Three Goshen College alumni featured in Bach Festival’s “St. John Passion”

GOSHEN, Ind. — At the pinnacle of Goshen College’s Bach Festival performance of “St. John Passion,” Goshen College alumni will lead and sing in feature roles during this telling of the story of Passion Week events, as recorded in John’s Gospel.

The “St. John Passion” will be performed by members of Apollo’s Fire, Goshen College choirs and guest soloists on April 4, though it is sold out, and April 6 at 2:30 p.m. in the Goshen College Music Center Sauder Concert Hall.

The “St. John Passion” will be guest conducted by Vance George, director of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus and 1955 graduate of Goshen College. George is recognized internationally as one of America’s leading choral conductors. Now in his 20th season with the San Francisco Symphony Chorus (SFSC), under his direction the group has been hailed as one of the finest symphony choruses in the world. George has accepted three Grammy awards and one Emmy award on behalf of the Chorus and Orchestra.

George’s work embodies the legacy of great American choral maestros and mentors several of whom he has known as protégé and colleague, particularly Robert Shaw, Julius Herford, Margaret Hillis, Robert Page and Otto Werner-Mueller. The unique range of musical styles, knowledge of languages, mastery of vocal colors and synthesis of the choral-orchestral tradition that he brings to his work and to the SFSC has been consistently lauded by critics, conductors and audiences. He is highly regarded as a teacher of conducting and has presented master classes and workshops throughout the United States.

George has taught in the United States, Canada and India. In 1997 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Musical Arts by Kent State University and in 1999 Chorus America presented him with a Lifetime Achievement Award. He has served on the Board of Chorus America and the choral panel for the National Endowment of the Arts.

Timothy Stalter, 1985 graduate of Goshen College, is director of choral activities at the University of Iowa and will sing the role of the Evangelist in “St. John Passion.” He is widely known for his performances as the Evangelist in the “Passions” by Bach and Heinrich Schütz.

Stalter conducts Iowa’s premier choral ensemble, Kantorei, and summer opera, in addition to teaching graduate-level advanced conducting courses and administrating the graduate program in choral conducting. Prior to taking the post at Iowa, Stalter was assistant director of choral activities at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and director of choral activities at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. He served as assistant professor of music at Goshen College in the late ’80s, until 1992.

Stalter received his doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in choral conducting under Robert Fountain after completing a master’s degree in choral music from the University of Illinois-Urbana under Don Moses.

In addition to conducting and teaching choral music, Stalter is active as a tenor soloist in the United States and abroad, specializing in music of the Renaissance, Baroque and Classical periods. Among his credits are appearances as tenor soloist with the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, the North Carolina Symphony, the Robert Shaw Festival Singers and Robert Shaw Chamber Choir, the Classical Music Seminar and Festival in Eisenstadt, Austria, and the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival. In July 1999, he was tenor soloist in Haydn’s “Creation” for the International Cathedral Music Festival in Oxford and London, England. Stalter has also recorded as soloist with Robert Shaw on two compact discs (“Amazing Grace” and “Songs of Angels”) released on the Telarc label.

Rebecca Martin, alto soloist, was born in Saigon, Vietnam, and grew up in Allentown, Pa. She returns to Goshen College for her second guest appearance since her graduation in 1988 as music major.

Martin moved to Munich to continue her vocal study with Julia Faulkner (Bayerische Staatsoper Munich), Hanna Ludwig (Salzburg), and Karin Mitzscherling (Dresden). From 1991 to 1994, Martin was a member of the Chorus of the “Bayerische Rundfunk” and established herself as a soloist in the oratorio repertoire.

From 1995 to 1999, Martin was a member of the solo-ensemble of the Anhaltisches Theater in Dessau, singing many roles. For her outstanding debut as Angelina in Rossini’s “La Cenerentola” (“Cinderella”), she received a critic’s nomination for the 1998 young artist of the year in the German opera magazine “Opernwelt.”

Martin has appeared at Chicago’s Grant Park Music Festival, the Leipzig Thomaner Boys’ Choir, and she has been a frequent soloist with the Windsbach Boys’ Choir, with whom she has made several recordings. She has recently performed Bach’s “B-minor Mass” in Moscow, Russia and Palermo, Italy, with conductor Rudolf Barschai.

Since 1999, Martin has been a member of the solo-ensemble of the Nürnberg Opera. The current season includes two new Mozart roles, Donna Elvira (“Don Giovanni”) and Dorabella (“Cosi fan tutte”). In March 2001, Martin made her debut at Munich’s “Gärtnerplatz Theater” with Rossini’s “Cenerentola” and she continues to sing there as a regular guest.

Professor of Music Doyle Preheim said, “It is gratifying to see music graduates of Goshen College thrive in teaching and performing careers. Rebecca Martin and Tim Stalter have distinguished themselves as great musicians achieving great things in their chosen fields of endeavor.”

Other guest soloists for “St. John Passion”: the part of Christ will be sung by Steven Swanson, professor of voice at the University of Iowa; Narelle Yeo, soprano, Kevin Gibbs, tenor, and Chad Runyan, bass, are all accomplished soloists from the San Francisco area.



Sauder Concert Hall is accessible to wheelchairs and people with other physical limitations.

Tickets for “St. John Passion” cost $28, $22 and $10. For tickets, call Jo Ann Preheim in the Welcome Center at (574) 535-7566 or e-mail joannp@goshen.edu.

Editors: For information, contact Jodi Hochstedler at jodih@goshen.edu or (574) 535-7572.