The Hope College Chapel Choir will present its annual post-tour home concert on Monday, March 27, at 7:30 p.m. at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church.
The public is invited. Admission is free.
The concert will feature three eclectic sets of music, beginning with baroque and renaissance of the Netherlands, the Dutch carol "Nu zijt wellekome Jesu," and an "Alleluia" by J.S. Bach.
The second set includes music of contemporary American composers and arrangers, and
illustrates concepts of the Easter story through exceptionally colorful musical settings
of poetry, hymnody and scripture.
The concert concludes with songs of African and African American heritage, including
"Go Down Moses" from the plantations of the Georgia Sea Islands, a warm and bittersweet
arrangement of "I've Been 'Buked, Children" and a rousing, stomping rendition of the
gospel song "Walk Together, Children."
The annual performance follows the choir's traditional spring break tour, which this year ran Friday-Monday, March 17-20, and focused on Ohio and the east side Michigan.
The Chapel Choir was organized in 1929 and began touring annually in 1953. In addition to touring extensively in the United States and Canada, the choir has made a European tour seven times, most recently in May 2005.
The 42 members are selected by audition. The choir is directed by Jeff Buettner, visiting assistant professor of music and interim director of choral activities at Hope.
In addition to its active performance schedule, the choir has made numerous radio
and television appearances, including the nationally televised "Hour of Power" from
Garden Grove Church in California. The choir is featured each December in Hope's Christmas
Vespers program, which is broadcast on radio stations around the country.
St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church is located on 13th Street at Maple Avenue.