The Goshen College Chamber Choir will be teaming up with the St. Joseph Valley Camerata, a local semi-professional choir, to perform a 40-part piece on Sunday, Oct. 26.
Scott Hochstetler, an associate professor of music, directs both the Chamber Choir and the St. Joseph Valley Camerata.This year marks the 40th anniversary of the St. Joseph Valley Camerata. In honor of this, the choirs will perform a 40-part piece.
According to Hochstetler, the St. Joseph Valley Camerata is composed of singers from the surrounding areas, many of whom are Goshen College graduates. There are also a few graduates from Notre Dame and Indiana University South Bend who participate in the choir.
The choir is considered to be semi-professional because of the small amount of money the members receive for being a part of it.
“I have wanted to bring the two choirs together for a while to do a repertoire that can’t be done with one choir,” Hochstetler said.
Fittingly named, “Surround Sound,” the concert is designed to actually surround the audience with sound. According to Hochstetler, the combined 63 members of the two choirs will be spread in a single-file line across the stage in Sauder Hall.
These 63 members will be split into eight different choirs, with each choir having five parts. Because it is a 40-part piece sung by 63 members, there will be times when only a few people are singing and other times when the whole choir is in song.
This is how the audience is surrounded with sound; different choirs, on different parts of the stage, will be singing at strategic times to create the surround-sound effect.
