The Hope College choirs will perform on Friday, Sept. 27, from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Pine Grove on the central campus. The concert will feature the Chapel Choir, SPERA, VERITAS and College Chorus, as well as vocalists and instrumentalists from the college’s Department of Music.
The public is invited. Admission is free.
Because the outdoor location has no seating, audience members are encouraged to bring a chair and blanket and to dress for the weather conditions to enjoy the evening of song. In the event of rain, the concert will occur in Dimnent Memorial Chapel.
The outdoor choral concert will feature a range of musical selections that celebrate friendship and love. The program will include a variety of genres, such as a traditional Xhosa folk song within the pambio genre titled “Kwangena Thina Bo”; the Gospel anthem popularized by Hezekiah Walker, “I Need You To Survive”; musical theater selections from Stephen Sondheim and Claude-Michel Schönberg; choral standards by Ron Jeffers and Edvard Grieg; and recent choral compositions by Katerina Gimon and Margaret Burk.
The Chapel Choir is a 30-voiced auditioned SATB (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) ensemble; SPERA is an advanced treble ensemble of 39 singers; College Chorus is an un-auditioned, 61-member ensemble of students, faculty and staff; and the newest ensemble, VERITAS, is a 13-voice tenor/bass ensemble.
Eric Reyes, assistant professor of music instruction and director of choral activities, directs the Chapel Choir, College Chorus, SPERA and VERITAS. Born and raised in Southern California, Mexican-American conductor, pianist and vocalist Reyes seeks to make music that communicates beauty, inspires hope and brings about unity amongst people. Most recently, Reyes pioneered ¡Canto! A Latinx Vocal Intensive, a program that seeks to equip high school Latinx vocalists with resources to study and perform Latinx vocal music. This project was funded through the Mellon Foundation, and was done in collaboration with Latin Americans United for Progress (LAUP), Dr. Sarah VandenBrink and Professor Christina Krause. Reyes is currently pursuing a doctorate of musical arts in choral conducting at the University of Michigan.
Pamela Pierson is an active adjudicator and clinician who directs SPERA. She conducted the High School SSAA State Honors Choir in 2012 and was the MSVMA Teacher of the Year 2015, and her choirs performed numerous times at the Michigan Music Conference and American Choral Directors Association conferences. In the summer of 2019, she was the director of the 80-voice Michigan Ambassadors of Music Choir during the ensemble’s 16-day trip to Europe. She is currently director of adjudication for the Michigan School Vocal Music Association.
To inquire about accessibility or if you need accommodations to fully participate in the event, please email accommodations@hope.edu. Updates related to events are posted when available at hope.edu/calendar in the individual listings.
The Pine Grove is in the central campus of Hope College directly behind Graves Hall, which is located at 263 College Ave., between 10th and 12th streets. Dimnent Memorial Chapel is located at 277 College Ave., at the corner of College Avenue and 12th Street.