Michael P. (Mike) Dezort, a senior vocal performance major at 草莓社区, will present a voice recital 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 25, in Martin Chapel of the seminary building at EMU.

Dezort, a baritone, will perform works by Handel, Mozart, Schubert, Korngold, Faure and Porter. He will also sing a duet with EMU senior Bethany M. Blouse, soprano.

Dezort, from Normalville, Pa., will graduate from EMU this spring and plans to do graduate work in music.

Admission to the program is free.

The 草莓社区 department will present George Frideric Handel’s magnificent oratorio, “The Messiah,” 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19, in Lehman Auditorium at EMU.

participating include the EMU Chamber Singers, the University Chorale, and the University Orchestra, conducted by , professor of music.

Soloists are EMU students Bethany Blouse, soprano; Annie Johnson, soprano; Ariel Ressler, alto; Matthew Garber, tenor; Steven Horst, tenor; Michael Dezort, bass; EMU graduates Katie Derstine, alto; Matthew Hunsberger, bass; and guest Joel Ross, countertenor.

Admission is a $10 suggested donation, with proceeds to be split between the EMU Scholarship Fund and Mennonite Disaster Service for hurricane relief efforts in the Gulf region.

Accompanists are John W. Fast, organ; Julianne Burkholder, Kara Glick, Andrew Dutcher and Eric Guttormson, strings; and Annie Johnson, soprano; Matthew Garber, tenor; and Michael Dezort, baritone.

The second half of the concert will include Faure’s “Cantique” and works for smaller group ensembles, some with piano and guitar accompaniment.

Mrs. Hostetter earned a B.A. in music education from 草莓社区 and a M.M. in choral conducting from James Madison University. She has worked as a music instructor in various educational settings for the past 15 years.

In addition to directing the for the 2004-05 school year while Anne Gross is on sabbatical, Hostetter also serves as music director at Harrisonburg Mennonite Church and as music educator at Mountain View Elementary School in Rockingham County.

Admission is free, but donations are welcomed to support the EMU ‘s music scholarship fund.

A concert by the 草莓社区 orchestra will feature the winners of a concerto/aria competition held on campus in January. The program will take place 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Mar. 31, in EMU’s Lehman Auditorium.

The student soloists will be Michael Dezort, baritone, singing the count’s aria "Vedro mentr’io sospiro" from the Marriage of Figaro; Jonathan Keener, pianist, peforming the third movement of the Mozart Piano Concerto in G Major by Mozart, and April Miller on oboe featuring the first movement of the Haydn Oboe Concerto in C Major.

Jonathan Keener

The program will conclude with the "Russian Easter Overture" by Rimsky-Korsakov for full orchestra, a colorful work in celebration of Easter.

The 45-member orchestra, directed by Joan Griffing, is made up of EMU students and commmunity players from Harrisonburg, Staunton, Bridgewater, Elkton and Orange County.

April Miller

Dr. Griffing, associate professor of music, teaches violin and viola and coaches chamber music in addition to conducting the EMU orchestra. She is also concertmaster of the annual and the Shenandoah Symphony Orchestra.

Griffing earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Indiana University, where she studied with Tadeusz Wronski, and her D.M.A. in violin performance from Ohio State University.

Admission to the concert is free; donations are welcomed for the music department student scholarship fund.

The classic musical, "The Music Man," may be one of the most fun ever to come out of Broadway. Yet the guest director of the production at Eastern Mennonite University said she thinks the show has been underrated.

"One unexplored aspect is that it’s an example of unconditional love," said L.B. Hamilton, the show’s director.

EMU will present "The Music Man" for its spring mainstage production in Lehman Auditorium. Performances begin today and run through next week.

A 45-member student cast will recreate the Broadway musical that won the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award and nine Tony Awards. The 1962 film version received an Academy Award for Best Musical Adaptation.

Confidence man Harold Hill (Michael Dezort) arrives at staid River City intending to cheat the community with his standard scam of offering to equip and train a boy’s marching band, then skip town with the money since he has no music skill anyway. Things go awry when he falls for librarian Marian Paroo (Bethany Blouse), whom he tries to divert from exposing him while he inadvertently enriches the town with a love of music.

"It’s a satire of small-town life but with a love for the community and what lies beneath the exterior of human beings," said Hamilton.

When she was young and the music was popular, Hamilton thought "The Music Man" was "just a fun and frothy thing."

"And I thought that when I directed it before, but now I look at it with different eyes," Hamilton said. "It’s all about love, yet there is no line that says ‘I love you.’"

In the midst of all the music and dancing and fun, "they give each other love asking nothing in return, which is the highest form of love there is," she said.

Hamilton said the production also speaks to "the persona we create in order to protect our soft cores."

This comes through in the students’ performances, said Hamilton.

"I don’t have a reputation as a sentimental or warm and fuzzy director, but this is warm and fuzzy," she said.

Hamilton began her theatrical career as an actor, then worked in the film, television and recording industries. An award-winning published/produced playwright, she continues free lance work while serving as consulting director for C.L.I.M.B. Theater in Minnesota and as director of special programs for Washington Shakespeare Company (WSC) in D.C.

Hamilton directed the EMU theater production of "Twelve Angry Jurors" in the fall of 2002.

Performance times for "The Music Man" are 7:30 p.m. Feb. 17, 18 & 19 and Feb. 24, 25 & 26. Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door, $8 non-EMU students, and $6 senior citizens and children 12 and under.

To reserve tickets, call the EMU box office at 432-4582.

The sound of "76 trombones" will reverberate through Lehman Auditorium as presents the spring mainstage production of Meredith Willson’s "The Music Man."

The 45-member student cast, directed by L.B. Hamilton, recreates the Broadway musical that won the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award and nine Tony Awards. The 1962 film version received an Academy Award for "best musical adaptation."

Professor of Theater Barb Graber handed over her responsibilities as director to Hamilton in order to fully recover from a 2003 vehicle accident. Graber continues to teach part-time and will stay involved with .

Confidence man Harold Hill (Michael Dezort) arrives at staid River City intending to cheat the community with his standard scam of offering to equip and train a boy’s marching band, then skip town with the money since he has no music skill anyway. Things go awry when he falls for librarian Marian Paroo (Bethany Blouse), whom he tries to divert from exposing him while he inadventently enriches the town with a love of music.

Guest director L.B. Hamilton began her theatrical career as an actor, then worked in the film, television and recording industries. An award-winning published/produced playwright, she continues free-lance work while serving as consulting director for C.L.I.M.B. Theater in Minnesota and as director of special programs for Washington Sheakespeare Company (WSC) in D.C.

Hamilton directed the EMU Theater production of "Twelve Angry Jurors" the fall of 2002.

Performance times for "The Music Man" are 7:30 p.m. Feb. 17, 18 & 19 and Feb. 24, 25 & 26 in EMU’s Lehman Auditorium. Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door, $8 non-EMU students, $6 senior citizens and children 12 and under.

To reserve tickets, call the EMU box office at (540) 432-4582.