There are new Goshen College music faculty members on campus this year, and there are returning music faculty members in new positions. Making plans to attend the Goshen College Music Gala Friday at 7:30 p.m. could be the best bit of scheduling you do for yourself this week.
The Music Gala is the perfect opportunity to get acquainted with the new and returning music faculty, and to support GC students who participate in ensembles. Attend the Music Gala and you will sample the musical talent brewing within the walls of Brembreck, Zook, Rieth and Sauder halls, as well as in practice rooms this semester.
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the definition of a gala is "a festive celebration; especially: a public entertainment marking a special occasion," or (definition number two), "a medium-sized apple with crisp yellowish-white sweet flesh and a red skin or a golden skin with red striping." Although we are certainly fueling our way into autumn, which naturally invokes images of orchards and cider-making, Friday's Music Gala fits better under the definition of a special performance.
GC music students and faculty will perform pieces they have been rehearsing since the semester began. Deb Brubaker, conductor of chamber and women's choirs, described the Music Gala as "our first ‘showcase' performance that involves most of the student ensembles on campus," and said that the gala "comes early in the year, and motivates us to learn music and reach performance level quickly."
Not only is this particular Music Gala the first concert of the year, it is also a first-ever GC concert for faculty newcomer Scott Williamson. Williamson will be conducting the chorale, men's choir, the combined orchestra and chorale for one selection, and he and his wife Amy Cofield Williamson, will perform a slice of "La Bohème" by Puccini. The GC orchestra, conducted by Brian Mast, will accompany the pair on the Puccini selections.
Scott offered his thoughts on the upcoming gala: "The Puccini excerpts contain some of the most beautiful and sensuous music ever penned for the stage, as the characters literally sing their hearts out to each other." In addition to the Puccini pieces,
Williamson said, "The Brahms work the chorale is doing is among his most moving and personal works, and is a fascinating example of a composer applying technical means to achieve very expressive ends."
There is plenty for the picking at the Music Gala, a beautiful bundle of musical selections performed by GC students, and not so much a bushel of ripened Galas. Come enjoy the sweetness, nonetheless: the GC Music Department is in season.
