GC Concerto-Aria Concert features piano, voice and original compositions Feb. 13

GOSHEN, Ind. -- The annual Goshen College Concerto-Aria Competition Concert, featuring five outstanding music student soloists and composers with the Goshen College Orchestra, will be in Sauder Concert Hall on Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m.

Pianist Angela Richer (Sr., Wauseon, Ohio), tenor Julian Gingerich (Sr., Hubbard, Ore.), bass vocalist Philip Kendall (Sr., Greentown, Ind.) and composers Matt Clemens (Sr., Harrisonburg, Va.,) and Michael Shank (Sr., Goshen, Ind.) are all music majors at Goshen College selected by a jury of music department faculty in late December as this year's competition winners.

The concert will feature Beethoven's "Piano Concerto #1," excerpts from Handel's "Messiah" and Mendelssohn's "Elijah," Mozart's "Symphony #35" and two world premiere performances of works by Clemens and Shank.

Richer will open the concert with her interpretation of the first movement of Beethoven's "Piano Concerto #1 in C Major." Angela said preparation for this performance has "taught me a lot about intense musical experience."

Gingerich will perform a set of recitatives and arias from Handel's "Messiah" including "Behold and See" and "Thou didst not leave His soul in hell." No stranger to the stage, he has had numerous lead roles in high school and college opera and musical theater productions.

Singing "It is Enough" from Mendelssohn's oratorio "Elijah," Kendall said, "The chance to perform this aria with the orchestra is a great honor and an exciting challenge to explore the piece even further."

Further exploring his own music, Clemens will perform the solo guitar part in the premiere performance of his composition for string orchestra and guitar titled "Synechism." He said, "I am delighted to have one of my newest works performed by such a fine ensemble."

Shank, composer of "Orchestral Piece 2," has his eyes set on graduate school at either the University of Michigan or the University of Illinois and said, "the opportunity to have an orchestral piece performed that I composed is a very exciting and valuable experience."

John Graulty, associate professor of music, is leading his first Concerto-Aria Concert as the new music director and conductor of the Goshen College Orchestra. He termed the upcoming concert both "a grand celebration of the extraordinary student talent we have here at Goshen College and a testament to the world-class training our students receive from our outstanding music faculty."

Tickets for the concert are $5 for general admission and $3 for students and seniors. For ticket information, contact the Welcome Center, at (574) 535-7566, or e-mail joannp@goshen.edu. Tickets will also be available at the door.

Goshen College, established in 1894, is a four-year residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college's Christ-centered core values -- passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership -- prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron's Best Buys in Education, Kaplan's "Most Interesting Colleges" guide and U.S.News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" edition, which named Goshen a "least debt college." Visit www.goshen.edu.

Editors: For more information, contact Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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