Hope College will host its 66th annual Nykerk Cup competition on Saturday, Nov. 11, at 8 p.m. in the Holland Civic Center, located at 150 E. Eighth St.
The event, one of a variety of activities
scheduled during the college's Parents' Weekend, will
feature more than 325 members of the freshman and sophomore
classes competing in song, play (drama) and oration. The
participating classes this year are the freshman Class of
'04 and the sophomore Class of '03.
The public is invited. Admission is free.
The competition is named in honor of the
originator of the program, John Nykerk, a professor, college
dean and founder of the Hope College department of music.
The event is continuously staged before a large audience.
The sophomore song will be "Medley from Sister
Act," arranged by Mac Huff and adapted by sophomore Jessica
Davis of Plainwell and senior Cheri Stibitz of Ludington.
The sophomore song will be coached by Stibitz and senior
Jill Spalding of Brighton. Davis will be the accompanist.
The sophomore morale coaches are seniors Kyle
Bloemers of Holland, Garett Childs of Breckenridge and Joe
Gavin of Lakeport.
The freshman song will be "On the Sunny Side of
the Street," arranged by Ron Caviani with lyrics by Dorothy
Fields and music by Jimmy McHugh. The coaches for the
freshmen are juniors Jodi DeHaan of Mason and Megan Zeneberg
of Roscommon. Freshman Becky Byker of Grandville will
provide accompaniment.
The freshman song morale coaches are juniors Pat
Kinne of Syracuse, N.Y., and Jake Van Pernis of Ashland,
Wis.
The sophomore play will be "What Can I Say? There
Is No Play?," written and coached by seniors Jodi Kurtze of
Elkhart, Ind., and Sarah Pedley of Essexville.
The morale coaches for Odd-Year play are seniors
Andrew Lotz of Sioux City, Iowa, Jeff Petkus of Bellflower,
Calif., and Dave Van Der Laan of Lombard, Ill.
The freshman play is "Rowdy Kate," written by
Claire Boiko. It is adapted and coached by juniors Lindsay
Maharg of Cass City and Erin Wysocki of Plymouth.
The freshman play morale coaches are juniors
Charles Kroll of Caledonia, Ian Samson of Clinton Township,
and Matthew Stehle of Pittsburgh, Pa.
This year's oration theme is "Silent Strength."
The sophomore orator will be Kristin Tiscornia of Geneseo,
N.Y. She will be coached by seniors Laura Roelofs of
Hudsonville and Tracy Summerer of Kalamazoo.
The freshman orator will be Leslie Skaistis of
Bloomfield Hills. She will be coached by juniors Heather
Dustin of Houston, Texas, and Briony Peters of Menominee.
The general chair of Nykerk is senior Jennifer
McKenna of East Lansing. Serving as general chair-elect is
junior Renee Mursch of San Antonio, Texas. The senior
treasurer is Kirsten Slotten of Grand Ledge. The junior
treasurer is Lori Brown of Cass City.
Lara Alderman of Maple City is the senior
publicity chair. The junior publicity chair is Marta Liang
of Fairview, Ill. The secretary for the 66th annual Nykerk
Cup competition is junior Erin Peet of Traverse City.
Senior Rachel Miller of Sioux City, Iowa, is the production
coordinator.
The weekend will feature several other
performances and presentations in addition to the Nykerk Cup
competition.
The Hope College Wind Symphony and Hope College
Orchestra will perform in concert on Friday, Nov. 10, at 7
p.m. in Dimnent Memorial Chapel, located on College Avenue
at 12th Street. Admission is free.
The Knickerbocker Theatre will show the Chinese
film "Shower" on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 10-11, as well as
on Monday-Thursday, Nov. 13-16, at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.
nightly. The film is rated PG-13, and tickets are $5 for
regular adult admission and $4 for senior citizens and
students.
Hope College Theatre will open its production of
"Steel Pier" on Friday, Nov. 10, at 9 p.m. in the main
theatre of the DeWitt Center main theatre, located on
Columbia Avenue at 12th Street. The play will continue at 8
p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 11, and Wednesday-Saturday, Nov. 15-
18. Tickets are $7 for regular adult admission, $5 for Hope
faculty and staff, and $4 for senior citizens and students,
and will be available in the theatre lobby ticket office of
the DeWitt Center. The ticket office is open Monday through
Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from noon to 5
p.m., and may be called at (616) 395-7890.
The men's and women's swimming teams will host
Albion College on Saturday, Nov. 11, at 1 p.m. in Kresge
Natatorium of the Dow Center, located on 13th Street at
Columbia Avenue. Admission is free.
On Sunday, Nov. 12, at 4 p.m., the Faculty Recital
Series will present a concert featuring works by Johann
Sebastian Bach, Willson Osborne, Henry Purcell, Luciano
Berio and Ludwig van Beethoven. The recital will be held in
Wichers Auditorium of Nykerk Hall of Music, located between
College and Columbia avenues along the former 12th Street.
Admission is free.