52-voice Men’s Chorus to perform concerts on West Coast spring break tour, Feb. 23-March 4, concluding with a home concert

GOSHEN, Ind. – Drawing from the power and energy of college students, the 52-voice Goshen College Men’s Chorus will demonstrate their faith and passion for life in their performance of sacred and secular choral music at churches, schools and retirement communities in four West Coast states during its 2007 spring break tour, Feb. 23-March 4, as well as a concluding home concert in Goshen.

Led by Goshen College Associate Professor of Music Jim Heiks, the large choir will present a worship experience in song, featuring choral repertoire from many time periods and geographical locations. “I always like to do a repertoire with lots of contrasts,” said Heiks. “It shows the palette of tones the choir has.”

Music performed will include a Renaissance piece, a Sacred Harp piece, an African spiritual, folk songs and a gospel tune arranged by Goshen College senior Brooks Gingerich. In addition, a lullaby will feature soloist 10-year-old Quinn Brenneman, the son of Goshen College President Jim Brenneman.

This spring break tour will be a homecoming, of sorts, for President Brenneman, his wife Dr. Terri J. Plank Brenneman and their son. Brenneman became Goshen College’s president in 2006 after 20 years as the founding lead pastor of Pasadena (Calif.) Mennonite Church. An Old Testament scholar, Brenneman also taught courses at Episcopal Theological School at Claremont (Calif.), Claremont School of Theology and at Fuller Theological Seminary (Pasadena, Calif.) during his years in Southern California.

While the Men’s Chorus is on tour, persons can follow the trip through an online blog students are keeping, complete with photos, which is available at www.goshen.edu/blog/menschorus07.

“On choir tour, the men love performing this powerful music so many times, reaching a broad audience which, for the most part, has never before heard them perform live,” said Heiks. “It is such a thrill to have worked hard on a program, and then have the opportunity to share it again and again.”

The Men’s Chorus went on tour for spring break in 2005 as well. About their visit to his church, Associate Pastor at Metamora (Ill.) Mennonite Church Jon Byler said, “People told us we were in for a real treat, and they were not mistaken.”

The Goshen College Men’s Chorus features the following members: senior Ashe Abebe (Goshen), first-year Grant Bachman (Roanoke, Ill.), senior Jeff Bauman (Goshen), senior David Bontrager (Archbold, Ohio), first-year Andy Brubaker (Goshen), senior Daniel Clouse (Goshen), first-year Steven Cress (Lima, Ohio), junior Neil Detweiler (Goshen), first-year Casey Diener (Goshen), senior Josiah Ditzler (Bellevue, Iowa), senior Solomon Fenton-Miller (Marcellus, Mich.), first-year Joe Friesen (Goshen), first-year Phillip Gehman (Lancaster, Pa.), senior Brooks Gingerich (Aurora, Ore.), senior Luke Gingerich (Aurora, Ore.), senior David Glick (Goshen), first-year James Green (Goshen), first-year CJ Hague (Newton, Kan.), first-year Ben Handrich (Salem, Ore.), first-year Mark Hershberger (Harrisonburg, Va.), junior Mike Honderich (Goshen), first-year Thomas Hoover (Reading, Pa.), first-year David Horst (Goshen, Ind.), first-year Russell Horst (Dillon, Mont.), junior Reuben Houser (Phoenix, Ariz.), senior Jesse Johnson (Minneapolis, Minn.), junior Randal Keener (Lebanon, Pa.), sophomore Andrew Landis (Goshen), junior Jesse Landis-Eigsti (Lakewood, Colo.), sophomore Sae Chan Lee (Elkhart, Ind.), sophomore Brent Lehman (Elkhart, Ind.), senior Scott Lehman (Elkhart, Ind.), first-year Geoff Luk (Hong Kong), sophomore David Magbee Jr. (Elkhart, Ind.), junior Andrew Mark (Bristol, Ind.), sophomore Ben Martin (Wakarusa, Ind.), sophomore Michael Martin (Middlebury, Ind.), junior Jonathan Mast (Millersburg, Ohio), first-year Jake Miller (Goshen), first-year John Miller (Partridge, Kan.), sophomore Lane Miller (Danvers, Ill.), first-year Kevin Onesimus Mulia (Singapore), sophomore Adam Schellenberg (Clovis, Calif.), junior Jesse Shaver (Seattle, Wash.), first-year Allen Shenk (Findlay, Ohio), sophomore Ben Shenk (Goshen), first-year Chase Snyder (Denver, Colo.), first-year Jonathan Stuckey (West Unity, Ohio), sophomore Nathan Swartzendruber (Kalona, Iowa), sophomore Josh Tyson (Harrisonburg, Va.), sophomore Seth Unruh (Wayland, Iowa) and junior Matt Yoder (Lancaster, Pa.).

Heiks joined Goshen College as associate professor of music in 2004 after a 30-year career in the Appleton, Wis., public schools. He is also the founder of the Appleton Boychoir, which has celebrated its 28th anniversary. In 1987, he led 100 children and adults on a Mission of Peace to the former Soviet Union. His choirs have performed in Russia, Poland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Italy, Estonia, Norway, Mexico and Japan. In 1997, he received the Kohl Fellowship for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching from U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl. In 1998, he was awarded Outstanding Teacher in Wisconsin by Lawrence University. His high school choirs have won critical acclaim for their compact disc recordings, and are featured along with choirs from around the globe on the “Best of High School A Cappella” CD released in 2003 by Varsity Vocals. As a student and colleague of Alice Parker, he is currently collaborating with her on a new folk songbook series. GIA Music Publishers published the first book, “Alice Parker’s Hand-Me-Down Songs” in 2005. He is currently working on producing a CD of the songbook with singers from the Goshen College Community School of the Arts. He will be accompanied on the tour by his wife, Gail.

The Goshen College Men’s Chorus also has a newly-released CD, “How Can I Keep from Singing,” available for purchase on the tour for $10. It is also available on the Goshen College Music Center’s Web site or by calling (574) 535-7361.

Goshen College’s Music Department features four choral ensembles, an orchestra, jazz band, an opera scenes program and a growing chamber music program.

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S.News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.