In an effort to glean insider information into the inner workings of the 2019-2020 Parables Worship Ensemble, I sat down with members Katy Thornthwaite and Ainslee Zhou, both sophomores, and Nathan Berkey, a junior, to talk about team chemistry, upcoming events and what we’ve always wanted to know about Marcia Yost. Parables, a worship ensemble from Goshen College, combines music, original drama and personal stories to create an engaging worship experience designed to inspire, comfort and challenge. Q: If you had to describe your Parables season in a word, what would it be? Katie: I’d say “dynamic.” Ainslee: “Chaos” is...

By Olivia Smucker • September 25, 2019 • Arts

There is nothing more quintessential to the GC experience than spontaneous singing, right? Of course it’s right! We are blessed with both an abundance of gifted artists and a campus community that relishes in the works they offer up. I am thankful for the open mic nights, for the brave performers on the Kick-Off stage, for the hymns floating down the KMY staircases and for the live acoustic melodies that enhance the sensory delight of a Java Junction beverage. This week I think of Simon Hurst, who on Sunday wrapped up passersby in a tapestry of string and song. It...

By Olivia Smucker • September 12, 2019 • Arts

The start of a new academic year always brings about bustling excitement, especially for the music department, as students prepare for a year of classes and ensembles. However, this year feels slightly different than the ones before it due to the loss of a beloved professor, director and mentor. After having a rapid relapse of cancer, Dr. Deb Detwiler had planned on becoming semi-retired in the 2019-2020 academic year, solely focusing on choir conducting. Unfortunately, Detwiler passed away on April 22, 2019, only days after the annual Earthtones: Songs of Many Cultures concert. In the subsequent weeks, students, faculty and...

By Record • September 5, 2019 • Arts

As spring semester draws to a close, the choral season does as well. Goshen choirs will join in Sauder Concert Hall to perform one last show for the 2018-2019 season this Saturday, April 6 at 7:30 p.m.. Earthtones is an annual performance put on by all of the Goshen College choirs which celebrates the culture and diversity of the world. The choirs will perform pieces from numerous countries, sung in languages such as Swahili, French, Sami and Hindi, as well as in English. Some songs don’t include words at all, but rather voices mimicking percussive sounds. The choirs will also...

By Patrick Qualkinbush • April 4, 2019 • Arts

On Sunday afternoon, the resounding music of the pipe organ filled Rieth Recital Hall. The musician behind the instrument was international concert organist Gail Archer. Her performance was the latest installment in the Rieth Chamber Series. Archer currently serves as a college organist at Vassar College. She is also a faculty member at Harriman Institute of Columbia University and director of the music program at Barnard College, Columbia University. At Barnard, she conducts the Barnard-Columbia Chorus and Chamber singers. Archer’s annual recital series, which has included selections by Max Reger, The Muse’s Voice, An American Idyll, Laszt, Bach, Mendelssohn and...

By Emily Bennett • March 21, 2019 • Arts

Goshen College students, faculty and community members gathered at the Umble Center on March 15 for the opening performance of “Bright Star,” the spring mainstage musical. There were three performances last weekend and two more on March 22 and 24.   Written by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, “Bright Star” offers a story of family that will leave a smile on your face. The bluegrass and americana influenced musical travels back and forth through time to tell a tale of love, loss and redemption in midcentury North Carolina.   “Bright Star” did not have much attention when it was first...

By Gabe Miller • March 21, 2019 • News

Andrew Pauls, a 2017 Goshen College graduate, returned to town to perform at Goshen Brewery Company (GBCo) last Sunday, Feb. 17. He played a two-hour set. Usually, Pauls performs in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he lives with his spouse. His music can be described as folk or bluegrass. During his event at GBCo, he played the acoustic guitar and harmonica while singing. His artist bio says, “Themes of hope, sadness and striving fill Andrew Pauls’ original songs. Rooted in traditional American folk music, Andrew’s lyrics dance with soulful banjo and guitar playing to create thought-provoking songs. In Andrew’s music, listeners will...

