Music Fills Campus Air

Thanks to Herb ’46 and Dorothy Graebner, music now fills the Concordia campus air. One of the finishing touches on the Chapel enhancement project was a set of electronic chimes donated by the Graebners.

The chimes can play 1,800 different pre-programmed music selections as well as recordings of Music Department performances. They chime on the half hour and can be heard from all corners of campus.

Herb, son of the University’s second president Martin Graebner, was born and raised on Concordia’s campus until his graduation from Concordia Academy and his father’s retirement in 1946. After serving in the U.S. Army at the end of World War II, he graduated from the University of Minnesota and went back into combat in the Korean War. After the war, Herb started his business career, and in 1956 he founded Arcadia Health Care in Detroit. The company quickly grew to have offices in more than 40 cities.

Herb and Dorothy sold the business to a large public company in 1997 and began to indulge their love of philanthropy. They were generous donors to various educational, arts and performing arts groups near their Detroit summer home and Florida winter home.

“Our friendship with [President] Bob Holst and our gift to Concordia’s Library Technology Center 10 years ago were the high points of our charitable giving,” said Herb and Dorothy.

When Concordia began drawing up plans for the Chapel enhancement project, President Holst and the Graebners began discussions on contributing to the Chapel named after Herb’s father. Because of the couple’s love for music and the arts, “The minute [President Holst] said chimes, everything else went out the window,” said Herb.

“I hope that it gives the people on campus pleasure,” said Herb. “I hope it gives people pride to be a part of Concordia.”