Junior vocalist Elie Hoover (soprano) and senior saxophonist Jadon Harley will perform as student soloists with the EMU Orchestra at its spring Concerto/Aria Concert at 7 p.m. this Friday in Lehman Auditorium.

We caught up with Hoover, a social work and music interdisciplinary studies major from New Carlisle, Ohio, ahead of the event.

What piece will you perform at the concert?

I will be performing “Una donna quindici anni” from Mozart’s Così fan tutte. My voice teacher helped me choose a piece that fits my voice well. It’s a lively selection that I have a lot of fun singing.

Is there a specific teacher you’ve been training with?

Shannon Kiser has been working with me to make this piece the best it can be. He encourages me in many ways and always offers insightful guidance to help me improve. [Music Professor] Benjamin Bergey has also worked hard to prepare the orchestra and integrate me into the process.

What excites you most about this concert?

I’m especially excited to sing in this concert because it’s a unique opportunity to perform as a soloist with such a large and talented group of musicians as an undergraduate student. It’s truly an honor to share the stage with my peers as well as musicians from the community. I hope they have as much fun performing with me as I do with them.

What’s your favorite thing about EMU Music?

The EMU Music Department has been a home for me over the past couple of years. The ensembles and classes vary in size and level, allowing them to meet students where they are. I always know I have people who will help me improve and classmates I can grow closer to and share this journey with.

Livestream the concert on the .

Among those performing at the event were the EMU Theatre Department, the EMU Jazz Combo, Hot Mamas, Sun V Set, Sierra Lambert, Cerulean Valley, Ebro, and Thaddeus Jackson.

Thaddeus Jackson ’24 performs electric guitar at Friday’s Music on the Hill in the Discipleship Center.

Dr. Benjamin Guerrero, assistant professor of music at EMU, plays the melodica (left). Eastern Mennonite Seminary student Makinto performs jazz flute (right).

Student cast members from EMU Theatre’s upcoming production of “The Winter’s Tale: A Musical Adaptation” perform songs from the spring musical. The play comes to the Lee Eshleman Studio Theater from April 9-12.

Bryan Joya-Estrada, who portrays the role of Shepherd and plays a mix of instruments in “The Winter’s Tale,” plays keytar (left). Emilee White and Kayden Beidler, who play Florizel and Perdita, respectively, in the musical, sing at Music on the Hill (right).

Faculty, staff, students, and other community members gather at the Discipleship Center to take in the music (left). Jadon Harley plays saxophone (right).

Music on the Hill was organized by Adam Wirdzek, of EMU marketing and communications, in collaboration with Atma Khalsa, of Campus Activities Council. It was funded through a DEI Inclusive Excellence Grant, made possible by the generous support of Jose Koshy ’76 and Jean Koshy-Hertzler ’79, and the Campus Activities Council.

“This was meant to connect the EMU music scene with the Harrisonburg and broader Virginia music scenes,” Wirdzek said. “It brought people together and put EMU on the map even more as a place where people could come and gather in community.”

He said he’s always looking for opening acts, and plans to schedule a third Music on the Hill event in early October. Those interested in performing can contact Wirdzek at adam.wirdzek@emu.edu.

EMU News often publishes event previews. Visit  to view latest postings or to subscribe to the news digest to receive Tuesday morning weekly updates.

January

Jan. 12 — Exploring Research Showcase. Come hear EMU STEM faculty and students share highlights from a range of opportunities, including research projects, internships, and other applied STEM experiences. 10:15 a.m., Suter Science Center (SSC) 106.

Jan. 14 — Campus Worship: Hymn Sing for Hope. Students and faculty from EMU’s Music and Peacebuilding major lead a hymn sing. Learn more about campus worship and other worship services on campus here. 10:15-11:05 a.m., Martin Chapel, Seminary Building.

Jan. 16 — Winter Unconference session: Divisional Structure Update. Divisional Deans Sarah Bixler and Michael Horst will provide an overview of the most recent phase of work, which includes the creation of the department structure, program leadership, and describe the collaborative process of configuring departments. 10:15-11:15 a.m., Strite Conference Room (Campus Center 105).

Jan. 16 — Opening reception for exhibition by landscape oil painting artist . 4-5 p.m., Margaret Martin Gehman Gallery (University Commons 179).

Jan. 19 — MLK Jr. Celebration 2026. The theme for this year’s celebration is “Beyond the Dream: Social Justice and Ecological Consciousness.” Events include a convocation with featured speaker Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò (10:15-11:30 a.m., Lehman Auditorium), soapmaking and fire cider sessions (registration required), and a world climate simulation. Times and locations available at .

Jan. 26 — Concerto/Aria Competition. The student-musicians who win this competition will earn coveted spots to perform as soloists with the EMU Orchestra during its spring Concerto/Aria Orchestra Concert in April. 7 p.m., Lehman Auditorium.

Jan. 27 Rescheduled for April 21 — Sabbatical Spotlight with Jim Yoder, professor of biology at EMU. “Tracking the Untrackable: Animal Movement and Behavior at the Smallest Scales.” Dr. Yoder will briefly share his own journey of studying animal movement from birds and mammals at large spatial scales to tephritid fruit flies using harmonic radar in Australia. He will also focus on his newest research project studying tick movement and behavior, also utilizing harmonic radar. 12:10-1:10 p.m., West Dining Room.

February

Feb. 4 — Celebrate Black History Month with EMU’s Black Student Alliance during Convocation. 10:15 a.m., Lehman Auditorium.

