performing arts
November 14, 2024
‘She Kills Monsters’ ‘slays’ on the Umble stage
Umble Center’s stage lit up with glow-in-the-dark dragon masks and dramatic fight scenes for the first time on Friday, Nov. 8. “She Kills Monsters,” a production by Qui Nguyen, tells the story of Agnes Evans, an average girl living an average life. Her world is turned upside down when her parents and her younger sister, Tilly, die in a tragic car accident. The play follows Agnes in her attempt to reconnect with Tilly through her love for Dungeons and Dragons. Brenton Abram-Copenhaver, technical director at Goshen College, came on as the director of this production after two failed attempts to...
October 4, 2024
‘An Untitled Project’
On Oct. 4 at 8 p.m., Victor Vegas and Fatima Zahara’s musical, “An Untitled Project,” debuts in the Umble Center. The idea was born when Zahara was sketching in her notebook instead of doing music theory. “I was totally messing around two years ago in Dr. Hill’s music theory class drawing my musical instead of doing my homework,” Zahara said. “I’ve kinda always wanted to write a musical, she said. “When I was in high school I was doing musicals. I was like man, I’d like, love to write one of these.” Zahara, a senior music and theatre double major,...
September 19, 2024
Bringing a spark back to orchestra
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...
September 5, 2024
A new face in the theater department
Goshen College begins the 2024-25 school year with over 37 new employees, one of whom is succeeding Jacob Claassen as the theater department’s technical director. Brenton Abram-Copenhaver is the newest member of the theater staff. He grew up surrounded by performing arts — his parents owned a visual and performing arts school. “They taught art, music, drama and dance,” Abram-Copenhaver said, “that was my after-school and upbringing.” Throughout high school, Abram-Copenhaver continued to work in theatrical productions. He volunteered at community organizations and he performed in high school plays. Following school, he made his way to Chicago, where he studied...
April 15, 2022
Preview of spring orchestra concert
The Goshen College Symphony Orchestra (GCSO), conducted by Brian Mast, will present their spring concert in Sauder Concert Hall on Saturday, April 23. This year’s spring repertoire will feature three main pieces from the United States, Japan and Ukraine: John Williams’ Star Wars Suite; Joe Hisaishi’s Spirited Away Suite; and Myroslav Skoryk’s Melody. For the second and third movements of the Star Wars Suite, the orchestra will be joined by the Community School of the Arts’ Youth Honors Symphony Orchestra (YHSO). Ana Neufeld Weaver, a sophomore music education major and YHSO assistant, noted her thoughts on YHSO’s preparation process. “These...
April 15, 2022
Earthtones concert celebrates seniors with song
Three Goshen College choirs — Chamber Choir, Vox Profundi and Voices of the Earth — presented a mosaic of music at the Earthtones: Songs From Many Cultures concert in Sauder Concert Hall on Saturday. The choirs performed individually and as a joint chorus. The program featured choral works in many languages and countries, including Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, Nigeria, China, South Korea, Syria, Iraq, Mexico and Ukraine. During their individual performances, the Vox Profundi and Voices of the Earth choirs invited their relatives, mentors and friends to join them for a song. In addition to the choirs, the program included...
April 14, 2022
Songs and snacks: Chocolate House packed out
Female and nonbinary performers took to the stage at the Chocolate House on Friday evening. At this talent show, male participants are invited to show their support by taking a seat and providing chocolate treats. Chocolate House is set apart from other coffeehouses and open mic nights on campus because of its intent to create an affirming atmosphere for marginalized gender identities who may feel less welcome in other spaces. Therefore, men are limited to a supporting role as audience members. Savannah Roth Walter, a member of the planning committee, made it clear that the committee wants everyone to experience...
