from Eastman three years ago and is now the music director and youth/young adult pastor at Koinonia Fellowship in Rochester. He didn’t see his life going in that direction, but his time at The Salvation Army changed his mind.
“I think stepping in at The Salvation Army really pushed me to want to be in ministry,” he said. “What happened at The Salvation Army prepared me and helped me sense the call from God to step into ministry.”
For more information on The Salvation Army’s Liberty Pole Way Corps in Rochester, N.Y., visit their Facebook page.