Feb. 6 — Suter Science Seminar with Lee Brown, assistant professor of biology at James Madison University. “Things We Miss When We Take for Granted What We [Don’t] Know – Lessons From a Few Years of Monarch Butterfly Research.” Dr. Brown presents research from her lab since 2023 investigating the use of radio telemetry for tracking monarch movements, and the conservation-relevant discoveries that have emerged. 10:15-11:15 a.m., SSC 106.

Feb. 6 — International Food Festival. The beloved annual event provides an opportunity for students, faculty, and members of the surrounding community to share the great wonders of their respective cultures through food. 5:30 p.m., University Commons Hall of Nations.

Feb. 20 — Suter Science Seminar with Paula Skye Tallman, assistant professor of anthropology at Loyola University Chicago. “Action Research: Water Insecurity, Women’s Health, and Socio-Environmental Justice.” Dr. Tallman will review the ways that water insecurity influences women’s health on a global scale. She will then discuss how her team has used an “action research” framework to connect scientific research to on-the-ground action to promote gender equality and environmental conservation in Peru and Indonesia. 10:15-11:15 a.m., SSC 106.

Feb. 24 — Sabbatical Spotlight with Ji Eun Kim, associate professor of political science at EMU. “A Year of Surprise, Unexpected Turns, and Resilience.” 12:10-1 p.m., West Dining Room.

Feb. 26 — Wind Ensemble Concert. 7 p.m., Lehman Auditorium.

Feb. 27 — Opening reception for exhibition by Charlottesville-based mixed media artist . 4-5 p.m., Margaret Martin Gehman Gallery (University Commons 179).

Feb. 28-March 5 — Chamber Singers Spring Break Tour. Locations and times of performances to be announced.

March

Spring Break for students is between Feb. 28 and March 8. Classes resume on Monday, March 9.

March 11 — Campus Worship: Fasting and Feasting. This campus worship service, co-sponsored by the Center for Interfaith Engagement (CIE), will explore the practices of Fasting and Feasting for religious observances including Ramadan (Islam), Lent (Western Christianity), and The Great Lent (Eastern Orthodox Christianity). 10:15-11:05 a.m., Martin Chapel.

March 13 — Suter Science Seminar with Grayson Mast ’18, general surgery resident at Old Dominion University. “Checking In: Updates from a Surgeon in Training.” Dr. Mast’s presentation will focus on the pathway to becoming a surgeon, describing his day-to-day experience, and an overview of his clinical research. He will also discuss the importance that his time at EMU had in shaping his worldview, practice of medicine, and approach to patient care. 10:15-11:15 a.m., SSC 106.

March 13 — Film screening for VACA Professor Elizabeth Miller Derstine‘s The Weight of Armor. Feast your eyes upon the first edit of Miller-Derstine’s newest film and give her notes by filling out a form following the show. Synopsis: “Tucked inside a Nashville strip mall is Nashville Armored Combat (NAC), the nation’s only gender-inclusive medieval armored combat gym. This film covers three raw, urgent, intertwined stories about carving out space and fighting to keep it.” 8 p.m., SSC 106.

March 24 — Sabbatical Spotlight with Jeffrey Copeland, professor of biology at EMU. “Sleep, Fat, and Aging: Investigating the Role of Serotonin and Glutamate in Biological Behaviors.” Dr. Copeland uses the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster to investigate the activity of the neurotransmitter serotonin in sleep and circadian rhythms, as well as glutamate in aging. 12:10-1 p.m., West Dining Room.

March 27 — Mornings with the Mayor, featuring Harrisonburg Mayor Deanna Reed. University Commons Student Union, 10:15-11:05 a.m. Read about last year’s inaugural event here.

March 27 — Royal Women dedication of the Inclusivity Science Mural. Pınar Ateş Sinopoulos-Lloyd is an Indigenous eco-philosopher, artist, and wildlife tracker and is one of the scientists featured in the Inclusivity Science Mural located in the Suter Science Center. After a guest appearance at Mornings with the Mayor, they will be participating in the mural dedication. 4 p.m. at Suter Science Center.

March 27 — Senior Show Art Opening #1. Come see the final projects of the first group of senior VACA students. 4-5 p.m., Margaret Martin Gehman Gallery (University Commons 179).

April

EMU observes an Easter Recess for Good Friday on April 3.

April 1 — LovEMU Pep Rally. This fun-filled celebration kicks off the 10th annual LovEMU Giving Day. 10:15-11:05 a.m., University Commons Yoder Arena.

April 8 — Campus Worship: Celebrating Easter! This campus worship service, co-sponsored by Eastern Mennonite Seminary, is dedicated to celebrating Easter with readings, reflections, and music on the significance of Easter. 10:15-11:05 a.m., Martin Chapel.

April 9-12 — EMU Theatre presents “The Winter’s Tale: A Musical Adaptation.” Written by William Shakespeare and musically adapted by EMU Theatre, this heartwarming tale for the ages follows the journeys of two kingdoms, a rift between kings, a lost queen, and the love that brings them back to one another. 7:30 p.m., April 9-12. All shows in EMU Lee Eshleman Studio Theater. Tickets available Feb. 1.

April 13 — Film screening for VACA Professor Elizabeth Miller Derstine‘s . 8-9:30 p.m., SSC 106.

