Monday, March 22, 2004
Goshen College choral concert to feature a 'kaleidoscope of sound' April 2
GOSHEN, Ind. -- In the first time that four Goshen College choirs will share the stage, the Goshen College All Choirs Spring Concert will take place April 2 at 7 p.m. in Sauder Concert Hall.
Associate Professor of Music James Heiks will direct the Chorale and Men's Chorus, and Associate Professor of Music Debra Brubaker will direct the Chamber Choir and Women's World Music Choir.
"The audience will be able to enjoy international, classical, spirituals and folk tunes," Heiks said. "It will be a kaleidoscope of sound."
To celebrate a year of growth and energetic music making, the performance repertoire will include Chorale singing a spiritual from Kenya, a Swedish folksong, "Wondrous Love" arranged by Robert Shaw and Alice Parker and a gospel song. The Men's Chorus will perform a Finish Yoik that requires an unusual technique known as harmonic overtone singing, "Lily's Eyes" from The Secret Garden and "Prayer of the Children." The Women's World Music Choir will perform songs from Spain, India, Romania and British Columbia. And the Chamber Choir will sing a spiritual, a madrigal and two Mennonite hymns.
Brubaker oversees the choral and opera theater programs and teaches voice and church music courses. In her fifth year at Goshen, she taught at Bluffton College for 10 years. Brubaker holds a doctorate from the University of Kansas, a master's degree in choral conducting and vocal performance from the University of Northern Colorado and an undergraduate degree in music from Goshen College.
"I believe in the power of singing to connect people of all backgrounds, to heal and empower, and to provide a medium through which we can safely be open with each other. The community formed between singers can truly be sacred ground," said Brubaker.
Heiks just joined the Goshen College music faculty this year after a 30-year career in the Appleton, Wis., public schools. He is also the founder of the Appleton Boychoir, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. His choirs have performed throughout Eastern Europe, Italy, Scandinavia, Mexico and Japan. In 1997, he received the Kohl Fellowship for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching from U.S. Senator Herb Kohl, and was nominated for Wisconsin Teacher of the Year. As a student and colleague of Alice Parker, he is currently collaborating with her on a new folk songbook series titled "Alice Parker's Hand Me Down Songs."
Admission to the concert is $5 general admission, $3 seniors and students and free for Goshen College students. Tickets available at the door or at the Welcome Center. For more information call the Goshen College Welcome Center at (574) 535-7566 or e-mail joannp@goshen.edu.
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, "Colleges of Distinction," 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 News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.
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