Goshen College choirs celebrate world music with annual EARTHTONES concert

Concert: Goshen College Choirs present "EARTHTONES: Songs from Many Cultures"
Date and time: Saturday, March 31 at 7:30 p.m.
Location: Goshen College Music Center's Sauder Concert Hall
Cost: $7 for adults, $5 for students/seniors, available through the Welcome Center by calling (574) 535-7566, emailing welcomecenter@goshen.edu or online at www.goshen.edu/tickets.

Photo by David Zwier/Goshen College Public Relations

GOSHEN, Ind. – Singing music from multiple regions of the world, the Goshen College choirs will again explore the large palette of sounds available to the human voice in the eighth annual EARTHTONES choral concert on Saturday, March 31 at 7:30 p.m. in Goshen College Music Center's Sauder Concert Hall.

Performing will be the Goshen College Chorale, Chamber Choir, Men's Chorus and Women's World Music Choir. Subtitled "Songs from Many Cultures," the EARTHTONES program will feature choral works from a wide variety of composers, cultures and countries, including American folk song traditions, Mongolia, Germany, Kenya, Israel, Palestine, the Republic of Georgia and Tanzania. During the concert, the choirs will also recognize graduating senior choir members.

Drawing from powerful melodies of almost every continent, EARTHTONES promises to provide a concert of vitality and tone color in a celebration of world music.

The Goshen College choirs are directed by choral professors Dr. Debra Brubaker and Dr. Scott Hochstetler. The choirs are accompanied by pianist Christine Larson Seitz.

Brubaker is professor of music at Goshen College, where she teaches in the areas of vocal and choral music. She holds a doctor of musical arts degree from the University of Kansas, a master of music degree from the University of Northern Colorado and an undergraduate degree in music from Goshen College. Brubaker was assistant professor of music at Bluffton (Ohio) College for 10 years, and has also taught choir in public schools in Indiana and Colorado. Since coming to Goshen in 1999, Brubaker has directed the Goshen College Chorale and Chamber Choir, and has created the Women's World Music Choir, which performed in Grand Rapids (Mich.) at the American Choral Director's Association (ACDA) North Central Regional Convention in February 2008. She and her choirs have collaborated and performed with such noted conductors as Alice Parker, Vance George, Donald Neuen, Gregg Smith and Augusta Read Thomas. A focus of Brubaker's research and teaching explores how the use of singing can become a catalyst for connection between people of differing cultures, faiths and circumstances, also highlighting the role of women as creators and sustainers of art and culture.

Hochstetler is assistant professor of music at Goshen College, where he teaches in the vocal, choral and opera theater programs. Under his direction, the Goshen College Men's Chorus was selected to perform for the ACDA regional convention in March 2012. He is also the newly appointed director of the St. Joseph Valley Camerata, an area professional choir. Previous appointments include Western Mennonite School, Salem, Ore., the University of Michigan – Flint, and Corban College, Salem, Ore. As a scholar, his work on Vaughan Williams has been published by The Choral Journal. He is the co-author of the IPA Pronunciation Guide to "Translations and Annotations of Choral Repertoire: German Texts," published by earthsongs, with a second book on French and Italian diction forthcoming. As a baritone, he has performed opera and oratorio roles and given recitals in Indiana, Michigan and Oregon. Hochstetler holds a doctor of musical arts degree in choral conducting from Michigan State University, a double master of music degree in conducting and voice from the University of Michigan, and an undergraduate degree in music and biology from Goshen College.

Tickets cost $7 for adults and $5 for students/seniors, available through the Welcome Center by calling (574) 535-7566, emailing welcomecenter@goshen.edu or online at www.goshen.edu/tickets.

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College Acting News Bureau Coordinator Alysha Bergey Landis at (574) 535-7762 or alyshabl@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.