Goshen College’s Lavender Jazz band hit the stage with a show-stopping performance on Friday, Nov. 15, in Sauder Concert Hall. With a set list of six different songs, the band captivated the audience and ended with an encore for their grand finale.  Greg Smucker, who has served as the director of Lavender Jazz for the past six years, spoke highly of the group when talking about the decisions that went into choosing the setlist for the concert: “This band is very accomplished, as far as musicians, and so as soon as I knew the band — they were all returning...

By Alina Bergstresser • November 25, 2024 • Arts

Sunday, Nov. 17, the Hershberger Art Gallery hosted a reception for local artist Jake Webster’s exhibit, “A Conversation between Agony and Grief.” The reception was full of a mix of colleagues, community members and students. Growing up in Mississippi, Webster noted the presence of social movements and general systemic violence in his upbringing. In his youth, Webster thought that art of the time should reflect not just tragedies around him, but the way people continued to live in both ordinary and remarkable ways.  “Somehow, nobody around me was making art about that,” he said to the audience. Webster began to...

By Bennett Silveus • November 25, 2024 • Arts