April 15 — ACE Festival Keynote with Dr. Deborah Lawrence, the director of research and analytics for nature-based solutions and engineered carbon dioxide removals. “Our Connection to Nature: Gift, Joy, Grief and a Life’s Work.” 10:15-11:15 a.m., Lehman Auditorium.

April 16 — EMU’s Academic and Creative Excellence (ACE) Festival 2026 continues with a full day of scholarly presentations, poster sessions, a music department student recital (12:10 p.m., Lehman Auditorium), and an authors’ reception and award presentation (3:45-5 p.m., University Commons Hall of Nations and Student Union). View a full schedule of ACE Festival events at .

April 16 — Senior Show Art Opening #2 (during ACE Festival). Come see the final art projects of the second group of senior VACA students. 4:45-5:30 p.m., Margaret Martin Gehman Gallery (University Commons 179).

April 16 — Wind Ensemble Concert. 7 p.m., Lehman Auditorium.

April 17 — University Choir Concert. 7 p.m., Lehman Auditorium.

April 18 — Senior recital featuring Naomi Kratzer. 3 p.m., Martin Chapel.

April 19 — Chamber Singers Spring Concert. 7 p.m., Park View Mennonite Church (1600 College Ave., Harrisonburg).

April 21 — Sabbatical Spotlight with Jim Yoder, professor of biology at EMU. “Tracking the Untrackable: Animal Movement and Behavior at the Smallest Scales.” Dr. Yoder will briefly share his own journey of studying animal movement from birds and mammals at large spatial scales to tephritid fruit flies using harmonic radar in Australia. He will also focus on his newest research project studying tick movement and behavior, also utilizing harmonic radar. 12:10-1:10 p.m., West Dining Room.

April 23 — Jazz Ensemble Concert. 7 p.m., Lehman Auditorium.

April 24 — Cords of Distinction ceremony. Ten graduating seniors will be honored with the Cords of Distinction award, which recognizes those who have made outstanding contributions to the university, community, and society over the course of their college careers. 10:10 a.m., Martin Chapel.

April 24 — Orchestra Spring Concert. 7 p.m., Lehman Auditorium.

May

The 108th University Commencement is from 1-3 p.m. on Sunday, May 3, 2026. Commencement for the EMU Lancaster campus is Friday, May 8, 2026.

May 2 — Graduate Celebration and Sending. The ceremony includes presidential and faculty addresses, senior class salutations, and the presentation of the senior class gift, as well as moments of prayer, music, and poetry from graduates. 7-8:30 p.m., Lehman Auditorium.

More information

Arts at EMU — To learn more about music, theater, and visual and communication arts at EMU, visit emu.edu/arts.

Center for Interfaith Engagement — The Center for Interfaith Engagement (CIE) at ��ݮ���� promotes collaboration among religious and nonreligious scholars and practitioners, provides education in our principles and practices, and creates a safe space for developing authentic relationships and mutual understanding both between and within communities. CIE partners with people and organizations for interfaith education and service to promote a more just and peaceful world.

 — Each year, a variety of expert scientists visit EMU’s campus to share their insights. Refreshments provided.

University Chapel — A community gathering place for worship and forum, chapel reflects an Anabaptist/Mennonite perspective alongside the gifts, traditions and cultures of the broader Christian faith. Faith, hope and love are nurtured in the way of Jesus. Faculty, staff, students, and community members are invited to gather every other Wednesday at 10:15 a.m. for campus worship in Martin Chapel. A student-led song, prayer and worship service is held most Sunday evenings at 7 p.m. in University Commons Room 177 (Old Common Grounds). Podcasts available.

“They use their singing to defeat the darkness, the evil,” said Bergey, associate professor of music at EMU and architect of its distinctive’s Music and Peacebuilding undergraduate major. “I thought, This is a big hit right now. What if we rewrote the lyrics and made a parody?”

That’s exactly what he did.

Late one night at the office during EMU’s Fall Break last month, Bergey sat down and, in a flurry of creative inspiration, started writing the lyrics to a parody of “,” one of the hit songs from the popular animated film.

“I wrote something up and then thought, It would be even better if we had a video to go with it,” recalled Bergey. “I remembered that Isaac (Andreas) makes parody music videos. I sent him the audio and said, ‘This is a crazy idea, what do you think?’ And then he got to work.”

“He asked me if I would be interested, and of course I was. I was super excited,” said Andreas, who graduated from EMU in 2022 with computer science and mathematics degrees. “This is the kind of stuff I do for fun, for free, and he was going to pay me for it.”

Andreas, a computer programmer and videography hobbyist living in Harrisonburg, produced, filmed, and edited the video. Nearly all of the filming, other than some B-roll footage, was shot from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 6. He spent the following three days editing the video using a free tool called DaVinci Resolve. The video released on the EMU Music Department’s and on Thursday, Dec. 11.

In addition to Bergey, who lends his singing chops, the video features EMU students and Chamber Singers members Elie Hoover, Ciela Acosta, and Samuel Castaneda in leading roles.

Some behind-the-scenes trivia

• The family seen at the start of the video is that of EMU Professor Daniel Showalter. “(His two daughters) were the first people to tell me about KPop Demon Hunters,” said Andreas. “They were like, ‘This is the hit of the summer.’”
• Bergey said his two children have been scared to watch KPop Demon Hunters but have been watching the parody music video “on repeat.”
• One of the scenes in the music video was filmed in the “rave room” of a house near campus. Andreas said his friends, who are renting out the property, let him film at the house for free.

is Netflix’s most-watched title of all time. It spent eight straight weeks at No. 1 in the Netflix Top 10. “That’s part of why we thought this would be a good idea,” Bergey said. “Many of our videos reach viewers older than college age, but to connect with prospective students, we need to reach younger viewers. This seemed like a fun way to get the algorithm to reach them.”

