Looking for something to jazz up your weekend? Goshen College’s big band, Lavender Jazz, will perform their second and final concert of the year this Saturday, April 2, in Sauder Concert Hall. Lavender Jazz, directed by Christopher Fashun, assistant professor of music, plays a variety of jazz styles including swing, blues, be-bop, and Dixieland. The concert will feature guest baritone saxophonist Glenn Wilson, who will perform a couple of numbers with Lavender Jazz. Wilson is a noted jazz musician who has played with many jazz and Latin-jazz groups including the Lionel Hampton Orchestra, The Buddy Rich Band and Tito Puente....

By Lavonne Shetler • March 31, 2011 • Arts

Three senior performances showcasing compositional, vocal, and instrumental talents will be featured this week in Rieth Recital Hall. Performers include violinist Greta Breckbill, music composition major Patrick Ressler and music/piano pedagogy major Ana Yoder. On Saturday, April 2, Breckbill will perform both solo violin and ensemble string pieces at 4 p.m. in Rieth Recital Hall. The performance will include a Bach piece in which she will demonstrate her individual talent by performing unaccompanied. Three fellow music students—Elspeth Stalter, Chelsea Wimmer and Justin Yoder—will be joining Breckbill on stage for the first movement of a Borodin piece. Work by Tchaikovsky and...

By Liz Core • March 30, 2011 • Arts

On Saturday, March 26, Goshen College choirs will present the seventh annual Earthtones concert, featuring musical pieces from around the world. Countries represented include the Philippines, Argentina, West Africa, Ireland, Persia, Hungry, South Africa, and China. According to Deb Brubaker, director of the chamber choir, the international focus of this concert began in 2005 to celebrate different musical cultures. Since then, the choirs have practiced to master the different styles. “It’s always a fun concert to put together,” she said. “Many of the vocal sounds, musical rhythms, and intervals are unusual and interesting to experiment with.” The concert will also...

By Grace Parker • March 23, 2011 • Arts

Looking for an opportunity to dress up after dark? This Friday and Saturday provide a chance to dig out the frills and enjoy the next round of Hour After, with Nate Day and Aaron Kaufmann’s ‘Eclectic Adventure’. Day and Kaufmann, seniors, will deliver another night of music, with a mix of eclectic, folk, rap, comedic hymns and even a medley by The Beatles. The event is hosted by the CAC. Chagan Sanathu, a member of CAC, promises the night will be full of surprises. “It’s a fun space to come see your peers showing off their talents in an informal setting,” said Sanathu....

By Kate Stoltzfus • March 10, 2011 • Arts

It’s not often that every child in a family plays the same instrument, much less that they all play well enough to tour the country. The 5 Browns, however, do just that, and will perform at Sauder Concert Hall on Saturday, March 12, at 7:30 p.m. as a part of the Goshen College Performing Arts Series. The five Brown siblings—Desirae, Deondra, Gregory, Melody and Ryan—comprise the touring piano group that captivates audiences with their joyous performances. The siblings play a combination of classical music, including anything from duets to complex quintet music. The New York Post described the group as...

By Lavonne Shetler • March 10, 2011 • Arts

The Goshen College World Music Choir is hitting the road. The women’s group, led by choir director Deb Brubaker, will embark on a series of trips to various church venues to perform their themed repertoire entitled “Magnificat!” The women will travel to eight locations in three different states within the span of three weekends. The venture will begin this upcoming Feb. 25 weekend with a visit to three Mennonite churches and a Catholic church in Chicago.  Following weekends include trips to Ohio and various stops in Indiana. This year’s thematic choice derives from the Virgin Mary’s hymn called the “Magnificat,”...

By Liz Core • February 22, 2011 • Arts

“Kiss Each Other Clean,” is the latest album from Iron & Wine, released Tuesday, Feb. 8. The album is a showcase of sound experimentation from an artist who is still shown to be evolving. The band’s earlier releases were a mix of soft- and folk- rock, but the new album adds more instruments and studio production that give the band a fuller sound. Iron & Wine is the stage and recording name of Sam Beam, who has reached a point in his career where his sound is evolving so much that some would consider it selling out.  But in reality,...

