The Chapel Choir and Symphonette at Hope College will head in opposite directions for their annual spring break tours this year.
The Chapel Choir will perform in the state of
Washington on Sunday-Wednesday, March 19-22. The
Symphonette will perform in Michigan, Ohio, New York, New
Jersey and Washington, D.C., from Friday, March 17, through
Friday, March 24.
The choir will present a post-tour "Home
Concert" at the college on Wednesday, March 29, at 7 p.m. in
Dimnent Memorial Chapel. The Symphonette will perform in
concert at Hope on Wednesday, March 15, at 8 p.m. in Dimnent
Memorial Chapel.
The Chapel Choir will perform in Renton, Wash., on
Sunday, March 19; in Oak Harbor, Wash., on Tuesday, March
21; and in Lynden, Wash., on Wednesday, March 22.
The Symphonette will perform in Birmingham on
Friday, March 17; in Brooklyn, Ohio, on Saturday, March 18;
in Rochester, N.Y., on Sunday, March 19; in Albany, N.Y., on
Sunday, March 20; in Whiting, N.J., on Tuesday, March 21; in
Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, March 22; and in New York
City on Friday, March 24.
The members of the 39-voice Chapel Choir are
selected by audition. The choir is directed by Brad
Richmond, who is director of choral activities and associate
professor of music at Hope.
The Chapel Choir was organized in 1929 and began
touring annually in 1953. In addition to touring coast-to-
coast in the United States, the choir has made a European
tour five times, most recently in May of 1997, and in 1989
presented a concert tour of the former Soviet Union.
The members of the 41-voice Symphonette are
selected each year from the larger college symphony
orchestra. The Symphonette is directed by Richard Piippo,
associate professor of music.
The Symphonette was organized in 1953. The
Symphonette has toured coast-to-coast in the U.S., and has
also performed in two provinces in Canada, the British
Isles, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
The Chapel Choir and Symphonette each maintain
active local performance schedules as well. Both groups
have also made numerous radio and television appearances,
including on the "Hour of Power" television program from the
Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, Calif.