It is tradition at Goshen College that the first weekend of December, when students are just starting to go crazy from post-Thanksgiving, pre-finals stress, A Festival of Carols comes along, filling the time and hearts of many. A truly collaborative event, Festival of Carols involves almost all of GC’s major music ensembles: Women’s World Music Choir, Men’s Choir, Chamber choir, Symphonic Orchestra, All-Campus Band, a brass ensemble, as well as the community children’s choir, Shout For Joy. An event that spans over 5 days and logs a combined 1000 hours in preparation, production and post-production (not including unpaid ensemble members),...

By Sadie Gustafson-Zook • December 1, 2016 • Arts

The rumors are true: there will not be a spring Kick Off next semester. The decision to eliminate spring Kick Off came about after administration reviewed student activities and organizations. They assessed Goshen College’s programming goals and became concerned that GC was limiting programing opportunities by dedicating resources and energy to Kick Off events. “There is agreement that spring Kick Off is a successful event; however, it is duplicative, showcasing many of the same individuals in multiple acts,” said Launa Leftwich, dean of students.  Many considerations were included in the decision such as: level of student participation, venues, overhead costs,...

By Chelsea Risser • December 1, 2016 • News

In the midst of a tumultuous week, Goshen College’s theater department is presenting the play “Red Herring” by Michael Hollinger in hopes of giving the community something to laugh about. Nick Peebles, a senior member of the cast, states that, “We, as a society, need distraction and laughter pretty badly right now, and I hope this show provides that.” “Red Herring,” which is based in Boston during the 1950’s Red Scare, follows the intertwined stories of three different couples in search of happiness in the midst of conflict. Although it tackles a murder mystery, nuclear bombs, and lovers with differing...

By Sadie Gustafson-Zook • November 17, 2016 • Arts

This Saturday, Nov. 5, the Goshen College orchestra and combined choirs will be performing Larry Nickel’s “Requiem for Peace.” The Requiem was discovered by Scott Hochstetler, assistant professor of music, and Debra Brubaker, professor of music, about seven years ago at a symposium of Mennonite musicians. It is a work that honors the suffering civilians of this world who have been caught in the crossfire of war. In addition to the Requiem, the orchestra will perform Dvorak’s “New World Symphony.” “We were very attracted to the subject matter because of historic peace witness at Goshen College,” said Hochstetler, “and also...

By Elsa Lantz • November 3, 2016 • Arts

Ever since Nimoy Vaidya’s first week as a student at Goshen College, he has searched for others who share his biggest passion in life: b-boying. Vaidya, now a sophomore, grew up in Kathmandu, Nepal, where he was first exposed to b-boying or break-boying, more widely known as breakdancing, in high school. Boys in his neighborhood practiced this style of dance after school. They had anger and frustration towards the government, explained Vaidya, and they wanted to find some release that was more satisfying and productive than harsh words or violence. Vaidya, too, learned to channel his frustrations through popping, locking,...

By Jesse Amstutz • October 27, 2016 • Features

This past weekend, Homecoming Weekend visitors had the chance to enjoy this year’s Peace Play Contest winner, “Party Favors” written by Cary Pepper, at Umble Center on Friday-Sunday, Oct. 7-9. “Party Favors” centers around an independent candidate, Malcolm Wilkes, played by Jonah Yoder, a sophomore business major, as he attempts to run a clean campaign amidst the pressures of the foul play that naturally accompanies modern politics. The head of his independent party sends Stuart Severet, played by junior theater major James Lang, to encourage Malcolm to take whatever path it is that ensures him victory, whether or not that...

By Josh Stoltzfus • October 13, 2016 • News

Students enjoyed an enchanted evening at the Disney-themed 2016 Fall Kick Off, hosted by the Campus Activities Council. In between the acts, the audience got to see skits performed by CAC members, who were dressed as Disney characters. Cinderella ran across the stage, looking for her lost shoe, and Maleficent and Kristoff sang a duet together, ending with Kristoff sadly walking away. In total, there were 15 acts, with performances ranging from original songs to bands to dancing and skits. “I thought that Kick Off was really good this fall,” said Roxy Gehring, a sophomore. “One of the things that...

