Witnessing a full-length performance, as 91¶ĚĘÓƵ professor did in 1981 for the center’s 10-year anniversary, is “mind-blowing.”

“The complete work requires a marching band, rock band, symphonic orchestra, two choirs, a children’s choir, and a raft of soloists,” explains Nafziger. “And as you can imagine, you can’t just do this anywhere. Oh, and a ballet. There’s also a ballet … and the Alvin Ailey dancers.”

Lacking such an expansive stage, as well as a ballet and a marching band among other necessities, Nafziger and colleagues and are providing the next best opportunity. The works’ perennial themes of faith and doubt and the clash of tradition with modernity take center stage – albeit in an abridged version – at the university’s annual gala music concert Nov. 14, 7 p.m. in Lehman Auditorium.

Bernstein’s selections the highlight

Music lovers who regularly attend 91¶ĚĘÓƵ’s annual gala concert, and those coming for the first time, will be delighted at this rare opportunity to hear “Concert Selections from Leonard Bernstein’s MASS” by , the only sanctioned, abridged version in the history of this major work.

“MASS” features the experience of “a celebrant observing a mass who finds himself in the midst of the noisy, discordant sounds of church culture,” Nafziger says. “His intention is to strip the noise away and find out what is at the core of the mass, which raises questions of faith and nonfaith, borrows all kinds of styles of music … and when it comes to that point in the mass when the wine and the bread are consecrated, he throws the chalice onto the floor, a most grievous sin in the Catholic religion. Out of that breakdown of his own faith, he finds a need to go on anyway and returns to the idea that to praise God properly, one needs to do it simply.”

Vocal soloists include sophomore Sarah Sutter, juniors Sam Swartzendruber and Jon Bishop, and seniors Guilio Garner and Heather Evans.

A musical showcase

While the Bernstein piece will be the highlight, other works are also in the evening’s program. The annual concert brings together the Chamber Singers, men’s and women’s choirs, Emulate, Chamber Orchestra, and the Wind Ensemble.

“The annual gala concert is an opportunity for the music department to showcase most of our ensembles and the large number of students who participate in our programs,” says Griffing, who conducts the orchestra. “We welcome the community to come out and help us celebrate and support the hard work of many while enjoying a wide variety of repertoire.”

The Wind Ensemble, directed by , will perform Gustav Holst’s “Suite for Winds.” The Chamber Orchestra will perform a portion of Ernest Bloch’s “Concerto Grosso” for strings and piano. Professor , baritone, will be featured in an aria from the Bach cantata “Ich habe henug.”

The concert is the primary fundraiser for the music scholarship fund. The suggested donation is $10 per person.

The Nov. 15 event at Lehman Auditorium includes a collaborative performance of Handel’s “Messiah” and two pieces composed by new professor , as well as a wide variety of selections from the campus’s musical community. The performance begins at 7 p.m. Admission is free, but a suggested donation of $10 per person benefits the music scholarship fund.

The wind ensemble, with more than 25 student musicians, will open the gala with Jean-Joseph Mouret’s “Suite des Symphonies.” Conductor John Dull appreciates the increased exposure the group will receive, as the gala is their largest audience of the year.

The centerpiece of the concert is the popular Part I of Handel’s “Messiah,” performed by the Chamber Singers, men’s and women’s choirs, with the orchestra. Popularly called the “Christmas” movement, Part I celebrates the birth of Jesus and ends with the rousing “Hallelujah” chorus.

“Every student should have a chance to sing it or play it some time,” says Nafziger, of the Baroque oratorio.

Music professor , the orchestra’s conductor who will play the violin as well, says she enjoys the camaraderie of playing alongside her students. “The collaboration is what I really enjoy,” she says.

instructor Christa Hoover and graduate student Katrina Gehman will also play violin in the gala as soloists in Sarasate’s “Navarra” with the orchestra, a “super effervescent, whirlwind violin duo,” says Hoover.

Both violinists are Wheaton College alumni now teaching with the . Their friendship contributes to the close listening required to harmonize in the duet. Gehman, who has played violin since she was eight, hopes “that the audience in this gala can connect through the music with the parts of themselves that cannot be expressed in words, and yet still long to speak.”