March 31, 2022
Review: ‘The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’ is a wild ride
As the first spring mainstage with a live audience since before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” sets the bar up high for all future musical shows at Goshen College. The show opened in the Umble Theater with an enthusiastic judge, a pining vice principal, a parolee, and six young spelling bee contestants (alongside four pre-selected audience participants). “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” is a wild ride from start to finish — the script is full of witty banter, relatable characters dealing with difficult life situations, and ridiculous song breaks. The tone...
March 25, 2022
International Student Club Coffeehouse back in full swing
Thirty-nine flags, 30 performers, 12 acts, three hosts, and what one performer called a “flamboyant” audience of over 320 people marked the return of the International Student Club (ISC) Coffeehouse. After two years of cancellations and restrictions due to COVID-19, Goshen College’s international students showcased the best of their countries’ music, clothing, dance and culture on Saturday. This year’s theme was an exploration of different identities, with the hosts referring the night’s program as their “map.” The set list included six songs, three dance numbers, two presentations and a poetry reading. The Ukraine crisis was a key focus for the...
March 17, 2022
Monologue cast bonds over sharing stories
A group of female-identifying individuals performed in the eighth annual Goshen Monologues on Saturday. Beginning in 2014, this performance, which has become a tradition at Goshen College, is meant to put forward stories written by female-identifying and queer students and performed by their peers. This year, over 20 students from a variety of majors and backgrounds performed in Monologues, presenting pieces about a variety of topics. The performance was held in the Church-Chapel, which was decorated with simple but elegant scarves. After the introduction, a variety of pieces were performed. Some were lighthearted in themes, such as the piece “Don’t Talk...
February 25, 2022
Review: Students astound at 62nd Concerto-Aria
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...
February 25, 2022
Two seniors share personal stories through theater shows
The Goshen College theater department began its spring season on Feb. 16 with two plays written and presented by seniors majoring in the field: “An Ode to Blackness” by Gloria Bontrager-Thomas and “Behind the Curtain” by Tobias Garcia. These shows started off as projects that theater majors are required to present by the end of their senior year. “They can be originally written stories or an adaptation of a stage play,” said Fatima Rhana, an actor in Bontrager-Thomas’s play. “You can choose whether to direct or act in it, just as long as you put your idea onto the stage...
January 28, 2022
Goshen students shine in Kennedy Center theater festival
Three Goshen College students participated in the Kennedy Center American College Theater Region III Festival over winter break. Dontaye Albert and Fatima Rhana, two first-year theater majors, participated in an acting competition while Sarah Bailey, a sophomore theater and sign language interpreting double major, entered a directing competition. Albert was awarded the Irene Ryan Selection Drama Award, while Bailey directed the winning team in the Design Storm competition. The acting competition included many steps. “You audition with a monologue, and if you make it to the semifinals, you have to do a different monologue and a scene,” Rhana said. “If...
January 28, 2022
Watkins Family Hour and Courtney Hartman play at GC
Sauder Concert Hall kicked off the 2022 Goshen College Performing Arts Series on Friday with a concert by brother-sister duo Watkins Family Hour and soloist Courtney Hartman. The first part of the show was run by Colorado-born artist Courtney Hartman. The folk singer and guitarist wowed the crowd with her talent, performing music she had written over the years and songs from her second solo album, “Glade.” While it was her first time on the Sauder Concert Hall stage, Hartman said that she hopes to return for more performances in the future. After an intermission, the audience’s anticipation finally came...
December 2, 2021
Festival of Carols rings in the holiday season
This weekend, the 18th annual Christmas concert, “A Festival of Carols,” (FOC) will be held in-person at Goshen College in Sauder Concert Hall. The featured ensembles are the GC Choirs — Voices of the Earth, Vox Profundi and Chamber Choir — the Goshen College Symphony Orchestra (GCSO), GCSO Brass and the GC Community School of the Arts Shout for Joy children’s choir. Brian Mast, executive director of the Music Center and conductor of the GCSO, noted the significance of the return of live music: “This tradition is an important part of our offering to the community, and it just didn’t...