Goshen College’s 65th annual Concerto-Aria concert took place this Saturday, Feb. 15 at Sauder Concert Hall, with memorable performances from GC’s Orchestra and soloists.  The evening began with Symphony No.1 in E minor by Joseph Mounsithiraj, a senior art major. He said that the symphony is a testament to his perseverance in learning something new.  Next,  the group was joined by Julia Koch, a sophomore music major, on violin I and Lucca Kauffman, a sophomore social work major, on violin II. They performed Pablo de Sarasate’s Navarra for Two Violins and Orchestra, Op. 33. Koch said, “The piece is a...

By Ana Alves Machado • February 20, 2025 • Arts

A hush fell over the crowd in Sauder Concert Hall, which just minutes before had been raucous and boisterous. With the tuning of the Goshen College Symphony Orchestra fading away, the door on the right side of the stage opened. As Brian Mast, the orchestra’s conductor, walked out to begin the 64th annual Concerto-Aria concert, the audience exploded with raucous applause. The orchestra began the night with a triumphant Mozart overture, the entrance to his opera “Die Zauberflöte” (The Magic Flute), giving the audience a feeling of brightness and excitement. The piece introduced the following one, “Wie, Wie, Wie?” from...

By Daniel James • February 22, 2024 • Arts

Sauder Concert Hall was full on Saturday night as students, families and community members gathered to hear the sounds of the 63rd Concerto-Aria Concert. The yearly competition was held last fall to determine the lineup for the concert. After extensive preparation, competitors auditioned with their chosen repertoire. There were seven winners that got the chance to showcase their talents with the Goshen College Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Victoria Petrak.  The concert opened with GCSO performing Ethel Smyth’s “Overture to ‘The Wreckers.’” The piece, from one of Smyth’s operas, was chosen because of her determination to have her work...

By Sarah Miller • February 23, 2023 • Arts

Sauder Concert Hall was filled with ambient noise, increasing gradually as more and more people flowed into the room. It was time for the 62nd annual Concerto-Aria Competition. Through this competition, music students are given the opportunity to prepare an instrumental concerto or a sung aria — pieces written specifically to be accompanied by an orchestra. Students are adjudicated by an outside panel of judges, who chose four winners to perform with the Goshen College Symphony Orchestra (GCSO), currently directed by Brian Mast, music center executive director. This year’s winners included Augusta Nafziger, a junior writing and music major; Hannah...

By Phil Witmer-Rich • February 25, 2022 • Arts

Eight student winners of the 2019 Goshen College Concerto-Aria Competition will take to the stage in Sauder Concert Hall this Saturday, Feb. 16, 2019, for the 59th annual Concerto-Aria concert. The students will perform arias and individual concerto movements with the Goshen College Symphony Orchestra, directed Jose Rocha, associate professor of music. A concerto-aria is normally an opera-like scene composed for a singer and orchestra, written specifically for performance in concert rather than as part of an opera. An aria is a self-contained piece for one voice. Arias are performed with or without instrumental accompaniment and are normally part of...

By Kory Stoneburner-Betts • February 15, 2019 • Arts

Six students showcased their musical talents during the 58th Concerto-Aria performance at the Goshen College Music Center on Saturday Feb. 17. The six students — Anna Buckwalter, Joshua Liechty, Monica Miller, Tyrus Tucker, and Mark Kreider — were selected through competition to perform at the event. Twenty students competed, and selecting who would perform at Saturday’s concert “was a difficult decision,” said Jose Rocha, associate professor of music and conductor of the GC Symphony Orchestra. “Each student competed in ‘Hunger Games’ fashion,” Rocha said. During the concert, each student performer was accompanied by the GC Symphony Orchestra. The performance started...

By Kory Stoneburner-Betts • February 22, 2018 • Arts

Saturday, February 7, 2015 marks the 55th annual Concerto Aria. The Concerto Aria is a concert that showcases the musical talent that we have here on the Goshen College campus. There are auditions each year in the fall, where students prepare a piece to perform in front of music faculty. The faculty members then make a decision based on the quality and complexity of the performance. “The selection process can be very tedious,” said Dustin George-Miller, the Music Center office coordinator. Students spend a long time preparing for the Concerto Aria auditions. Although the auditioning process can be scary, Seth...

By Annie Agutu • February 5, 2015 • Arts

Back in November, junior and senior music students took the Sauder stage one by one to compete with both voice and instrument. Three months later, a selected few have been invited to perform again – this time for a crowd. Goshen College’s 54th annual Concerto-Aria concert will be held this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in Sauder Hall. The seven student winners of the Concerto-Aria competition will perform individual concerto moments and both solo and duet arias, along with the Goshen College Symphony Orchestra, which is directed by Christopher Fashun, professor of music. For the performers, including Micah Detweiler, marimba; Ben...

