In the News

“Still, Small Voice” music and theatre performance to portray the gentle side of Christmas

Hesston College will celebrate the Christmas season with a performance combining music and theatre in “Still, Small Voice,” at 7 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 7 at Hesston Mennonite Church. The performance is free and open to the public.

“‘Still, Small Voice’ is meant to remind us to stop and be intentional in enjoying the serenity and beauty of the birth of Christ,” said Rachel Jantzi, theatre professor. “The program will capture a gentler side of Christmas, reflecting that first night at the manger, and an alternative to the busy, noisy rush that often surrounds the holidays.”

Poetry, prose and other reflections performed by Hesston College theatre students will reflect the quiet and calm of the nativity and be echoed by music of the same sentiment. Hesston College choirs, under the direction of Russell Adrian, will perform the music.

“Yes, there was a heavenly host, travelers from afar and word spreading about a new King,” said Jantzi. “At the heart of it all, though, there were young parents and a newborn baby boy, tucked away from the clamor.”

The program’s repertoire will include a diverse selection of music and theatrical styles as well as well-loved traditional Christmas pieces and storytelling.

A study of biblical prophets and Revelation available for community members

Community members interested in ministry, church leaders and anyone with a general interest in the Bible are invited to join the Hesston College Prophets and Revelation course for the spring 2020 semester.

Taught by Bible and Ministry professor Michele Hershberger, the class meets on Monday night from 6 to 7:45 p.m.. The first class of the semester will meet Monday, Jan. 20 and the last class of the semester will be May 4.

The curriculum is focused on readings and discussions of scripture from the books of Jeremiah and Revelation. Participants are also allowed and even encouraged to bring their supper to the class time.

“The class functions as a symposium,” said Hershberger. “We eat supper and discuss the pertinent issues that rise from the assigned Bible readings and other books. We choose what is important to talk about, and many conversations go deep. There is an element of surprise to each session.”

Participants will learn the cultural and historical background of the prophets and the book of Revelation, how to read prophetic and apocalyptic genre and identify literary cues for interpretation to glean preaching topics and enhance worship.

“The course can serve as a refresher for pastors and Sunday School teachers on the prophetic books and the book of Revelation, give new ideas for sermons and worship themes and be the start for a new vision in a ministry setting,” said Hershberger.

The audit rate for Prophets and Revelation is $240. Financial aid is not available.

Interested participants should register for the course by January 15 by completing the online community application.

Holiday performance to feature a returning HBPA favorite

A returning Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts (HBPA) group, The Swingles, will present the series’ annual holiday performance with their “Winter Tales” program at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 3, at Hesston Mennonite Church on the Hesston College campus.

The Swingles are HBPA’s only repeat performer in the 2019-20 season, first taking the series stage for the 2015-16 season. The concert is being sponsored by KMUW – Wichita Public Radio and KHCC – Radio Kansas.

Hailing from London, the ever evolving Swingles have pushed the boundaries of vocal music for more than 50 years, and the seven young singers that make up today’s group are driven by the same innovative spirit that has resulted in five Grammy® wins since the 1960s.

“The vocal and choral world has changed considerably in the last 50 years…But The Swingles have managed to hold on to their distinctive niche and continue to thrive,” said a Chicago Sun-Times review.

The Swingles were born in 1963 when American-born Ward Swingle assembled a group of Parisian singers to sing Bach’s keyboard music. The resulting album, “Jazz Sebastian Bach,” launched the group to fame.

Over the last half century, the group’s repertoire has expanded to include music across the spectrum – both covers and original songs. They have released more than 50 recordings and appeared on numerous film and TV soundtracks, including Glee, Grey’s Anatomy, Sex and the City, and Milk.

Their “Winter Tales” program mixes selections from their year-round repertoire with seasonal specialties, including gorgeous and surprising arrangements of traditional carols, winter-themed originals and nostalgic classics.

The Guardian praised the group’s versatility, saying, “Stunning reinventions of songs by the likes of John Martyn, Elbow and Mumford & Sons, with subtle beatboxing and audacious harmonies…superhero singing to truly raise goosebumps.”

That versatility has led to collaborations with artists as diverse as the Modern Jazz Quartet, Jamie Cullum and Labrinth. Luciano Berio was one of the first composers to explore the sound of The Swingles’ amplified voices in an orchestral setting, and the group continues to perform his groundbreaking “Sinfonia” around the world.

