After a week-long tour throughout New York, New England and Canada, the Hope College Chapel Choir will return to Holland for a home concert on Monday, March 25, at 8 p.m. in Dimnent Memorial Chapel.
The public is invited. Admission is free.
Divided into three parts, the concert program covers a wide range of classical and modern pieces, including several works by contemporary American composers.
The first section of the program features spiritual music by Joseph Haydn, William Byrd, Antonio Lotti, Zdneck Lukas, John Rutter and Kirk Mechem.
In part two of the program, the choir will sing an arrangement of the Dylan Thomas poem "Fern Hill," by American composer John Corigliano. The piece will feature a solo by either senior mezzo soprano Sarah Proulx of Ionia or junior mezzo soprano Crystal Stabenow of Mount Pleasant, who are alternating singing the piece throughout the choir's March 13-20 tour.
The final section of the concert contains music from North America, including the Huron dance song "Innoria," which the choir will sing in Huron, as well as "Rain," a piece by American composer Vijay Singh, and Harry Somers' arrangement of the Newfoundland folk song, "Feller from Fortune."
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 six times, most recently to southern France and Italy in May of 2001. In the spring of 1989, the choir toured in the former Soviet Union.
The choir is featured annually in the Hope College Christmas Vespers program, which is heard on radio stations nationwide as well as telecast throughout the United States and Canada by the Public Broadcasting System (PBS). The choir has appeared on the "Hour of Power" from the Crystal Cathedral in California, and has sung for the Easterdawn services at Radio City Music Hall in New York.
The 39-voice choir is composed of student musicians representing many areas of the college, and performs sacred and secular choral music of the past five centuries. Students in the choir are selected by audition, and maintain a vigorous rehearsal schedule in preparation for their concert tour and other engagements throughout the year.
The choir is directed by Dr. Brad Richmond, director of choral activities and associate professor of music at Hope. Richmond is in his fourth year at the college, where he also teaches conducting and private voice. In addition to the Chapel Choir, he directs the College Chorus and the Collegium Musicum.
Prior to his appointment at Hope, he served as director of choirs at Southeastern Louisiana University. During summers he conducts the high school choral ensembles at Interlochen Arts Camp in Traverse City.
Dimnent Memorial Chapel is located on College Avenue at 12th Street.