Sharing personal experience and reflective moments are also what rewards Keebaugh when writing music. The chamber choir and string quartet will perform one of his compositions, titled “…Thy light which is brighter than the sun and the moon.” Keebaugh wrote the piece for Winchester’s Musica Viva concert last year in tribute to Jim Harmon, a beloved Virginian singer who died of cancer.

“It was an act of love and sorrow and respect,” said Nafziger, who upon hearing the piece, immediately wanted the chance to conduct it.

“To have that honor to commemorate someone’s life in a piece of music is a wonderful thing,” said Keebaugh. The piece, which revolves around themes of light and dawn, took him eight months to compose.

Junior Sarah Sutter will sing the melody in Keebaugh’s adaptation of “The Lord’s Prayer” with the women’s choir. She appreciates the unique opportunity to work with the composer and learn the inspiration and intent behind the music. In this version of “The Lord’s Prayer,” the choir surrounds the audience while mimicking the echoes of singing in a cave or cathedral. With this format, Keebaugh intends to make the audience part of the ensemble – breaking down the “us versus them” structure of traditional performance to better commune the personal sacred themes he writes into music.

Other musical numbers include Bartok’s “Romanian Folk Dances,” a contemporary orchestra piece, and “Music Down in My Soul,” a spiritual arrangement by Moses Hogan in the chamber singers’ repertoire.

“Even if you think that classical music isn’t your thing, you should come and give it a shot,” says Sutter. “We’re doing things in a whole range of styles and eras, so come and listen before you say you don’t like it!”

For more information, contact the at 540-432-4225.

Directed by , assistant professor of at 91¶ĚĘÓƵ, Into the Woods will be performed in the Main Stage Theater at 7:30 p.m. on April 4, 5, 10, 11 and 12, plus a 3 p.m. matinee on Sunday, April 6. The show will run approximately three hours with intermission.

Information regarding age-appropriateness for 91¶ĚĘÓƵ events is available through the  at 540-432-4360 or theater@emu.edu.

Into the Woods weaves together the main characters from fairy tales like Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, Cinderella and others. The story revolves around a childless baker and his wife on a quest to begin a family, and their interaction with a witch who has placed a curse on them. In a departure from the standard plot line, the musical explores the consequences of these characters’ wishes.

“Into the Woods is a sprawling story filled to the brim with complex characters and dark magic,” said Poole. “The story provides ample opportunities to push the limits of our imaginations as we explore innovative ways to stage complex theatrical moments. I want audiences to leave the theater feeling that they have had a visceral, engaging experience that transcends what they have felt while watching a film or other mediated form of entertainment.”

Reserved tickets are $15 for adults ($17 at the door) and $12 for seniors, non-91¶ĚĘÓƵ students and 91¶ĚĘÓƵ faculty/staff ($14 at the door) and $6 for 91¶ĚĘÓƵ students. Tickets are available through 91¶ĚĘÓƵ’s box office: 540-432-4582, . Group rates are available.

Cast:

Rachelle Kratz, stage manager

Dylan Bomgardner, assistant stage manager

Sierra Comer, assistant stage manager

Hailey Holcomb, assistant stage manager

Hattie Berg, assistant director

Chris Parks, dramaturg

Bethany Chupp (sophomore)

Shannon Dove

Heather Evans (junior)

Andrew French

Dorothy Hershey (first-year)

Jeremiah Hines (first-year)

Caitlin Holsapple (sophomore)

Heidi Jablonski (senior)

Holly Jensen (junior)

Elisha Keener (junior)

Eric King (senior)

Jaclyn Kratz (sophomore)

Katie Miller (senior)

Ezrionna Prioleau (first-year)

Emily Shenk (junior)

Sarah Sutter (first-year)

Sam Swartzendruber (sophomore)

Isaac Tice (senior)

Robert Weaver (first-year)

Phil Yoder (junior)

Rebekah York (sophomore)

In addition, two incoming students, Hannah Chappell-Dick, a senior at Bluffton High School in Bluffton, Ohio, and Charlie Good, a senior at Warwick High School in Lititz, Pa., were recognized as Yoder Scholars, the highest academic award an incoming student can receive.

“I’m very excited about the number and caliber of students who applied this year,” said Mark Sawin, program director and chair of history at 91¶ĚĘÓƵ. “Hannah and Charlie are both wonderfully creative and curious people with wide-ranging interests and strong leadership abilities. I’m grateful they’ve decided to join us as next year’s Yoder Scholars.”

