Goshen College's Chamber Choir to perform concerts on Midwest spring break tour, Feb. 21-March 1

GOSHEN, Ind. – The 32-voice Goshen College Chamber Choir is touring during spring break, sharing music that reflects on the theme of "Encountering God's Hope" at churches and schools in Illinois, Iowa, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin during its 2009 tour, Feb. 21-March 1, as well as performing a concluding home concert in Goshen.

Led by Goshen College Professor of Music Debra Brubaker, the choir's worship service program features pieces composed from around the world and at Goshen College.

While the choir is on tour, persons can follow the trip through an online blog several student singers will keep, complete with photos, which will be available at www.goshen.edu/blog/choirtour09.

The choir's tour schedule, from Feb. 21 to March 1, includes the following programs (free and open to the public):

Saturday, Feb. 21– 7:30 p.m., Mennonite Church of Normal (Ill.). Alumni and Friends reception at 6:30 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 22
 – 9 a.m., Metamora (Ill.) Mennonite Church

Sunday, Feb. 22 – 7 p.m., First Mennonite Church,
 Iowa City, Iowa. Alumni and Friends reception following.

Monday, Feb. 23 –
9:45 a.m., Iowa Mennonite School, Kalona, Iowa

Monday, Feb. 23 – 7 p.m., Sugar Creek Mennonite Church, Wayland, Iowa

Tuesday, Feb. 24 – 7:30 p.m.,Des Moines (Iowa) Mennonite Church

Wednesday, Feb. 25 
– 7 p.m., Salem-Zion Mennonite Church (North)
, Freeman, S.D.

Thursday, Feb. 26
 – 10 a.m., Freeman (S.D.) Academy


Thursday, Feb. 26
 – 7:30 p.m., Messiah Lutheran Church hosted by Emmanuel and Faith Mennonite churches, Minneapolis, Minn.
 Alumni and Friends reception following.

Friday, Feb. 27
 – 7 p.m., Madison (Wis.) Mennonite Church
 (meets at Orchard Ridge UCC).
 Alumni and Friends reception following
.

Sunday, March 1 
– 10 a.m., Reba Place Church
, Evanston, Ill.

Sunday, March 1– 7:30 p.m., Home Concert: College Mennonite Church, Goshen

The Goshen College Chamber Choir features the following members: (Soprano) Vanessa Hershberger, Akron, Pa.; Sae Jin Lee, Elkhart, Ind.; Ellen McCrae, Lakewood, Colo.; Jenni Miller, Goshen; Melissa Plucinski, Mundelein, Ill.; Carrie Rivera, Nappanee, Ind.; Emily Swora, Shoreview, Minn.; Leah Yoder, Salem, Ore.; (Alto) Grace Eidmann, Antioch, Ill.; Charity Grimes, Goshen; Caitlin Helmuth, Harrisonburg, Va.; Dara Joy Jaworowicz, Kentwood, Mich.; Jill Kauffman, Goshen; Joanna Landis, Akron, Pa.; Karla Santiago, Lancaster, Pa.; Anna Showalter, Waynesboro, Pa.; (Tenor) Andy Brubaker, Goshen; Joe Friesen, Goshen; Ben Hoover, Reading, Pa.; Russell Horst, Dillon, Mont.; Andrew Gunden Landis, Goshen; Dirk Miller, Wellman, Iowa; Nathan Swartzendruber, Kalona, Iowa; Joshua Tyson, Harrisonburg, Va.; (Bass) Steven Cress, Lima, Ohio; James Green, Goshen; Sae Chan Lee, Elkhart, Ind.; Jake Miller, Goshen; Lane Miller, Danvers, Ill.; Jesse Shaver, Seattle, Wash.; Allen Shenk, Findlay, Ohio; and Greg Yoder, Perkasie, Pa.

Brubaker oversees the choral and opera theater programs, serves as department co-chair and teaches church music and music education courses. She holds a doctorate of musical arts from the University of Kansas, a master's degree of music from the University of Northern Colorado and a bachelor's degree from Goshen College. Brubaker has taught as assistant professor of music at Bluffton (Ohio) University, and in public schools in Indiana and Colorado. In addition to touring many parts of the United States and Canada, Brubaker's choirs are in demand regionally, having performed with the Toledo Symphony, Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra and South Bend Symphony. She and her choirs have worked and performed with such noted conductors as Vance George, Alice Parker, Donald Neuen and Gregg Smith.

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.