By Trisha Danielle Handrich • February 17, 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

“cracked or fragmented jagg’d edges on a bed i’m afloat broke stone song sieze your toking color coordination marry horoscope for loneliness compatible gal isn’t there till he’s thrown like a stone” “I love writing that’s not exacted, because that’s not how most people think. It’s less edited. It seems more authentic that way. And I love silence, actually. I guess that’s another weird thing about music. If you’re creating something isn’t any better than absolute silence – and I’m saying that as a person who loves absolute silence – you have no business creating it in the first place.”...

By Lauren Treiber • February 15, 2011 • Arts

A long-haired, tattooed 63-year-old man who has more accolades to his name than one can even fathom, Gregg Allman is still making great music. Better known for his work with his brother Duane Allman in the Hall of Fame group, The Allman Brothers, Gregg Allman just released his eighth solo studio album, and the first in 14 years, “Low Country Blues.” The Allman album displays the classic southern accent that put him at number 70 on The Rolling Stone’s 100 Best Singers list, the twang of the guitar, and the clinking of the ivory as Allman plucks away in the...

By Benjamin Kelly • February 10, 2011 • Arts

Christopher Fashun’s hard work is about to pay off. Fashun, who joined the music faculty last fall as an associate professor of music, will be showcasing his talent in a percussion concert Saturday evening. “I am very excited,” said Fashun. “[Rieth] Recital Hall is ridiculously amazing and it is quite a blessing to have such a facility to make music in.” The program will feature 20th century music, with pieces by composers such as James Campbell, Steve Reich and Keiko Abe. He will primarily play marimba and other percussion instruments and will be joined on stage by Dustin George-Miller and...

By Kate Stoltzfus • February 5, 2011 • Arts

Barton Hollow is the full-length debut release from the independent band, The Civil Wars.  Produced by Nashville standard-bearer, Charlie Peacock, the band has created some early buzz. An appearance on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” and a featured song on “Grey’s Anatomy,” has lead to more than 500,000 views on YouTube and a number one slot on iTunes singer/songwriter chart – all before the albums official release this week. Upon first listen to The Civil Wars’ Barton Hollow don’t be surprised to find yourself drawn back to the Music City collaboration of Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Raising Sand. ...

By Jason Samuel • February 5, 2011 • Arts

The band Cake has finally released their long-anticipated 6th album entitled Showroom of Compassion, which came out at the beginning of the new year.  This album release is the band’s first in nearly seven years, since Pressure Chief, was released in 2004. The time away seems to be paying off for Cake, as the new album reached number one on the Billboard 200; a first in the band’s 20-year history. Though front-man John McCrea’s voice makes the music easily identifiable, Showroom of Compassion has a distinct sound that separates itself from its sister albums Fashion Nugget, Prolonging the Magic and...

By Summer Hasan • February 5, 2011 • Arts

After much anticipation, Goshen College’s first Hour After event of the 2010-2011 school year has been scheduled for 10 p.m. on Feb. 11  in Newcomer 19. With the help of the Campus Activities Council (CAC), junior Angelica Lehman and her musical ensemble, “Angie and the Band,” will take the stage. Hour After events are traditionally inspired, run and performed by students for their peers. “It’s a time to show your talent with skits and songs,” said senior CAC member Peter Gary. When an individual is interested in putting on a performance, members of CAC assist with funding, establishing venue details and organizing...

By Liz Core • February 2, 2011 • Arts

The Goshen College Music Department will conclude the semester this weekend with the traditional Festival of Carols concert in Sauder Concert Hall. The concert, now a highly anticipated event, starts the holiday season with a massive program incorporating all aspects of the music department; it features traditional Christmas carols and creative renditions of popular songs. Dustin George Miller, office coordinator for the Music Center, says that the Festival of Carols began in 2004 as “a way to create something new.” To add to the holiday spirit, lights, wreaths and Christmas trees line Sauder Hall and selected songs are performed in...

By Jeffrey Moore • December 2, 2010 • News