Watch the music video below:

As a guitarist born without arms, Tony Melendez has touched countless lives with his of resilience, faith, and triumph over adversity. The internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter has played the guitar—with his feet—for Pope John Paul II, at the 1989 World Series, and on numerous TV talk shows. He’ll be performing his guitar music and sharing his incredible life story at EMU’s annual gala concert on Friday, Nov. 7.

The concert will be held at 7 p.m. at EMU’s Lehman Auditorium. It will also be available to watch online through a livestream on the .

The annual gala concert has not only become one of the most popular arts events on campus each year, but also one of the most exciting and unique concerts held in the Valley, said David Berry, music program director at EMU.

“This year’s gala, themed Shared Stories, will be a spectacular evening of warmth, brilliant music making, and joy celebrating the beauty of our unique and collective stories,” Berry said. “The concert will feature electrifying world music, a host of exciting guest artists, beautiful choral singing, orchestra, wind band, and more.”

In addition to Melendez’s music, the event will showcase the world premiere of Our Story, an innovative and eclectic new work that brings together folk and world musicians from a range of styles, including Appalachian music trio After Jack, Ukrainian bandurist and electric guitarist Alex Lagoda, African soul artist Makinto, gospel singer Tabatha Parrott, and The Harrisonburg Kurdish/American String Ensemble. EMU Interim President Rev. Dr. Shannon Dycus will be the narrator for the piece.

Other highlights will include Elaine Hagenburg’s choral masterwork “Illuminare” by the University Choir and Chamber Orchestra, along with performances by the Chamber Singers, Wind Ensemble, and Jazz Ensemble.

‘Too good not to share’

Guest artist After Jack will perform programs for more than 1,000 K-8 students throughout Harrisonburg and Rockingham County schools in conjunction with , a nonprofit dedicated to making the arts accessible to students throughout the region. 

“This is sure to be an unforgettable night of beauty, exhilaration, community, peace, and joy,” Berry said. “A concert this special is too good not to share with as many people as possible.”

Thanks to lead sponsor Everence Financial for supporting this event.

It might be the quietest spot on campus. 

EMU’s new Astral Recording Studio, which opened this semester in the former Astral Hall building atop the EMU Hill at 1304 Hillcrest Drive, has been precisely engineered with one goal in mind: providing the ultimate environment for recording and mixing audio. From its comprehensive acoustic treatment to its full suite of top-tier audio equipment, every square inch of the space is designed to help producers capture the sounds they want while eliminating the ones they don’t.

For starters, take the physical structure of the building itself. The studio, featuring a 175-square-foot control room and two isolation rooms measuring 81 and 83 square feet, sits on its own concrete slab, separate from the rest of the building to minimize vibrations. Inside its walls, a 4-inch air gap makes the space practically soundproof from outside noise.

“If there’s noise or rattling, you end up spending too much time editing it out,” Guerrero said. “We’re aiming to replicate the professional studio environments of Los Angeles and New York City to better prepare our students for work in those settings.”

Take a look inside the studio and it quickly becomes clear just how much thought went into creating the optimal environment. Acoustic panels on the walls and ceiling absorb the high and mid frequencies, while bass traps in the corners absorb the low ones. Thirteen speakers are positioned around the control room, all directed toward the center of the room, where a control surface allows producers to mix dozens of channels with precision. 

The control room is calibrated for Dolby Atmos 7.1.4, one of the highest standards in music production, which means that it has seven ear-level speakers, one subwoofer, four overhead speakers, and an additional subwoofer for bass management. Together, they create a three-dimensional sphere of sound that envelops the space. The studio can produce 3D audio, sometimes known as “spatial audio,” as well as binaural audio, delivering a more immersive listening experience than standard stereo.

“Not many studios near us have something like that,” Guerrero said. And almost none of them are open to members of the public, who can rent the EMU studio by the hour.

Astral Recording Studio is open to EMU students, faculty, staff, and community members for recording and mixing music, videos, podcasts, or any other audio projects. 
Learn more about the studio at .

Guerrero said students in his Introduction to Music Technology and Video Game Music and Culture classes this semester will use the space as a hands-on lab to collaborate on projects. The studio has already hosted a few successful recording sessions for local musicians, and reactions to the space have been overwhelmingly positive.

When he’s not playing with his jazz group around town, Thaddeus Jackson ’24 can be found operating his own home recording studio. “It’s kind of amazing that a university this small has a studio like this,” he said, while he shredded on a guitar at a recent open house. The vocal performance and guitar grad helped Guerrero assemble much of the equipment in the EMU studio this summer, along with John Evans of Master Craft Construction and his apprentice, Kortney Bostic. 

The studio could also serve as a space for audio research projects, Guerrero said. That might include comparing different microphones or other technologies, or using the controlled environment to study how we perceive and process sound.

When he was hired on as faculty a little more than two years ago, Guerrero had two objectives: build a recording studio and eventually develop a music technology major at EMU. He said a number of music students over the years had expressed interest in recording their own music and exploring audio production, often mentioning the need for a studio. He credited an initial $95,000 donation from a generous couple, who have said they wish to remain anonymous, with kickstarting the project, as well as consistent support from EMU administration and Music Program Director Dr. David Berry.