By Kate Stoltzfus • February 5, 2014 • News

This past Saturday, eight Goshen College students performed at the 53rd Annual Goshen College Concerto-Aria Concert. The soloists were accompanied by the GC orchestra, under the direction of Christopher Fashun, assistant professor of Music. The concert featured Josh Yoder, a junior (violin) and Chelsea Wimmer, a senior (viola); Hillary Harder, a sophomore (violin); Stephen Graber, a sophomore (tenor saxophone); Sophie Lapp, a senior (piano); Rachel Mast, a senior (mezzo soprano); Madeleine Ruth, a junior (piano); and Emily Grimes, a junior (soprano). Just under one hour, the concert included musical selections from a variety of composers — from Mozart to Puccini....

By Christina Hofer • February 13, 2013 • Arts

Seven students and the Goshen College orchestra, under the direction of Christopher Fashun, will collaborate their musical talents in the 53rd Annual Goshen College Concerto-Aria Concert. The concert, which will take place this Saturday evening, will feature Josh Yoder, a junior (violin) and Chelsea Wimmer, a senior (viola); Hillary Harder, a sophomore (violin); Stephen Graber, a sophomore (tenor saxophone); Sophie Lapp, a senior (piano); Rachel Mast, a senior (mezzo soprano); Madeleine Ruth, a junior (piano); and Emily Grimes, a junior (soprano). To have the privilege of performing at the concert, students had to audition in November with one musical selection, competing against a group of...

By Christina Hofer • February 6, 2013 • Arts

The Goshen College music department will host the 52nd annual Concerto-Aria Competition Concert on Saturday in Sauder Hall at 7:30 p.m. Winners of the competition will perform with the GC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Christopher Fashun. The orchestra will also perform an opening overture and closing finale. Competition winners include Martin Brubaker, a senior baritone; Lisa Horst, a senior pianist; Stephanie Hollenberg, a senior soprano; Levi Smucker, a junior composer; Elspeth Stalter, a senior violinist; and Justin Yoder, a junior cellist. Most of the musicians will perform solos, but some will perform in small ensembles. Stalter and Yoder will play...

By Quinn Brenneke • February 9, 2012 • Arts

“This is the biggest project in my life ever,” says Levi Smucker. Smucker, a junior music major from Akron, PA, will be participating in this year’s Concerto Aria—an impressive feat for a Goshen College musician. However, Smucker is taking an unusual approach: he composed the song with which he competed. “I’ve been writing music since middle school,” says Smucker. “Lots of piano and piano/cello stuff, and it just took off from there.” Smucker said that when you learn music and theory together, writing music comes naturally. Smucker adds that one Lent season, he gave up not writing one hymn a week....

By Lavonne Shetler • November 30, 2011 • Arts

On Friday night, Feb. 18, Sauder Concert Hall will be alive with the sound of music as the 51st annual Concerto-Aria Concert commences. In the fall semester, music students took part in the Concerto-Aria Competition.  The winners of that competition will be performing Friday. The winners include: Andrea Detweiler, a junior mezzo-soprano, performing “Non piu mesta” from La Cenerentola written by Gioachino Rossini; Amy Hansen, a senior soprano, performing “Alleluia” from Exsultate, Jubilate written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; Emily Trapp, a sophomore, performing the first movement from Piano Concerto in C Major, Op. 15 written by Ludwig van Beethoven; Ana...

By Lavonne Shetler • February 17, 2011 • Arts

Passionate performance and rigorous rehearsing reached its culmination at Saturday evening’s 50th annual Concerto-Aria Concert competition. Held in Sauder Concert Hall, 446 students, family and friends witnessed a musical event highlighting six student performers. Students audition in the fall and are judged by the Goshen College music faculty. Concertos feature soloists backed by the orchestra, and it involves intense rehearsal for both parties. “Concertos are some of the most difficult things for orchestral musicians to play,” said Gregg Thaller, orchestra director. “They’ve got to count beats and measures, watch the conductor, and listen like crazy—all at the same time while playing the...

By Andrea Kraybill • February 9, 2010 • Arts

The distant echo of a bell will ring throughout Sauder Concert Hall on Saturday evening as the orchestra opens the Concerto-Aria concert with Mussorgsky’s “A Night on Bald Mountain.” The 7:30 p.m. concert will feature the nine winners of the Concerto-Aria competition held last November. Gregg Thaller, associate professor of music, will conduct the orchestra. The winners include: Peter Miller (cello), a senior; Anna Showalter (piano), a junior; and Leslee Smucker (violin), a senior, performing Beethoven’s “Triple Concerto” Greta Breckbill, a sophomore, performing the first movement of Mendelssohn’s “Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 56” Drew Stoltzfus, a junior, conducting...

By Alysha Landis • February 11, 2009 • Arts