Stabat, men’s a cappella vocal ensemble, debuts at Goshen College April 18

GOSHEN, Ind. – They may not be the 12 apostles, but they are taking their message of song to the people.

A new 12-voice men’s a cappella vocal ensemble, Stabat, will make their official debut performance at Goshen College on April 18 at 7:30 p.m. in Rieth Recital Hall, Music Center. The concert is free and open to the public.

The group which includes nine current Goshen College students, as well as several recent college graduates who wanted to find out outlet for their love of singing, formed this year and has performed publicly several times previously, but never a full concert. Members of the group are Guy Hershberger (Fr., Union City, Pa.), Will Leichty (Soph., Wellman, Iowa), Andrew Fairfield (Soph., Bridgewater, Va.), Justin Heinz (Fr., Goshen, Ind.), Brooks Gingerich (Fr., Aurora, Ore.), Andrew Gingerich (Jr., Hubbard, Ore.), Julian Gingerich (Sr., Hubbard, Ore.), Philip Kendall (Sr., Greentown, Ind.), Dan Stutzman (Jr., Goshen, Ind.), Goshen College graduates Geoff Owens and Andre Swartley, and Eastern Mennonite University graduate Luke Mullet. Group member Brooks Gingerich said, “The group has a variety of different voices for a variety of different ranges.”

 

Stabat, which means “steadfast and standing firm” in Latin, performs sacred classicals, spirituals, folk songs, love songs and hymns, and sing in the tradition of male vocal ensembles which got their start in college, such as Cantus which began at St. Olaf College and Full Table which began at Eastern Mennonite University.

Though Stabat is not an official Goshen College choir, Associate Professor of Music Beverly Lapp said, “The music department is delighted at the quality of this group made up of current or former members of our choral ensembles. Stabat will make good use of the excellent acoustics in Rieth Recital Hall.”

Stabat has plans to tour next year and produce a recording, according to Brooks Gingerich. “We also plan on singing a lot next year and are really excited for that," he said. "This year we have spent many hours just polishing repertoire, so next year we will have more time to perform.” One of his primary reasons, actually, for coming to Goshen College was to start a men’s a ccapella group with his cousin Julian.

Goshen College, established in 1894, is a four-year 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,” Kaplan’s “Most Interesting Colleges” guide and U.S.News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit https://www.goshen.edu.

Editors: For more information, contact News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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