“The studio has been a dream in the making for many years now and it is wonderful to see it open its doors,” Berry said. 

“It’s an amazing space with lots of capabilities,” he added. “I’m excited about all the possibilities it represents by giving access to more students, staff, and members of the community the ability to make music in new ways and explore their passions.”

Guerrero said music technology programs, like the one he envisions creating at EMU someday, have been shown to boost enrollment by appealing to students from nontraditional music backgrounds. “These are the students making beats at home or producing tracks, but who aren’t necessarily in marching band, orchestra, or choir,” he said. “If we can bring them in and help them see a future not just at EMU, but in a music career, I think the potential is huge.”

Now that the studio is finally open, Guerrero is excited to welcome people in. “Let’s collaborate,” he said. “Let’s work on something together.”

About the professor

Guerrero holds a PhD in music education from the Eastman School of Music (Rochester, N.Y.), a master’s in music technology from New York University, and a bachelor’s in drum set performance and contemporary writing and production from Berklee College of Music (Boston). While a college student, he worked at Apple stores in Boston and New York for three years, teaching workshops in GarageBand and Logic Pro. He previously taught at James Madison University and El Paso Community College in his hometown of El Paso, Texas.

He traces his interest in immersive audio back to the first time he watched Rush in Rio in 5.1 surround sound more than 20 years ago, and recalled attending an Audio Engineering Society conference at Dolby Labs in 2012, where he witnessed the first public performance of Dolby Atmos. “The sense of immersion was incredible,” he said.

About the space

Built in 1955, the terraced, one-room Astral Hall building next to the Vesper Heights Observatory hosted astronomy lectures and Astral Society meetings. Read more about the early days of the building here.

In the early 1970s, the building was renovated into a recording studio for WEMC, the EMU student- and staff-run radio station that began broadcasting from Lehman Auditorium in 1954. Guerrero said the renovation set it up well for acoustic treatment, and some original features, including the windows and doors, remain in place today. “There were a lot of things that were done right in the design of this space,” he said.

EMU’s Lehman Auditorium has surely seen its share of historic firsts over the years, though last week might have marked the first time a memorandum of understanding has ever been signed on its stage. 

Representatives from EMU and the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival (SVBF) advisory board, along with supporters of the festival, gathered on the auditorium stage on Thursday, Aug. 14, to celebrate the SVBF’s status as an independent 501(c)(3) organization. The event included a ceremonial signing of documents and drew more than two-dozen people. 

EMU financially sustained the annual summer festival since its start in 1993 until last year. The agreement signed last week outlines the transfer of ownership from the university to Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival Inc., which was granted tax-exempt nonprofit status in January 2025 and officially became independent from EMU on July 1. Signers included Dr. Tynisha Willingham, provost and vice president of academic affairs at EMU, and members of the SVBF executive committee: Christine Fairfield, chair; Angela Showalter, vice chair; Cara Modisett, secretary; and Fred Kniss, treasurer. 

Thursday’s ceremony provided an opportunity for donors, staff, and stakeholders to mark the momentous occasion and reflect on the history of the 33-year-old festival.

Following a piano performance of Bach’s Prelude in E major, BWV 854, from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, from Dr. David Berry, director of the music program at EMU and artistic director of the SVBF, Professor Emeritus Dr. Kenneth J. Nafziger offered a historical perspective on the founding of the festival. 

Nafziger, a member of EMU’s music faculty for 39 years before he retired in 2017 and founding conductor and artistic director of the SVBF, shared stories from the festival’s earliest days.

In 1992, near the start of the fall semester, he was having a dinner with several EMU friends when they began asking him about his experiences conducting the Lake Chelan Bach Fest in north-central Washington that summer. “I noticed that Joe (former EMU President Joseph Lapp) was taking notes,” Nafziger shared. “When the note-taking stopped, he said, ‘What would it take to get something like that going here?’ We took him at his word…and in January of 1993, we were given the go-ahead to do a festival in June. With expert help from Helen (Nafziger), Scott Hosfeld, and Marcia Kauffman, we made the first one happen, and it included vanilla ice cream and hot raspberry sauce at intermission.”

“The beginnings of rehearsals from the second season forward resembled a family reunion,” he continued. “Local orchestral players, including JMU friends, local singers and relatives from east of the Mississippi and Canada, we grew.”

Willingham spoke about the relationship between EMU and the SVBF. “You are still a part of the EMU family and the fabric of EMU,” she said. “EMU has three core values—academic excellence, peace and justice, and active faith—and the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival exemplifies those core values.”

“We know that in our public schools, the arts have been the first things that have been cut,” she said, crediting the festival’s “pay-what-you-can” ticket pricing with allowing everyone to experience music, regardless of economic status. “The Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival is a gift. It’s been a gift to EMU for over 30 years, it’s been a gift to our community for over 30 years, and it’s been a gift to everyone who has stood on this stage.” 

Included in the memorandum of understanding is an agreement that Lehman Auditorium and Martin Chapel will continue to serve as venues for SVBF performances for at least the next three years, said Les Helmuth, interim executive director of the festival.

“What I discovered in this past year of talking with donors, businesses, and people behind the festival is that the breadth and depth of support is this wide,” he said, stretching out his arms. “It comes from all walks of life, and it’s fabulous. It really is. It’s a great community treasure, and we desperately need to keep it going.”

