A wide range of musical styles and instruments will bring DeVos Hall alive when Hope College presents its 18th annual Musical Showcase concert on Monday, Feb. 27, at 8 p.m. in Grand Rapids.
Hope College students take the stage for this fast-paced, musical spectacular, during which audience members hear everything from opera to jazz.
The hardest part for those seeing the show is containing their enthusiasm, at least at first. In the tradition of the quick-moving musical event, audience members are asked to hold their applause until intermission and the end of the performance.
The concert unveils the gifts of all Hope College's major musical groups, along with soloists, chamber groups and small ensembles.
The evening will open with the "Hoe-Down" from Aaron Copland's "Rodeo," performed by the Symphonette. Next, organist Sean Daenzer, a senior from Mount Clemens, will perform Jean Langlais' "Te Deum." Soprano Sarah Blakenship, a senior from Hoffman Estates, Ill., accompanied by pianist Christopher Turbessi, a sophomore from Nunica, will follow singing Gabriel Faure's "Discarded Flower."
The Percussion Ensemble will perform a piece titled "Aquarius" from Karlheinz Stockhausen's "Tierkreis," followed by sophomore pianist Samuel Adams of Fort Wayne, Ind., performing George Gershwin's "Etude, No. 7. Fascinatin' Rhythm." The Women's Chamber Choir will sing "Two Romani Folk Songs." Percussionists Noah Livingston of Hillsdale and John Yehling of Glen Ellyn, Ill., both juniors, will play Matt Savage's "Desert Celebration."
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's 250th birthday will be recognized when sophomore soprano Kelly Sina of Watertown, Wis., and sophomore baritone Dane Clark of Grand Rapids, with accompanist senior Erika Byker of Hudsonville, piano, perform the "Papagena/Papageno Duet" from "The Magic Flute." Violinist Alexandru Hamzea, a freshman from Brasov, Romania, with pianist Joseph Turbessi, a senior from Nunica, will perform Johannes Brahms "Hungarian Dance No. 5," and the Jazz Ensemble will perform "Michelangelo" from composer-in-residence Fred Sturm. Rachel Daley, a sophomore flutist from Cleveland, Ohio, and Lisa Walters, a senior pianist from Channahon, Ill., will showcase Thebald Boehm's "Grand Polonaise in D major."
The first half will end with the orchestra performing Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov's "Fandango asturiano" from "Capriccio Espagnole."
The second half of the evening will open with the Post Bop Ensemble performing an arrangement of "Valdez," while Mozart's work will return with members of the opera workshop performing a selection from "The Magic Flute." Organist Abigail Rockwood, a senior from North Muskegon, will perform Olivier Messiaen's "Sortie" from "Pentecost Mass." Junior guitarist Eric Bourassa of Charlevoix and fiddle player Kailey Schroeder, a sophomore from Holland, will perform a traditional piece titled "Forked Deer/Bill Cheatham." Giocomo Puccini's "The Song of Doretta" from "The Swallow" will be sung by sophomore soprano Meghan Moore of South Bend, Ind., with pianist accompanist Christopher Turbessi, a sophomore from Nunica.
Pianist Emily Chapman, a freshman from Flushing, will be the soloist for Claude Debussy's "Gardens in the Rain," followed by a student string ensemble, the Tutti String Quartet, performing Mozart's "Molto Allegro" from "String Quartet, K. 387." The Chapel Choir will sing Jan Sweelink's "Gaudete omnes et laetamini," and soprano Kelly Sina, a sophomore from Watertown, Wis., will sing Victor Herbert's "Art is Calling for Me (The Prima Donna Song," with pianist accompanist Roberta Kraft, adjunct associate professor of music.
The evening will end with the Wind Symphony performing Modest Mussorgsky's "The Great Gate of Kiev" from "Pictures at an Exhibition."
Tickets for Musical Showcase are $10 each, and may be ordered through the Office of Public Relations at Hope College. The office, open from 8 a.m. to noon and 1-5 p.m. Monday through Friday, is located on the second floor of the DeWitt Center and may be called at (616) 395-7860.
Tickets may also be purchased over the counter at the Grand Center Ticket Office, which is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
In addition, tickets may be ordered by phone through Ticketmaster by calling (616) 456-3333. A service fee is added to the cost of each ticket purchased this way.