Goshen College Women’s World Music Choir to perform Feb. 14; Group brings their spirit and energy to Afternoon Sabbatical Series
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Goshen College Women’s World Music Choir to perform Feb. 14; Group brings their spirit and energy to Afternoon Sabbatical Series
GOSHEN, Ind. – Highlighting the many roles of women across the globe, the unique Goshen College Women’s World Music Choir will perform at 1 p.m. on Feb. 14 in Sauder Concert Hall as part of the college’s monthly Afternoon Sabbatical Series. The program is free and open to the public.
“The Women’s World Music Choir specializes in performing music of other cultures, both national and international,” said Professor of Music Deb Brubaker, director of the group. “Our goal is to sing music that celebrates the presence and work of women, particularly in indigenous cultures.”
Shoeless and wearing fabrics that represent diverse global cultures and traditions, the choir members visually connect with women around the world.
On Feb. 14, the women’s choir will combine sight and sound in their performance. The 50-member chorus will integrate poetry, stories, dance and costume into the program, with songs from Macedonia, South Africa and the Ukraine. Melanie Wade, an accomplished dance performer and instructor from the Goshen area, will perform with the choir, as will violinist Solomia Soroka, assistant professor of music. The final song on the program, created by the women’s a capella group Sweet Honey in the Rock, will be accompanied by sign language interpretation.
In January 2004, the Goshen College music department added a men’s chorus and a women’s choir to the co-curricular music program. Brubaker said she is pleased to offer female students this stimulating experience to further explore their love of music. “I wanted to offer an opportunity for women to sing less traditional female music and saw the celebration of women in other cultures as a wonderful way to focus this singing,” she said.
Future events in the Afternoon Sabbatical series:
· March 14, 1 p.m., Sauder Concert Hall – “Greece – Sabbatical Study and More” with Robert Birkey, director and professor of social work
· April 11, 12 p.m., Church Fellowship Hall – “International Lunch: Peru – A Land of Contrasts” with Dean Rhodes, associate professor of Spanish, and Janette Yoder, director of community programs and adult educational travel. Cost: $20.
· May 16 – Bus tour to Meijer Gardens and Ford Museum. Cost: $45.
Goshen College’s Afternoon Sabbatical program is in its 29th year of offering rich diversity in programs for the community. A committee of area representatives and college personnel look to the wealth of knowledge and talent at Goshen College and among Elkhart County citizens and selects programs that will appeal to a wide variety of interests. Programs have an integral connection to the college, either through subject matter or in ways in which the campus and community are interrelated.
For more information on the Afternoon Sabbatical series call the Goshen College Welcome Center at (574) 535-7566 or e-mail welcomecenter@goshen.edu.
– by Jennifer Rupp
Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.
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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a 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,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.