The Rev. Dr. Sarah Ann Bixler, dean for the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences at EMU, delivered the blessing for the event. Other EMU representatives in attendance included Interim President Rev. Dr. Shannon W. Dycus and Kirk Shisler, vice president for advancement.

The 34th annual Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival will be held from June 8-13, 2026. Find out more at .

The auditioned touring chamber choir was one of five ensembles chosen from around the world—joining groups from Indonesia, Kenya, Paraguay, and Switzerland—to perform songs at the event, The Courage to Love: Anabaptism@500, hosted by Mennonite World Conference. About 3,500 Anabaptists gathered in Zürich for the celebration, including about 1,200 worshippers who filled the Grossmünster church for the service, while many tens of thousands more watched the event live online. 

The 24 members of the Chamber Singers performed nine full concerts, two church services, and several impromptu outdoor gigs along their 2½-week European tour. In addition to their singing, the group’s EMU students and alumni visited museums, joined walking tours and history lectures, and explored Anabaptist heritage sites, a concentration camp, and the Anne Frank House.

Chamber Singers Director Dr. Benjamin Bergey ’11 said the choir performed for large crowds at nearly every concert and left a visible impact on many audience members through the quality of their singing and the poignancy of their message of hope and unity. “Several pieces moved dozens of people to tears, including ‘Prayer of the Children’ and ‘Ukuthula,’” he said. “Many audience members came up afterward to share how much hope it gave them to see so many young people so deeply invested in both the music and the message.”

Members of the Chamber Singers said their transformative experiences on the tour deepened their faith and strengthened their commitment to peace & justice. In Zürich, they shared meals with singers from around the world and traveled by bus and rehearsed together. “It was a wonderful intercultural experience,” Bergey said.

For Emma Nord ’25, an alto from Greenville, Illinois, one particularly memorable moment during the 500-year celebration came while witnessing Anabaptist and Reformed Church leaders wash each other’s feet at the service. “Their humility and desire for reconciliation was beautiful,” she said. “It was the experience of a lifetime, for sure.”

Joshua Stucky, a rising senior from Princeton, New Jersey, who sings bass in the Chamber Singers, also toured Europe with the choir in May 2023. But he said the music on this most recent trip resonated even more deeply with audiences. “I think our message of hope and unity crosses language barriers,” he said. “It carries so much weight right now.”

Thank you to all the alumni, friends, family, and donors who supported the tour in so many different ways!

Watch a recording of the Chamber Singers in the video above
and read more about the event in the Anabaptist World post below.

“We came out and we owned that stage,” said EMU sophomore Ciela Acosta, an alto in the choir. “The energy in that room was palpable.”

EMU senior Reah Clymer, a soprano whose grandmother lives at the community, recounted “lots of clapping, lots of smiles and lots of tears and dancing” at the concert. “It was packed,” she said. “They had to bring in a couch from the outside foyer for my grandma because the entire chapel was full.”

Students in the auditioned touring chamber choir estimated that well over 100 people attended the Tuesday evening show, where they were joined by the Lancaster Mennonite High School choir. It was one of about a dozen performances throughout Pennsylvania and Virginia by the Chamber Singers during its spring break tour from March 1-6. Twenty-two members of the choir sang songs of hope and unity, the theme of the tour, at four churches, four high schools, a music learning center, and the aforementioned senior living community.

EMU junior Eli Stoll, who sings bass in Chamber Singers, said that the performance at Landis Homes “definitely felt like the concert where we made the best sound and had the most fun as a group.”

Part of the excitement of that show stemmed from just how many close ties there were to EMU. Acosta said that at the beginning of the concert, Chamber Singers Director Dr. Benjamin Bergey asked for a show of hands from those who had either attended EMU or had a child attend. “Almost every single person in that room raised their hand,” she said. “Seeing that gave me chills.” 

EMU junior Hollyn Miller, a soprano from Lancaster whose family and friends were in attendance, said a special moment for her on the tour was performing for her home church, Blossom Hill Mennonite Church. “I had sung a few times at the church,” she said, “and so a lot of people were excited to have us there.”

Another favorite stop for students on the tour was Nations Worship Center, a large Mennonite church in Philadelphia. Because their visit was on a Sunday morning, members of the choir got the opportunity to worship with the Indonesian Mennonite congregation and join together in a meal. EMU President Dr. Susan Schultz Huxman delivered the sermon, which was translated into Indonesian.

When Bergey began introducing the choir in what seemed to be near-fluent Indonesian, the group of students was caught off-guard. “We were so thrown off by that,” Miller said, “because he didn’t tell us he was going to do that.” 

Clymer agreed. “All of us were looking around at each other,” she said. “I was watching the crowd, and you could tell they were surprised and loving it.”

The tour included several encore performances. It was during these moments the Chamber Singers would sing “Avulekile Amasango,” a song that Clymer and alto Emma Nord brought back from their spring 2023 intercultural in South Africa. “We loved it so much that we took it on tour with us,” Clymer said.

The annual spring break tour offers a time for the singers to build camaraderie and learn to put the needs of the group first. The intensive nature of the tour, with a concert or two scheduled nearly every day, also helps them hone their craft. “Their sound, blend and performances greatly improved from this tour,” Bergey said. “And we received more feedback than usual at how outstanding this particular group sounds.”