By Elsa Lantz • September 29, 2016 • Arts

On Friday, Step Afrika!, a professional stepping company based out of Washington, D.C., will pay their first visit to the Goshen College campus. The group is known for blending agility and raw energy. According to Corie Steinke, campus activities director, this group will be a perfect fit for the GC campus, which thrives on intercultural interactions and awareness. Steinke is hopeful for a full house in the Umble Center to “welcome them warmly.” Step Afrika! combines traditional African dance styles and dress with stepping, a dance form popularized in African-American fraternities and sororities. The troupe also mixes humor, storytelling and...

By Laura Hoover • September 22, 2016 • Arts

Carrie Newcomer smiled and picked up her guitar as the welcoming applause faded. She plucked a few notes and began to play: “I believe there are some debts that we never can repay/I believe there are some words that you can never unsay/And I don’t know a single soul/Who didn’t get lost along the way.” The low, sweet alto voice woven through piano and guitar brought the poetry to life, as if someone had married James Taylor’s music to Mary Oliver’s poetry and mysticism. She sang about the details of life: about ginger tea, jelly jars, and wool gloves, but...

By Andrew Pauls • September 22, 2016 • Arts

The annual Earthtones concert is taking place this Saturday April 16 at 7:30 p.m. at Goshen College Music Center’s Sauder Concert Hall. Earthtones is the annual spring choral concert, and concert of world choral music. Subtitled “Songs from Many Cultures,” the concert features a wide variety of choral works from countries and cultures all over the world that is sung in a variety of languages. Scott Hochstetler, associate professor of music, and Debra Brubaker, professor of music, will direct the concert this year. Alongside teaching choral, vocal and opera theatre programs at GC, Hochstetler has led a variety of church,...

By Frances Fonseca • April 14, 2016 • News

Goshen’s Chamber Choir has existed since the 1970s, with a focus in chamber a capella music that highlights the college’s best singers. The choir grew out of conductor Mary Oyer’s Motet Singers in the 1950s and ‘60s. When Doyle Preheim, a former professor of music, started conducting in the 1970s, the choir became the chamber ensemble that it is today, with the forty-odd years of music demonstrating the growth and dynamic ability of the choir. Currently, Scott Hochstetler, associate professor of music, is the conductor. This is his fourth year running the Chamber Choir. Hochstetler chooses a variety of music...

By Elsa Lantz • April 7, 2016 • Features

On Sunday March 20, the third annual Goshen Monologues presented a series of 44 true stories shared by female and non-binary students, staff and faculty. Like last year, the Monologues were performed in the College Mennonite Church Sanctuary in anticipation of the crowd that they have generated throughout the previous two years. The Monologues Committee strongly encourages women around the Goshen College campus to submit their stories anonymously via email, campus mail or an anonymous forum. After the cut-off date for submissions during the fall semester, these stories are then edited into a script and performed. According to Prashansa Dickson,...

By Lexa Magnuson • March 31, 2016 • News

The International Student Club put on another successful ISC Coffeehouse event this past Saturday evening, March 14. Students, family and friends alike enjoyed a meal as well as a music and dance performance at Sauder Hall following put together by the international community of Goshen College. Festivities began at 5:00 in the College Mennonite Church Fellowship Hall where ticketholders were greeted by international students and volunteers ready to serve an array of dishes from over 30 different countries from around the world, all represented by Goshen College students. Due to a sold out event, lines were lengthy with patrons eager...

By Josh Stoltzfus • March 17, 2016 • News

The Goshen College theater department has taken on the classic Shakespeare play “JuliusCaesar” as this year’s spring mainstage. The show will open this weekend, and anyone who has been in Umble Center recently has noticed a striking difference between the setup for this show and prior Goshen mainstage performances: this spring, Julius Caesar will be performed in the round. According to Jesse Bontreger, a junior and the show’s assistant director, “Audience members can watch from traditional seating or our new seating onstage.” Lukas Thompson, a first-year who plays Cassius, says that this way, “audience members will be up close to...

By Jenae Longenecker • March 3, 2016 • Arts

During spring break this year, Goshen College’s Chamber Choir went on tour, traveling up and down the east coast and performing each day. They left Saturday morning, February 20 and arrived in Akron, New York later that night. The following morning, they led the church service at Akron Mennonite and then left for Carthage/Lowville area, also in upstate New York. From then on, each day contained a concert and sometimes a few workshops with local schools. After Carthage was Ithaca, NY, then Charleston, West Virginia; Washington DC, Lancaster, PA; and finally Kidron, Ohio before finally returning to Indiana. Each place...

By Luis Pérez Lerchundi • March 3, 2016 • News