A choral masterwork by Antonio Vivaldi, an off-Broadway musical theatre revue, and a Music Department concert are planned during Thanksgiving Weekend November 27-29 at Hesston College.
A 65-voice choir comprised of Hesston College students and community members will perform Vivaldi’s Gloria at 8 p.m. Thursday, November 27. The free masterworks concert will be presented in the sanctuary of Hesston Mennonite Church. An offering will be taken for the Student Emergency Fund.
Bradley Kauffman, music faculty member at the college, will direct the combined choir and a chamber orchestra made up of community members and Hesston College students.
“It is appropriate that we sing Vivaldi’s masterwork as we prepare for the season of Advent,” Kauffman said. “Vivaldi’s Gloria contains the song of the angels (hymnus angelicus), sung at Jesus’ nativity. It sounds a triumphant call to give glory to God. From there, it departs into prayer, confession, and supplication. It includes a profound prayer for healing, as appropriate today as when it was composed.”
The hour-long concert by the combined choir will also include several short works, including Beethoven’s “Hallelujah” from Mount of Olives.
The concert will also feature the organ in a performance of George F. Handel’s Organ Concerto in F, Op. 4, with music faculty member Ken Rodgers at the keyboard.
Meanwhile, the Hesston College Music Department will present “Secrets Every Smart Traveler Should Know” at 7 p .m. Friday and Saturday evenings (Nov. 28-29) during Thanksgiving Weekend. The 1997 off-Broadway hit is a musical comedy revue inspired by Wendy Perrin’s Secrets Every Smart Traveler Should Know (published by Fodor’s).
The show will be directed by Matt Schloneger, music faculty member, with choreography by sophomore Hannah Titus (Roland, Iowa). Music faculty member Ken Rodgers, piano, and sophomore Dustin Heppner (Salem, Ore.), double bass, will provide the orchestra for the show.
“Hesston College students come from all over the country and the world,” Schloneger said, “and Thanksgiving is traditionally the time that their families travel to visit those students here in Kansas. So these humorous travel stories will resonate well with all those travelers who are on campus for the weekend. It’s great fun, and we have an exceptionally talented group of singing actors on campus this year who I know will bring this show to life.”
The cast includes the following students: Rebecca Friesen, sophomore, Aurora, Neb.; Erin Hershberger, freshman, Hesston, Kan.; Kory Hiebert, sophomore, Goessel, Kan.; Emily Hornung, freshman, Osage City, Kan.; Kristen Horst, freshman, Orrville, Ohio; Sam Kauffman, freshman, Mountain Lake, Minn.; Ana Loucks, freshman, Hesston, Kan.; Ethan Mast, freshman, Dundee, Ohio; John N. Murray, freshman, Hesston, Kan;. Kaitlin Schmucker, sophomore, Sacramento, Calif.; Nathan Snyder, freshman, Fruita, Colo.; Carson Stutzman, sophomore, Beaver Crossing, Neb.; Mitch Stutzman, sophomore, Middlebury, Ind. Hannah Titus, sophomore, Roland, Iowa; and Lauren Zehr, sophomore, Wauseon, Ohio.
Rated PG, the show will run about 75 minutes.
Performances will be presented in the Studio Theater, Northlawn 109, at 7 p.m., Friday, November 28 and Saturday, November 29. Admission is $9 for adults; $7 for students, children, and seniors.
For reservations, call the Hesston College Bookstore at 620-327-8105 or purchase them on-line at www.hesstonbooks.com.
Tickets may also be purchased during the weekend at the bookstore, located in Erb Hall, or at the door. Seating is limited, so advance ticket purchase is highly recommended.
Finally, the Music Department will present a concert at 2:30 p.m. Friday, November 28 in the sanctuary of Hesston Mennonite Church. This free concert will feature the Hesston College Chorale, Bel Canto Singers, and the college’s Wind Ensemble.