Not all of the choir’s performances were listed in the program. Acosta, who is in her first semester with the group, said one of her favorite memories from the trip came from a hotel pool in Charlottesville. The students, enjoying some downtime in the pool, stood together in a circle and started belting out tunes from their repertoire. “That brought me so much joy,” she said, “and the acoustics were so good in there.”

Stoll said this is the biggest Chamber Singers group in his three semesters with the choir. He had been nervous about touring with such a large group, but those fears quickly evaporated when they began performing together. “I was surprised and pleased with how much fun we had, how much laughter there was, and how much we gelled as a group,” he said. “That’s made me even more excited about Europe.”

Choir members said the experience was useful in preparing them for their tour through Europe this summer, from May 14-31. The Chamber Singers was selected as the group to represent North America at Mennonite World Conference for its 500th anniversary of Anabaptism in Zurich, Switzerland, on May 29. The choir will perform many of the same songs from the spring tour, along with some additions.  are gratefully accepted toward their travel expenses.

In addition to performing with the Lancaster Mennonite High School choir, the Chamber Singers sang with the Dock Mennonite Academy choir at Souderton Mennonite Church. The Chamber Singers performed at the two Pennsylvania schools and at Charlottesville and Rocktown high schools. 

Bergey said they reached scores of prospective students during the high school visits, connected with important alumni, donors and communities, and “spread not only the message of hope and unity, but also the value of an EMU education.”

Three choirs from diverse musical and cultural traditions will join together for a concert held at EMU this week.

The event, Love, Joy & Peace: A Choral Celebration!, will be held at Lehman Auditorium on Friday, March 14, at 7 p.m. Admission is free, with a suggested donation of $10.

Dr. David Berry, director of the music program at EMU, described the event as a big celebration. “The idea for this concert was truly born out of a sense of community,” he said. “We’re not just bringing together different styles of music, but also we’re bringing together people from different communities.”

The concert will feature performances by:

• the EMU Chamber Singers, the university’s auditioned touring chamber choir, directed by Professor Benjamin Bergey, singing songs of hope and unity from its recent spring break tour;
• the EMU Gospel Choir, a talented group of students directed by EMU senior Kay Pettus, delivering uplifting gospel music; and 
• the Kush Anglican Choir, a choir from a Sudanese congregation in Harrisonburg, directed by EMU senior Rita Toto, performing traditional Sudanese songs in Arabic. 

Berry first heard the latter choir perform at a fundraiser last July at A Bowl of Good in Harrisonburg. The supported Pax Dei for Nuba, a nonprofit raising awareness of the humanitarian crisis in Sudan. “Their choir sounded incredible, and they perform a variety of music, including songs from their culture and in their native language,” Berry said. “I knew we had to invite them to perform on campus.”

After each choir performs their own selection of songs, the three vocal ensembles will combine on stage to sing “Let’s Come Together,” an original composition written by guest artist Makinto.

Makinto, a talented multi-instrumentalist and African Soul artist studying at Eastern Mennonite Seminary, will also perform solo selections throughout the evening and collaborate with Berry on a piano duet for the final musical number. 

Makinto previously performed as a guest artist at EMU’s 2023 Music Gala Concert. He and his wife, Mukarabe, co-founded Amahoro International, a mission organization promoting peace and development in East Africa. Learn more about his journey to EMU here!

The EMU Department of Music partnered with the Center for Interfaith Engagement and Multicultural Student Services to present this concert. It is sponsored by the Music, Peace and Justice grant, in conjunction with the Music & Peacebuilding major.

The EMU 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 EMU 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 EMU 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 EMU Chamber Singers is a mixed-voice choir made up of 23 EMU 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 the quick rhyme behind last week’s annual Concerto/Aria Competition, which awarded top honors to three student-musicians for the first time in its six-year history. The winners of the competition, Miriam Rhodes, Rafael de Tablan (who also won in 2023), and Naomi Kratzer, have earned one of the most prestigious accolades on campus for musicians: the chance to perform as soloists alongside the EMU Orchestra during its spring Concerto/Aria Orchestra Concert.

Benjamin Bergey, assistant professor of music at EMU and conductor of EMU’s Orchestra, Chamber Singers, and University Choir, credited the historic moment to the strong performances of the seven student-musicians who competed.

“It was a challenge to choose only two winners,” he said. “After extra deliberation, we decided that the orchestra could accommodate three winners this year, but that’s something we don’t intend to do again in the future.”

The three winning musicians took a moment to answer a few questions from EMU News in between practicing for April’s big show. 

Miriam Rhodes

Year: Junior
From: Rockingham County, Virginia
Major: Music and peacebuilding; elementary education
Instrument: Violin

Which piece of music did you choose?
I played the first movement of Max Bruch’s “Concerto No. 1 in G Minor.” My violin teacher Maria Lorcas introduced me to the piece near the end of my freshman year at EMU, and I’ve been working on it, on and off, ever since. I’ve spent a lot of time with this piece over the past couple years, analyzing its theory and history, and performing it several times, but I still haven’t gotten tired of it. 

What was running through your mind when you found out you had won?
I was surprised that the judges had picked three winners and immediately got excited. A lot of my passion for making music comes from the joy and relationship-building that happens when you collaborate with other musicians, so I’m super excited to perform this piece with the orchestra and bring it to life together.

How will you be preparing for April’s concert?
I’ve always had some performance anxiety. After my last performance, I felt like I had already achieved a personal victory by pushing myself out of my comfort zone and improving my performance mindset—something my teacher, Maria Lorcas, and the music professors at EMU have helped me learn to do. I plan to continue preparing mentally through positive self-talk and visualization.

