A Hesston Thanksgiving tradition, the Hesston College Music Department will present its annual masterworks concert at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 26, at Hesston Mennonite Church on the Hesston College campus. The performance will feature The Creation, a Classical period oratorio by Austrian composer Joseph Haydn.
The oratorio, under the direction of Hesston College music faculty member Dr. Russell Adrian, tells the Genesis story and features soloists Holly Swartzendruber, soprano, Matthew Schloneger, tenor, and Doyle Preheim, bass, as well as an 85-voice chorus comprised of Hesston College’s vocal ensembles Bel Canto Singers and Chorale and community members. An orchestra, including members of the Hesston College Chamber Orchestra as well as local musicians, rounds out the performance.
Tickets for the 75-minute concert are $10 for adults, $5 for students, and can be purchased at the door or in advance at the Hesston College Bookstore by calling 620-327-8104.
Adrian will give a pre-concert talk about the piece at 6:45 p.m., along with special guests, Hesston College President Howard Keim and Michele Hershberger, Bible Department Chair.
The Creation, was written late in Haydn’s life, between 1796 and 1798, following trips to London where he was introduced to, and inspired by, the performances of Handel oratorios – notably Israel in Egypt and Messiah. The grand scale of his writing is evident, as the soloists, chorus and orchestra each play an important role in the dramatic narration of the story. Written in three parts, the soprano, tenor and bass soloists take on the roles of three angels – Gabriel, Uriel and Raphael. The chorus functions as a multitude of angels that supports and recaps the narration of the main characters, and highlights each day of creation.
The soloists all have extensive music and performance backgrounds.
Holly Swartzendruber, D.M.A., (Hillsboro, Kan.) is an adjunct voice instructor at Hesston College and Tabor College (Hillsboro). She also works as coordinator of music in worship at First Mennonite Church in Hillsboro. Swartzendruber has performed a number of operatic roles including Lucia from Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia, Susanna from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, and the soprano solos for Handel’s Messiah and Brahms’ Requiem among others.
Matthew Schloneger, Ph.D., (Newton, Kan.) is on the Hesston College music faculty teaching private voice. He is an active performer in opera and oratorio. In summer 2015, he served Wichita Grand Opera as chorus master and faculty for the opera’s Opera Academy of the Midwest. Schloneger has also performed principal roles with Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Operafestival di Roma, Wichita Grand Opera, Opera Kansas, Whitewater Opera, Song Opera, Opera for the Young, Opera Theatre of Lucca and others.
Doyle Preheim, D.M.A., (Santa Fe, N.M.), is professor emeritus of music at Goshen (Ind.) College where he taught music for 30 years. Preheim earned his undergraduate degree locally at Bethel College (North Newton). He has performed as a bass soloist for many oratorios and operas, including Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Mozart’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, and the Mozart roles of Don Giovanni, Guglielmo and the Count, as well as Marcello in Puccini’s La Boheme.
Director, Dr. Russell Adrian, is in his first year of teaching at Hesston College. He holds an undergraduate degree from Bethel College (North Newton), a master of music degree in choral conducting from the University of Wisconsin (Madison) and a doctor of musical arts degree in conducting from the University of Minnesota (Minneapolis).
