The 91����Ƶ Chamber Singers is taking the show on the road.

The auditioned touring chamber choir has released the schedule for its spring break series of performances, held from March 1-6, 2025. During the tour, 22 members will perform at churches around Lancaster, Philadelphia, and Souderton, Pennsylvania, as well as at a retirement community near Lancaster, four high schools, and a music venue in Orange, Virginia. 

The theme of this year’s tour is “Hope and Unity” and features “beautiful singing on the topics of bringing hope and working for unity for our children, healing the earth, and working toward peace,” said Professor Benjamin Bergey, director of the Chamber Singers. “Music has the power to lift us up, allow us to cry or laugh, and bring us together.”

Some of the songs in the program that reflect this theme include the lovely and simple spiritual “Child of God,” the inspirational “Sing My Child,” and “Prayer of the Children.” Bergey said the latter song was written in the war-torn former country of Yugoslavia as a cry for Jesus’ help in a place of desperation.

The tour schedule includes a performance at Nations Worship Center, an Indonesian Mennonite congregation in Philadelphia led by Pastor Beny Krisbianto, MDiv ’15, a member of the 91����Ƶ Board of Trustees. The Chamber Singers will also join together with area groups, singing alongside the Dock Mennonite Academy choir at Souderton Mennonite Church and the Lancaster Mennonite High School choir at Landis Homes. The tour will cap off with a return to The Music Room on Main in Orange, Virginia. The choir performed at the hardware store-turned-music venue last year and is “back by popular demand,” Bergey said.

The annual spring break tour is often a highlight of the choral students’ college experience and helps them hone their craft through the intensity of the tour, Bergey said. It also serves as a valuable recruiting tool, spreading the love of 91����Ƶ and maintaining connections with the churches and communities that continue to send students to the university.

Schedule

All performances are free of charge, with a freewill offering collected to support the choir’s travel expenses.

Saturday, March 1, 7 p.m.
Blossom Hill Mennonite Church – Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Sunday, March 2, 10 a.m. 
Nations Worship Center – Philadelphia

Sunday, March 2, 7 p.m.
Salford Mennonite Church – Harleysville, Pennsylvania

Monday, March 3, 7 p.m.
Souderton Mennonite Church – Souderton, Pennsylvania
with Dock Mennonite Academy choir

Tuesday, March 4, 6 p.m.
Landis Homes – Lancaster, Pennsylvania
with Lancaster Mennonite High School choir

Thursday, March 6, 7 p.m.
The Music Room on Main – Orange, Virginia

Members

The choir includes:

SOPRANO
Erin Batten, Bridgewater, Virginia
Reah Clymer, Meridian, Mississippi
Elie Hoover, New Carlisle, Ohio
Hannah Landes Beck, Linville, Virginia
Hollyn Miller, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Riley Quezada, Mount Jackson, Virginia

ALTO
Ciela Acosta, Salem, Oregon
Iris Anderson, Corvallis, Oregon
Lauren Kauffman, Goshen, Indiana
Sophia Kauffman, Goshen, Indiana
Naomi Kratzer, Goshen, Indiana
Emma Nord, Greenville, Illinois

TENOR
Theo Andreas, Bluffton, Ohio
Adam Hoover, New Carlisle, Ohio
Jacob Nissley, Canton, Ohio
Canyon Penner, Goshen, Indiana
Cassidy Williams, Green Lane, Pennsylvania

BASS
Jadon Harley, Bel Air, Maryland
Jesse Kanagy, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lawson Kauffman, Goshen, Indiana
Mac Rhodes-Lehman, Dayton, Virginia
Eli Stoll, Harrisonburg, Virginia
Joshua Stucky, Princeton, New Jersey

Now in its 46th year, the 91����Ƶ Chamber Singers is a mixed-voice choir made up of 23 91����Ƶ students of different ages and majors. For more information about the Chamber Singers, visit the choir’s website or find the group on  and . Consider donating toward the choir’s travel and operating expenses .

That’s how the 19 members of the 91����Ƶ Chamber Singers spent their spring break. From March 2 to 9, they performed at venues in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia, and at high schools throughout the Shenandoah Valley. 

The theme of this year’s tour was “Chorus of Peace: Songs of Lament and Hope” and featured selections sung in languages including Sesotho (spoken in Lesotho and South Africa), German, Latin and Italian.

We asked junior Iris Anderson and senior Afton Rhodes-Lehman, members of the Chamber Singers since their first year at 91����Ƶ, and junior Tyler Williams, now in his second semester with the group, to share their experiences from the tour. 

How did this tour compare to others?

Anderson: We got to go to a bunch of high schools nearby and sing for them and tell them about 91����Ƶ. There were a few high schools that a member or two had attended, and so it was fun to see them interact with their high school choir director and see where they came from.

Rhodes-Lehman: On tour, you see your local community in a way you haven’t before. We were going to places I hadn’t been exposed to, like Mennonite churches I haven’t gone to, so that was exciting. 

Williams: This is actually my first spring tour with the Chamber Singers. I can’t speak for other Chamber Singers tours, but I can compare it with other choir tours I’ve been on. This tour was the most fun and one of the easiest I’ve been on, simply because of the people I was surrounded by.