Rafael de Tablan

Year: Junior
From: The Philippines
Major: Music performance
Instrument: Piano

Which piece of music did you choose?
I played the second movement of Maurice Ravel’s “Piano Concerto in G Major.” I chose this piece because it’s something out of the ordinary. Fast and grand movements are usually selected for competitions, rather than slow ones. But, I chose this slow movement as a sincere dedication to my mom and dad, who nicknamed me “Ravel.”

What was running through your mind when you found out you had won?
I was confident the judges wouldn’t choose a slow piece to win, but boy, was I wrong. When the three winners were announced, I was shocked by the history-making moment. I hugged and congratulated the other two winners. Realizing that my dedicatory piece will be performed with the orchestra, I started welling up with tears thinking about how I could give even more love to my parents.

How will you be preparing for April’s concert?
Definitely practice, practice, practice. I need to polish it even more and review the judges’ feedback. One thing I love to do while practicing is to follow along with someone else’s recording of the same piece. (His piano teacher is Dr. David Berry, director of the music program at EMU)

Naomi Kratzer

Year: Junior
From: Goshen, Indiana
Major: Music performance and history
Instrument: Piano (she also plays viola and sings)

Which piece of music did you choose?
I played the first movement of Edvard Grieg’s “Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 16.” My professor, Dr. David Berry, chose the piece for me, but I’ve loved preparing it over the past seven months. This is the only piano concerto Grieg ever wrote, which makes it even more special to perform. It’s also a piece that plays to my strengths as a pianist, so it’s been fun to hone those skills. 

What was running through your mind when you found out you had won?
I was glad they finally came to a decision. The process was the longest in EMU history: one whole hour. It was awesome to win with my friend Miriam and my co-conspirator-in-piano, Rafael. 

How will you be preparing for April’s concert?
I’ll keep chipping away at the shakier parts of the movement and make sure I have the entire piece under my fingers, but I also need to start preparing my junior recital repertoire. It’s going to be a full semester, for sure. 

Bergey said Rhodes played with “confidence and finesse” in a thrilling performance of Bruch’s violin concerto. “She is our concertmaster in the orchestra, so it will be wonderful to feature her in this concert,” he said.

He described de Tablan as captivating the room with his “exquisitely musical playing” of the slow movement of Ravel’s piano concerto: “This deceptively difficult movement exuded his musicality, and you could hear a pin drop at the end.”

Bergey recognized Kratzer for tackling one of the most iconic concertos of the night. “She expressed such command of the instrument through her technical playing,” he said. 

Mezzo-soprano Cassidy Williams received runner-up honors. Other musicians competing at the event were Elie Hoover, Riley Quezada, and Jacob Loya. Lise Keiter and Eric Guinivan served as guest judges for the competition. Harold Bailey and David Berry were piano accompanists. 

Watch a video recording of the competition on the EMU Department of Music Facebook page.

Read coverage of the event in the Daily News-Record .

For write-ups of previous years’ competitions, click on the links below:

• 2024
• 2023
• 2019

The musicians’ answers have been edited for grammar and conciseness.

The Grants for Arts Projects (GAP) award will support general operations of the 34th annual Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival, which will be held in June 2026.

Les Helmuth, interim manager of the SVBF, said this marks the first time the festival has received an NEA grant. “It’s amazing to be recognized by the NEA for the quality of the artists and other key individuals involved in creating great music for the Shenandoah Valley,” he said. “It’s truly an honor to be the recipient of an NEA grant.”

Bach Festival Artistic Director and EMU Music Program Director David Berry noted that receiving support from the NEA has long been a prestigious mark of distinction for any arts organization. “We’re grateful the NEA has chosen to support the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival as we celebrate our 34th year next June,” he said. “This honor speaks to how special the festival truly is and its great legacy of beautiful music-making.”

Amanda Gookin, previous executive director of the SVBF, wrote and applied for the GAP grant. It is one of more than 1,100 GAP awards nationwide, totaling more than $31.8 million, announced by the NEA on Tuesday.

“The NEA is proud to continue our nearly 60 years of supporting the efforts of organizations and artists that help to shape our country’s vibrant arts sector and communities of all types across our nation,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “It is inspiring to see the wide range of creative projects taking place, including EMU’s Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival.”

About the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival

The annual weeklong summer festival presents vibrant performances on the EMU campus and in Downtown Harrisonburg, Virginia, by Bach Festival Musicians and guest artists, the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival Orchestra, Baroque Academy Faculty, and Festival Choir. Learn more at:

About the National Endowment for the Arts

Established by Congress in 1965, the NEA is an independent federal agency that is the largest funder of the arts and arts education in communities nationwide and a catalyst of public and private support for the arts. Its Grants for Arts Projects (GAP) provides expansive funding opportunities to strengthen the nation’s arts and cultural ecosystem, including opportunities for public engagement with the arts and arts education, for the integration of the arts with strategies promoting the health and well-being of people and communities, and for the improvement of overall capacity and capabilities within the arts sector.

In addition to the gala, guest artist Izaiah Montaque Harris will perform programs for over 1,000 K-8th grade students throughout the Harrisonburg and Rockingham County school system in conjunction with the Kennedy Center sponsored arts education non-profit, , which is dedicated to making the arts accessible to students throughout the region. The concert is free with a $10-$20 suggested donation.