Fall choir and orchestra concert to feature guest conductor Vance George, Oct. 27

Concert: Goshen College combined choirs and orchestra, featuring guest conductor Vance George
Date and time:7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2007
Location: Sauder Concert Hall, Goshen College Music Center
Cost: $7 adults, $5 seniors/students. GC students free with valid ID. Tickets only available at the door.

GOSHEN, Ind. – It isn’t every day that the San Francisco Symphony Chorus (SFSC) Director Emeritus directs the Goshen College choirs and orchestra.

On Saturday, Oct. 27 at 7:30 p.m. in the Music Center’s Sauder Concert Hall, Vance George returns to his alma mater to direct the combined choirs and orchestra in a performance of Brahms’ Nänie, Op. 82.

All four Goshen College choirs – Chamber Choir, Chorale, Men’s Chorus and Women’s World Music Choir – will perform individually and together with the Goshen College Orchestra. The program will feature the music of Johannes Brahms and Franz Schubert. The Chamber Choir and Women’s World Music Choir are directed by Professor of Music Debra Brubaker. The Chorale and Men’s Chorus are conducted by Assistant Professor of Music Scott Williamson. And the Orchestra is conducted by Interim Director Brian Mast.

George’s work embodies the legacy of the great American choral maestros and mentors he has known as protégé and colleague, especially Robert Shaw, Julius Herford, Margaret Hillis, Robert Page and Otto Werner-Mueller. His work with the San Francisco Symphony Chorus was consistently lauded by critics, conductors and (most importantly) audiences. A graduate of Goshen College and Indiana University, he has taught in the United States, Canada and India. Vance George is recognized internationally as one of America’s leading choral conductors. As Director Emeritus, the SFSC under his direction has been hailed as one of the finest symphony choruses in the world. George has accepted three Grammy awards on behalf of the Chorus and Orchestra, and they were awarded an Emmy in 2002 for Sweeny Todd in Concert. He has appeared with the Minneapolis, Spokane, Akron and Springfield symphonies, the Berkshire Choral Festival, and the Ventura Bach Festival.

Tickets for the concert can be purchased at the door and cost $7 for adults, $5 for seniors and students. Admission is free for GC students with valid ID.

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.