The Hope College Orchestra will present its final concert of the school year on Wednesday, April 26, at 7:30 p.m. in the Concert Hall of the Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts.
The public is invited. Admission is free.
The program will include the “Symphony No. 1 in G Major,” Op. 11, No. 1, by Joseph Bologne; “Intermezzo de Atzimba,” by Ricardo Castro; “El Jaleo,” by Jonathan Bailey Holland; the “Wesendonck Lieder,” by Richard Wagner, featuring soloist Dr. Sarah VandenBrink; and the “Karelia Suite,” Op. 11, by Jean Sibelius.
Conductor Daniel Brier is the music director and principal conductor of Opera Wilmington and a visiting assistant professor of music at Hope. Previously, he served the Kalamazoo Symphony orchestra as interim music director (2017-18), resident conductor (2016-17, 2018-22), and assistant conductor (2014-16). Recent and upcoming conducting engagements include the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra, Toledo Symphony, Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, Lexington Philharmonic, Adrian Symphony, Whiting Park Symphony Orchestra and St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic. He has collaborated with a diverse range of artists, including Bobby McFerrin, Pablo Sainz Villegas, Rachel Barton Pine, Jennifer Frautschi, and more. More information can be found at danielbrier.com
Soloist Sarah Ashcroft VandenBrink is an American performer, educator and music director, and joined the Hope faculty in the fall of 2020 as an assistant professor of music instruction. A native of Holland and 2011 Hope graduate, she returned to West Michigan after completing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in vocal performance and literature and a minor in vocal pedagogy from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where she also received her Master of Music degree. Other notable roles on campus since joining the faculty include singing in the Michigan premiere of Allen Feinstein’s “Fashion Goddess” with the Hope College Wind Ensemble, and music directing the college’s run of “Bright Star,” by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell. When neither teaching nor singing, she runs a successful online vintage shop on Etsy and goes for long walks with her husband and three dogs.
Audience members who need assistance to enjoy any event at Hope fully are encouraged to contact the college’s Events and Conferences Office by emailing events@hope.edu or calling 616-395-7222 on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Updates related to events are posted when available in the individual listings at hope.edu/calendar.
The Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts is located at 221 Columbia Ave., between Ninth and 10th streets.