Professor and friends to present musical celebration for the Christmas season, Dec. 8

Goshen College Afternoon Sabbatical: Christmas Companions
Date and Time: Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009 at 1 p.m.
Location: Sauder Concert Hall, Goshen College Music Center
Cost: free and open to the public

GOSHEN, Ind. – Goshen College Associate Professor of Music Beverly Lapp and friends will offer a musical celebration of the Christmas season on Tuesday, Dec. 8 at 1 p.m. in Goshen College Music Center's Sauder Concert Hall, as part of the Afternoon Sabbatical Series.

Composers and arrangers from a variety of times and places have found the message and spirit of Christmas to be a rich source of musical inspiration. Lapp will perform solo piano settings of several carols; each carol will also be presented in an additional setting – duets with Community School of the Arts Piano Program Director Anna Bauer and Goshen College violin professor Solomia Soroka, a faculty vocal quartet and a student cello quartet.

"The musical styles will range from classical to contemporary, from contemplative to playful. The settings bring out the particular beauty of each instrument and have been a great joy to prepare," Lapp said.

"I will also reflect briefly on the history of the original tune and text, why it has remained popular or captured recent interest, and what features the different settings illuminate," said Lapp, who is working on a doctor of education in music degree from Columbia University Teachers College. She has a master's in piano performance from Westminster Choir College of Rider University and an undergraduate degree from Goshen College

Future programs in the Afternoon Sabbatical series:

Dec. 19 – Christmas Bus trip to Chicago to see "In the Heights." Cost: $120. FULL

Feb. 9 – "Love in a Variety of Forms," with Goshen College Chamber Choir with Professor of Music Debra Brubaker, 1 p.m., Sauder Concert Hall.

March 9 – "Making Cents of Energy," with Vice President of McCormick Motors Gordon Moore and Goshen College Sustainability Coordinator and Utilities Manger Glenn Gilbert, 1 p.m., Sauder Concert Hall.

Goshen College's Afternoon Sabbatical program is in its 32^nd year of offering rich diversity in programs for the community. A committee of area representatives and college personnel consider the knowledge and talent at Goshen College and among Elkhart County citizens and aim to select programs that will appeal to a wide variety of interests. The program encourages the idea that people need a sabbatical from their daily lives to rejuvenate their minds and spirits.

Afternoon Sabbatical programs are usually on the second Tuesday of the month at 1 p.m. in Sauder Concert Hall or the College Church Fellowship Hall and are free and open to the public. For more information on the Afternoon Sabbatical series call the Goshen College Welcome Center at (574) 535-7566.

-By Julie Weirich

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.