The 34th annual Hope College Musical Showcase will be presented on Friday, Feb. 3, at 7:30 p.m. in the Concert Hall of the Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts. The concert will feature more than 200 Hope College students performing in the Department of Music’s major instrumental and vocal ensembles and as soloists.
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
attending 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.
Vocal performances include senior Gretchen Woell of Palatine, Illinois, singing “Una
donna a quindici anni,” from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Così fan tutte,” and junior
Emlin Munch of Traverse City singing “Nuit d'Étoiles,” by Claude Debussy. Both singers
will be accompanied by Christina Krause.
Piano solos include junior Anna Triezenberg of Midlothian, Illinois, performing Paul
Ben-Haim’s “Toccata”; junior Maria Fickel of Grand Haven performing Sergei Rachmaninoff’s
“Polichinelle Op. 3, No. 3”; sophomore John-Paul LeFaivre of Rochester Hills performing
George Gershwin’s “Prelude II”; and junior Molly Prom of Champaign, Illinois, performing
“Prelude for the Left Hand Op. 9,” by Alexander Scriabin.
Junior marimbist Jackson Vander Zwart of Byron Center will perform “Over the Rainbow,”
by Harold Arlen (arranged by Robert Oetomo); senior clarinetist Leah Renkema of Grandville
will perform Carl Maria von Weber’s “Concertino, op. 26,” with pianist Jane Bosko;
junior violinist Emma Hakken of Holland will perform “Concerto No. 1, Burlesque,”
by Dmitri Shostakovich, with pianist Benjamin Krause; and a string quartet, coached
by Mihai Craioveanu, will perform “String Quartet No. 24, Scherzo,” by Antonín Dvořák.
The featured large vocal ensembles, directed by Eric D. Reyes, include the Chapel
Choir singing “My Spirit Sang All Day,” by Gerald Finzi; and SPERA singing the premiere
of a new a cappella motet for treble voices, “The Lord Will Overshadow,” composed
by Hope College’s composition instructor, Benjamin Krause.
The featured instrumental ensembles include the Concert Band playing “Grand Canyon
Fanfare,” by James N. Howard, guest conducted by Daniel Brier; the Jazz Arts Collective
(JAC) playing “In Walked Bud,” by Thelonious Monk (arranged by Mark Taylor), directed
by Robert Shipley; and the Orchestra, conducted by Brier, performing the third and
final movement of Alexandre Guilmant’s “Symphony No. 1, Op. 42,” featuring senior
organist Bethany Dame of Kentwood.
Tickets are $10 for regular admission and $7 for Hope College faculty and staff members.
Admission is free for Hope students. Tickets are available at the college’s Events
and Conferences Office located downtown in the Anderson-Werkman Financial Center (100
E. Eighth St.). The office is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and can be called
at 616-395-7890. Tickets can also be purchased online at hope.edu/tickets and will be sold at the door if available.
Audience members who need assistance to enjoy any event at Hope fully are encouraged to contact the 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.