91����Ƶ Chamber Singers at the Basilica of the National Shrine in Washington, D.C., on March 2. (Photos by Rachel Schrock Photography / 91����Ƶ)

Did you have a favorite venue?

Anderson: It’s hard to pick a favorite. We sang in the Basilica of the National Shrine in Washington, D.C., which was a cool place to sing in because it was so big and resonant and sounds beautiful to sing there. The Music Room in Orange, Virginia, was probably one of my favorite concerts. It was a great place. Despite it being a former hardware store, it had pretty good acoustics. And, we sang with the Rapidan Orchestra.

Rhodes-Lehman: I loved singing at the high schools. There are some high schoolers I’ve worked with through 91����Ƶ’s summer musical theater program, so I was excited to get to sing for them.

Williams: My favorite venue was definitely the sanctuary of First Mennonite Church in Richmond. I know a lot of others enjoyed singing at The Music Room. I, unfortunately, got sick on the tour, so I wasn’t able to sing with them there, but from what I heard, I’m extremely jealous that I missed that opportunity.

What was your favorite memory of the tour?

Anderson: I loved hanging out with the people in choir. It’s a great group of people, so it was great to spend time with them and get to know them a little better and have fun. I frequently said to my friends on the trip: “I don’t think I’ve ever laughed this much.” There was a lot of laughter and good connection. All the churches were so generous and gave us dinner. Most nights, we would perform and go home with a host family and get a little glimpse into their lives for a night, like a mini-crosscultural experience.

Rhodes-Lehman: We got to perform in front of the reflection pool on the National Mall and that was fun. We put together our own little band based on instruments that people could play. That day, we probably did at least 12 songs.

Williams: My favorite moments were probably the car rides to and from performances and high schools. That’s where I got to know everybody on a deeper level and I feel so incredibly connected to everyone in Chamber Singers because of those long commutes. I also loved getting to know my host families when we sang at churches for services and concerts.

Answers have been edited for conciseness.

The theme of this year’s tour is “Chorus of Peace: Songs of Lament and Hope.” Benjamin Bergey, director of the Chamber Singers, said he felt it was important to “lean into the idea of hope in a way that’s authentic and holds space for a range of emotions.”

“Hope is super important to us as humans,” he said.

A concert program for the tour lists selections sung in languages ranging from Sesotho (Lesotho and South Africa) to German, Latin and Italian. Other selections include the hymn Hark, I Hear the Harps Eternal, a choral arrangement of Sting’s Fragile, and , as performed by the Native Hawaiian musician and singer Israel Kamakawiwo’ole. As part of the latter arrangement, a few performers will strum ukuleles along with the singing.

In addition to performing at the churches and venues listed on the tour schedule below, the Chamber Singers will perform at eight high schools throughout the Shenandoah Valley.

“By staying closer than previous years’ tours, we have the opportunity to go to a lot of our feeder high schools,” Bergey said. “This allows us to connect with a lot of their music and choral programs.”

Tour Schedule

All performances are free of charge and a free will offering will be taken to support the choir’s travel expenses.

• Saturday, March 2, 4:30 p.m.: Basilica of the National Shrine in Washington, D.C.
• Sunday, March 3, 11 a.m.: Hyattsville Mennonite Church in Hyattsville, Maryland
• Sunday, March 3, 7 p.m.: Daniels Run Peace Church in Fairfax, Virginia
• Tuesday, March 5, 7 p.m.: Waynesboro Mennonite Church in Waynesboro, Virginia
• Thursday, March 7, 7 p.m.: The Music Room on Main in Orange, Virginia
• Friday, March 8, 7 p.m.: First Mennonite Church in Richmond, Virginia
• Saturday, March 9, 7 p.m.: Charlottesville Mennonite Church in Charlottesville, Virginia

Members

The choir includes:

Iris Anderson, Corvallis, Oregon

Hannah Landes Beck, Linville, Virginia

Reah Clymer, Meridian, Mississippi

Maggie Garber, Broadway, Virginia

Adam Hoover, New Carlisle, Ohio

Elie Hoover, New Carlisle, Ohio

Thaddeus Jackson, Harrisonburg, Virginia

Jesse Kanagy, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Lauren Kauffman, Goshen, Indiana

Philip Krabill, Elkhart, Indiana

Caleb Metzler, York, Pennsylvania

Aaron Moyer, Broadway, Virginia

Jacob Nissley, Canton, Ohio

Emma Nord, Greenville, Illinois

Canyon Penner, Goshen, Indiana

Riley Quezada, Mount Jackson, Virginia

Afton Rhodes-Lehman, Dayton, Virginia

Eli Stoll, Harrisonburg, Virginia

Tyler Williams, Green Lane, Pennsylvania

The 91����Ƶ Chamber Singers is an auditioned touring chamber choir now in its 45th year. The mixed-voice choir is made up of 19 91����Ƶ students of different ages and majors. For more information about the Chamber Singers, visit their website or find them on . Consider donating toward their travel and operating expenses.

Can’t wait until the tour to hear the singers? Give them a listen on Spotify below: