In a collaborative event featuring Goshen College Choirs, the GHS Advanced Crimson choir, guest soloists, Rejoice children’s choir, GC percussionists and ASL interpreting majors among others, “Carmina Burana,” a collection of medieval poems set to music, was performed on Saturday, Nov. 9 in Sauder Concert Hall. Although the performance showcased the choirs, soloists and musicians, the event also illustrated the unique intersection between spoken and unspoken art. Interpreted by Goshen ASL students, it revealed both the unique heritage and the rich cultural significance of deaf performing art.
This weekend, Goshen will host a similar event, featuring another deaf performing artist: Noah Buchholz. Unlike the performance in Sauder, however, Buchholz will perform alone.
As part of the ASL department’s fall workshop, Buchholz will visit campus this Friday and Saturday, leading Friday’s chapel service, conducting a four-hour workshop on Saturday afternoon for ASL students and other members of the community, and performing his own one-man show on Saturday evening at 7 p.m. in Goshen’s Umble Center.
Said Colleen Geier, assistant professor of ASL interpreting, “I think it’s exciting for the college to see another [knowledgeable/ educated deaf person]. I like that…not only our students, but the college as a whole will get another opportunity to see what deaf people can do.”
In addition to his vocation as a deaf performing artist, Buchholz is also the executive director of Deaf International, the pastor of Central Jersey Deaf Church in New Jersey and a deaf interpreter.
Buchholz was born into a mixed hearing/non-hearing family, with a deaf mother and a hearing father; all of his six brothers and sisters are either deaf or hearing-impaired. Buchholz attended both deaf and public school as a child, and later graduated from Wheaton College with a degree in ancient languages and theological studies. He lives in Princeton, New Jersey with his wife, Alyssa, and is currently pursuing his M.Div. at Princeton Theological Seminary.
Buchholz’s performance on Saturday night will showcase his humor and talent as a performing artist and his unique perspective as a member of the deaf community. The show will include folktales, original poems and/or fiction and stand-up comedy. Buchholz’s performance will be interpreted for his hearing audience by his brother. For tickets or more information on the event, call or visit the Goshen College Welcome Center.
