“Through the grant we were able to secure Veronica Chapman-Smith, Kenneth Gayle, Heidi Kurtz, Grant Youngblood and Naoko Takao as part of our concerts,” said , executive director of the Bach Festival. “The support of the Carpenter Foundation is deeply appreciated and will strengthen our program.”

Chapman-Smith, Kurtz, Gayle and Youngblood are soloists who Adams says will be integral parts of the June 14-16 concerts. The group will sing opera arias and ensemble pieces on Friday night, will be the soloists on Saturday in Giuseppi Verdi’s “Requiem,” and be the solo quartet on Sunday morning in Johann Sebastian Bach’s Cantata No. 88.

Takao will perform piano with string orchestra on Benjamin Britten’s “Young Apollo.” Throughout the week she will be the accompanist for the noon chamber music recitals.

“Four of these five performers are return engagements with the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival,” said , artistic director and conductor. “They are well known here, and have become favorites of audiences and performers.”

About the performers

, soprano, an artist-in-residence at Temple University, has sung roles for opera companies all over the country including Lyric Opera of Chicago, Opera Birmingham, Opera Company of Philadelphia, and Opera Colorado.

Chapman-Smith has been a soloist for the Bach Festival, Charlotte Symphony, Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia, Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia, Ursinus College, In Clara Voce, and Orquestra Sinfonica Municipal de Caracas.

, mezzo-soprano, is a 1989 graduate of ��ݮ����. She is a core member of The Crossing, The Philadelphia Singers and most recently the Opera Chorus of Philadelphia. She has appeared as a soloist with both groups, as well as with The Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia, Singing City and Vox Amadeus.

Kurtz has made several solo appearances at the Bach Festival, including Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion, Misa Cubana, Samson and Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 9.” Since 1999 she has been a guest artist with the Chester County Chorale in their yearly performance of Handel’s Messiah.

, tenor, serves as producing director for Music Doing Good, a non-profit organization that educates, entertains and enriches through innovative musical programming.

Gayle’s national credits include performances with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Ravinia Music Festival, Seattle Opera, Seattle Symphony, Grant Park Music Festival and a national television appearance at the NAACP Image Awards with Three Mo’ Tenors.

, baritone, has performed recently with the Metropolitan Opera in their recent production of Strauss’ “Capriccio,” a debut with Opera North in the role of Count Almaviva in “Le Nozze di Figaro,” and a company debut at the Nashville opera in his signature role of Giorgio Germont in “La Traviata.”

Youngblood has also appeared with the Dallas Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Florida Philharmonic, the Chautauqua Symphony, the Louisville Symphony, the Naples Philharmonic, the Jacksonville Symphony, the Spokane Symphony Orchestra, and the Bucharest Philharmonic, among others.

, pianist, is an assistant professor of keyboard pedagogy at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami. Takao won a gold medal in the 2000 San Antonio International Piano Competition.

She has performed with the Smithsonian Chamber Players, the Post Classical Ensemble and the Left Bank Quartet at venues such as the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater, the Coolidge Auditorium at the Library of Congress, Lensic Performing Arts Center (Santa Fe), Domaine Forget (Canada), Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center (MD), and Festival Miami.

More information

The Bach Festival opens on June 9, 2013. More information can be found at .

A JOINT RELEASE OF AND EASTERN MENNONITE UNIVERSITY

Rev. John McCollough, executive director of Church World Service, and interim EMU president Beryl H. Brubaker exchange symbols of their ongoing partnership in the STAR program. (Photo by Jim Bishop)

Church World Service (CWS) of New York City has awarded $1 million to the Conflict Transformation Program at ��ݮ���� to continue a university-based training program to work with religious leaders and caregivers in areas affected by trauma.

CWS gave an initial grant of nearly $1 million to establish the STAR (Seminars on Trauma Awareness and Recovery) program at EMU in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the U.S.

The announcement of the grant renewal came during a Sept. 11 dinner meeting at EMU of representatives of CWS and CTP. The STAR program is sponsored by Church World Service and the denominational members of the CWS Emergency Response Program Committee.

In his remarks, John L. McCullough, CWS executive director, stated, “Trauma attacks human capacity, and can leave one numb, with feelings not only of helplessness, but if left untreated, then even more dangerously – hopelessness.”

“A real part of the tragedy of September 11th is not so much that Americans were awakened to our own vulnerability to national trauma, but that we had failed to recognize the prevalence of traumatized peoples all over the world,” he said. “The STAR Program has provided a vivid demonstration of this truth, given the wide breadth of participation.”

“On behalf of ��ݮ����, we express our deep thanks for making all this possible and for now trusting us with additional dollars to further expand this program,” Interim President Beryl H. Brubaker said in her response. “We are grateful to CWS, for the churches that have joined in this effort and for the EMU personnel who have made this program a success. And thanks be to God who has spoken to the hearts and minds of all who have chosen to join this partnership,” she added.

Dr. Brubaker and Rev. McCollough exchanged symbols of the partnership – a specially designed and inscribed acrylic plaque from CWS and a ceramic bowl from EMU.

The program, which began in early 2002, is sponsored by Church World Service and denominational members of the CWS Emergency Response Program Committee: American Baptist Churches USA, Week of Compassion (Christian Church-Disciples of Christ), Church of the Brethren, International Orthodox Christian Charities, Lutheran Disaster Response (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America), Presbyterian Disaster Response (Presbyterian Church USA), Reformed Church in Amerca, United Church of Christ/Wider Church Ministries and United Methodist Committee on Relief. Other funders include the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, Mennonite Disaster Service and private individuals.

The program, based at ��ݮ����, provides monthly five-day training courses for religious leaders in the New York metropolitan area and elsewhere in the country as well as for clergy from outside the United States whose countries have experienced trauma.

STAR has offered 20 seminars – 19 on campus and one in South America – involving nearly 400 participants since the program officially began in January, 2002. Carolyn E. Yoder directs the STAR program and, along with CTP faculty members, leads the sessions.

The grant funds will allow STAR seminars to continue on the EMU campus through December 2005. This will include additional introductory seminars, at least one seminar conducted in Spanish and others especially designed for Muslim or Jewish participants.

The grant will also provide for opening a New York City office and hiring a coordinator for continuation and follow-up work with congregations and communities there, specialized training for STAR alumni to begin leading workshops on their own and the development of STAR-type work in seminaries being requested by several denominations.

The program