By Emily Cummings • February 22, 2019 • Arts

After a strong musical performance on Tuesday night, it should come as no surprise to learn that Seraphic Fire, the most recent performer in Goshen College’s Performing Arts Series (PAS), already has two Grammy Award nominations to its name. The 14-person vocal and instrumental ensemble from Miami, Florida took the Sauder Concert Hall stage alongside the American Brass Quartet for an evening of classical music from both historic and living composers. In the first act, the combination of vocal and brass led the audience on a musical journey down the Camino de Santiago, a Spanish pilgrimage trail that crosses Spain...

By Olivia Smucker • February 22, 2019 • 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

The Goshen College Faculty Trio performed last weekend to a large, enthusiastic audience. Despite winter weather, Rieth Recital Hall was packed with students and community members for the concert. The faculty trio is comprised of Jose Rocha, Matthew Hill and Solomia Soroka, all professors of music. Rocha conducts the Goshen College Symphony Orchestra and Wind Symphony on top of teaching applied cello and music education classes. Hill, chair of the music department, teaches applied piano, music theory, piano pedagogy and chamber music courses. Soroka teaches applied violin, music theory and chamber music. Hill said that it is important for professors...

By Emily Bennett • January 31, 2019 • Arts

Malinda Berry, professor of ethics at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, shared a message on Wednesday about the centrality of singing in the culture of Goshen College. The message “Does the world still hear our song? Singing and Social Change” highlighted how Goshen, and the surrounding world, has changed and how attitudes around singing have changed as well. Berry, a GC graduate, shared that the most obvious change was the “mosaic of experiences” she was seeing standing at the podium. “Goshen College didn’t look like this when I was a student,” she said. “So I’m here to offer back to you...

By Kristin Troyer • January 26, 2019 • News

Despite winter weather conditions, students and community members alike gathered in Sauder Concert Hall on Saturday night, Jan. 22, for a concert combining Chicago based La Caccina, the Goshen Women’s World Music Choir and local choir, Notable Women. La Caccina is a professional women’s vocal ensemble and nonprofit organization known for its wide range of musical styles. The group was formed in 2011 by three friends and has since grown to include eight members. The concert was also a homecoming for one of the members of the choir, Rachel Mast, a 2014 Goshen College graduate who studied music. Saturday morning...

By Emily Bennett • January 24, 2019 • Arts

On Jan. 20 at 4 p.m., Craig Cramer, professor of organ and artist in residence at the University of Notre Dame, presented a Reith Chamber Series concert. Cramer maintains an active recital career by traveling across the United States, Canada and Europe, which makes him one of the most traveled organists of his generation. Cramer holds degrees from Westminster Choir College and the Eastman School of Music, where he earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Organ Performance. The University of Notre Dame recently presented Cramer with a Kaneb distinguished faculty teaching award. Cramer was also awarded the prestigious...

By Emily Cummings • January 23, 2019 • Arts

The 5 Browns are bringing their musical talents to Sauder Concert Hall as part of the 2018-19 Performing Arts Series. They are set to perform Saturday, Dec. 15 at 7:30 p.m. The group consists of five siblings: Ryan, Melody, Gregory, Deondra and Desirae. All five siblings were born in Houston, Texas and began their piano training at the age of three. The family moved to Utah in 1991 and grew up in the Church of Latter Day Saints. They were home-schooled while they continued their piano study. Each of them were accepted to Julliard School in New York. Three of...

By Kory Stoneburner-Betts • November 28, 2018 • Arts

Sauder Concert Hall will again host the annual Festival of Carols. Performances will take place Dec. 7-9. The concert will include performances by the Goshen College Symphony Orchestra, the Goshen College Choirs, and Goshen College music faculty with the expectation of audience participation. This December will mark the fifteenth year of Festival of Carols. Created by former GC choir director, James Heiks, the program has several different aspects that make it to stand out among the other concerts done throughout the year. For example, Festival of Carols always includes audience participation throughout the program. Audience members sing along with college...

By Pamela Ortiz • November 28, 2018 • News