Jimin Seo brings three master’s degrees, a pending doctorate and a drive for making music to her new position as visiting assistant professor of music and orchestra conductor at Goshen College. Seo will debut as the GC Symphony Orchestra conductor at the Homecoming Music Gala on Oct. 5 in Sauder Concert Hall. The orchestra will present “Overture to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg” by Richard Wagner.  “I’m excited for the audience to witness our Goshen College Symphony Orchestra — the beautiful playing as a group as well as all the individuals being fantastic musicians,” Seo said. Seo has a bachelor’s degree...

By Mackenzie P. Miller • September 19, 2024 • Arts

A nun, a devil and a G-string; not what you would expect at a traditional strings performance. This past Tuesday’s April Fools’ Day concert featured all three. The two-hour performance presented the musical prowess among both GC students and staff alike, including mesmerizing strumming, finger plucking and storytelling while guiding the audience through a “humourous walk through violin literature.” The recital opened with a brief introduction by Dustin George-Miller, Music Center office coordinator. Walking to the stage, he set the tone in a brightly colored blazer that sported eccentric shapes and was quick to offer a “thanks, Amazon,” for shipping...

By Isabella Aldrich • April 4, 2024 • Arts

With Brian Mast taking over the Goshen College Symphony Orchestra just days before the Concerto-Aria concert, students in the GCSO are experiencing a wide range of emotions after Richard Brunson’s firing. The Record interviewed six orchestra students (and Mast) and asked them the following questions. These are their answers. What was your reaction when you first heard about Brunson’s actions? “Initially it was numbness and then I felt very sad, a lot of grief … I felt for the students that were close to him, I felt for the professors, our whole music department, I felt for the community as...

By Record • February 15, 2024 • Features

As the Goshen College Symphony Orchestra faces low numbers, students hope stable leadership will increase participation. Victor Vegas, a junior music major and violin player, explaining his perspective on the recent low membership said, “the previous semester, we had a kind of rocky situation with an interim director … and I feel like that probably made people lose motivation to join orchestra.”  One immediate solution that has been implemented concerning membership is hiring community members to play in performances. One such member is Kristin Waltner, interim registrar at GC and flautist. On her decision to join, Waltner said, “It felt...

By Mackenzie P. Miller • January 18, 2024 • News

This year at Sauder Concert Hall, audience members can expect to see a new face take the stage with the symphonic orchestra: Director Richard Brunson. Brunson is a teacher, conductor, hornist and Tolkien enthusiast who was hired earlier this year at Goshen College to fill the roles of symphony orchestra director and associate professor of music. Brunson has a doctoral degree in instrumental conducting from the University of Nevada (Las Vegas), and has taught and conducted for many different ensembles — most recently at the University of Wisconsin (Marshfield), where he has served as conductor for the band, orchestra and...

By Lukas Bontrager-Waite • September 8, 2023 • Arts