Honors student candidates are evaluated on academic performance, community and extra-curricular involvement, creativity, clarity of thought and leadership potential. In addition to being in the honors program, candidates submit a portfolio of their high school achievements, write a series of essays and meet with a member of the honors faculty for a one-on-one interview.

“The interaction with faculty mentors and each other in a variety of settings provides an opportunity for highly motivated scholars to develop as thinkers and wrestle with big questions,” says Sawin, a 2008-09 Fulbright Scholar at University of Zagreb in Croatia.

Chappell-Dick is an incoming biochemistry major while Good plans to major in chemistry.

The students accepted into the honors program are:

Alex Bender from Sarasota, Fla., Pine View School

Malachi Bontrager from Westbrookville, N.Y., Iowa Mennonite School

Rachel Bowman from Archbold, Ohio, Archbold High School

Kristoffer Broadley from Wichita, Kan., homeschooled

Anne Brothers from Rockville, Md., Montgomery Blair High School

Ashley Cox from Mountville, Pa., Hempfield High School

Melissa Cox from Mountville, Pa., Hempfield High School

Patty Danaher from South Chesterfield, Va., Matoaca High School

Isaac Driver from Harrisonburg, Va., Eastern Mennonite High School

Amy Feeser from Lancaster, Pa., Penn Manor High School

Rehana Franklin from Modesto, Calif., Modesto High School

Derek Harnish from Strasburg, Pa., Lampeter-Strasburg High School

Kate Harrold from Millersville, Pa., Penn Manor High School

Amanda Helfrich from Bradford, Ohio, Greenville Senior High School

Caitlin Holsapple from Harrisonburg, Va., Eastern Mennonite High School

Melissa Jantzi from Albany, Ore., Eastern Mennonite High School

Brianna Kauffman from Harleysville, Pa., Christopher Dock Mennonite High School

Andrea King from Lititz Pa., Warwick High School

Kari King from Harrisonburg, Va., Harrisonburg High School

Sierra Kiser from Stuarts Draft, Va., Stuarts Draft High School

Jaclyn Kratz from Telford, Pa., Christopher Dock Mennonite High School

Rachelle Kratz from Telford, Pa., Christopher Dock Mennonite High School

Brooke Lacock from Paradise, Pa., Pequea Valley High School

Olivia Mast from Lancaster, Pa., Lancaster Mennonite School

Katie Miller from San Antonio, Tex., Louis D. Brandeis High School

Maddie Miller from Wellman, Ia., Iowa Mennonite School

Elise Mitchell from Elkhart, Ind., Elkhart Central High School

Erin Nafziger from Archbold, Ohio, Archbold High School

Jolee Paden from Saint Joseph, Ill., St. Joseph-Ogden High School

Aaron Patterson from Midlothian, Va., homeschooled

Alicia Poplett from Plymouth, Minn., Wayzata Senior High School

Emilie Raber from Dalton, Ohio, Central Christian High School

Jesse Reist from Lancaster, Pa., JP McCaskey High School East

Jess Rheinheimer from Manheim, Pa., Lancaster Mennonite School

John David Satriale from Gap, Pa., Lancaster Mennonite School

Lauren Sauder from Smoketown, Pa., Lancaster Mennonite School

Michelle Sauder from Linville, Va., Eastern Mennonite High School

Carissa Sherer from Joy, Pa., Donegal High School

Kritika Shrestha from Germantown, Md., Clarksburg High School

Rachel Springer from Minier, Ill., Olympia High School

Seth Stauffer from Lebanon, Pa., Northern Lebanon Jr-Sr High School

Sarah Sutter from Urbana, Ill., University Laboratory High School

Kate Swartz from Spring City, Pa., Christopher Dock Mennonite High School

Sam Swartzendruber from Kalona, Ia., Iowa Mennonite School

Ryan Swartzendruber from Sellersville, Pa., Christopher Dock Mennonite High School

Stephanie Toth from Lake Milton, Ohio, Cardinal Mooney High School

Aaron Wile from Telford, Pa., Christopher Dock Mennonite High School

Alena Yoder from Elkhart, Ind., Bethany Christian High School

Kegan Yoder from Plaine City, Ohio, Jonathan Alder High School