The 草莓社区 Chamber Singers have released programming information and the schedule for its spring break tour March 4-10, 2023. The group will perform in Ohio and Indiana at various churches and Christian schools. The theme of this year鈥檚 tour is 鈥淟ocal and Global: songs of peace and justice.鈥�
鈥淚 wanted to include some local composers and styles to bring a taste from our home while also exploring a range of other styles and composers from around the world,鈥� said Professor Benjamin Bergey, director of the Chamber Singers.
Highlights include songs about and in the tradition of the area, such as 鈥淪henandoah,鈥� a classic song about the Shenandoah Valley; 鈥淪ing Each Other Home,鈥� a piece the Chamber Singers and EMU鈥檚 music and peacebuilding program commissioned the Harrisonburg-based Walking Roots Band to write; and 鈥淐ould It Be That God Is Singing,鈥� a hymn in the Southern Harmony tradition by poet Becca J R Lachman from Goshen, Indiana.
Other songs include 鈥淎 New Leaf鈥� by Bradley Lehman, a local composer and father of choir member Afton Rhodes-Lehman; 鈥淓agles鈥� Wings鈥� by EMU alumnus Sam Kauffman 鈥�12; and 鈥淲ake Up, My Spirit鈥� by Virginia-based contemporary African American composer Adolphus Hailstork.
The EMU Chamber Singers is an auditioned touring chamber choir now in its 44th year. The mixed-voice choir is made up of more than 15 EMU students of different ages and majors. The ensemble tours in the U.S. each spring break and will tour abroad every other May starting this year. The select vocal group performs choral arrangements from various periods, styles and cultures.聽
Schedule
All evening performances are free and open to the public.
Members
The choir includes:
Iris Anderson, Corvallis, Oregon
Maggie Garber, Broadway, Virginia
Thaddeus Jackson, Harrisonburg, Virginia
Philip Krabill, Elkhart, Indiana
Naomi Kratzer, Goshen, Indiana
Hannah Landes Beck, Linville, Virginia
Hollyn Miller, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Aaron Moyer, Broadway, Virginia
Jacob Nissley, Canton, Ohio
Afton Rhodes-Lehman, Dayton, Virginia
Sophia Sherrill, Goshen, Indiana; Higashikurume, Tokyo, Japan
Savannah Smith, Key West, Florida
Joshua Stucky, Princeton, New Jersey
Brynn Yoder, Harrisonburg, Virginia
Andrew Zook, Canton, Ohio
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