In addition to a busy touring schedule, the groups present their own London A Cappella Festival at Kings Palace each January in partnership with Ikon Arts Management. The festival is the first of its kind in the city, and welcomes the finest vocal talent from around the world.

Single tickets for The Swingles are available starting at $25, with discounts available for senior citizens and students. Tickets can be purchased online, by calling 620-327-8104 or in person at the Hesston College Bookstore or Bethel College Thresher Shop during regular business hours.

The next HBPA performance will feature The Queen’s Cartoonists on Feb. 7.

Started in 1982 as Hesston Performing Arts, the series expanded in 1998 when Hesston College joined forces with Bethel College for The Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts series. The series presents five performances by world-renowned or regionally acclaimed artists each year. HBPA is funded in part by the cities of Hesston and North Newton, Excel Industries and Hustler Turf Equipment (Hesston), the North Newton Community Foundation, the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, and an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Area businesses and patrons provide additional funding for the HBPA series.

Keyboard Festival will feature Baroque music from performers across age ranges

Piano and organ students ranging from elementary- to college-age will learn from accomplished musicians and compete in Hesston College’s second keyboard festival and competition on Saturday, Nov. 23.

In celebration of great composers like Handel, Vivaldi and Bach, the festival will focus on the Baroque period of music that ranged from the early 1600s to about 1750.

“Hesston College has strong organ and keyboard faculty; especially our Baroque keyboard instrument study is wonderful,” said Dr. Mei Li, adjunct piano instructor. “This festival gives us a chance to invite world-class organists and pianists as guest artists, and to give keyboard students from the state an opportunity to learn from them.”

Participants will compete by age division in a morning competition, interwoven with workshop presentations. In the afternoon, faculty and guest performers will hold masterclasses.

At 3:45 p.m., division finalists will perform a recital, which will determine age division winners. The public is welcome to attend the finalists recital in Hesston Mennonite Church on the Hesston College campus.

Keyboardists resourcing the event include guest artist, Dr. Steven Spooner, as well as Hesston College faculty members Dr. Li, and Ken Rodgers, M.A.

Dr. Spooner, who serves on the piano faculty at the University of Kansas (Lawrence), is hailed among the forefront of American pianists. Passionately devoted to the solo recital as a platform for innovation, he has performed often at venues such as the Salle Cortot in Paris, the Shanghai Concert Hall, Budapest’s Great Hall of the Liszt Academy, and New York’s Carnegie Hall.

Dr. Li began studying piano as a five-year-old in China with the renowned Chinese piano pedagogue, Zhaoyi Dan. After earning a bachelor’s degree in piano performance from Sichuan Conservatory of Music and working as a teaching assistant for Professor Dan, Li came to the U.S. in 2006 with a full scholarship to study at Northern Illinois University (DeKalb), earning a performance certificate and master’s degree in piano performance. She earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Kansas, under the tutelage of Dr. Spooner.

Rodgers teaches organ at Hesston College, and has accompanied Hesston choirs on bi-annual European tours since the late 1980s, as well as performed recitals throughout Germany and the United States. Rodgers earned a master’s degree in church music from the University of Kansas. In addition to teaching, he has performed frequently as a collaborative pianist for former internationally-acclaimed baritone Anthony Brown throughout the world. Rodgers is also a founding member of the Sunflower Trio, which features piano/organ, violin and tenor voice.

Masterworks concert weaves music, story and art in a program for all ages

Hesston College choirs will be joined by vocalists from the community and professional orchestra for Hesston College’s annual masterworks performance on Saturday, November 16 at Hesston Mennonite Church. The 2019 concert features “Song of Wisdom” from Old Turtle, a choral and orchestra setting that combines narration and music.

A family program especially suited to children will be from 4:15 to 5 p.m., and the full program will be at 7 p.m. Admission is free. A free-will offering will be collected to help offset program costs.

Based on the children’s book by Douglas Wood (1992), “Song of Wisdom” combines narration and music as it illustrates a story of a disagreement between God’s creation about the nature of God. Mountains, rivers, stars, ants, lions and bears break into argument until the wise Old Turtle brings a new perspective, stating, “God is all that we dream of, and all that we seek…all that we come from and all that we can find.”

Once humans inhabit the earth, they also begin quarreling and lose sight of God. It is then up to all of creation to show them God’s presence.

The musical telling of the story will be paired with story narration by Hesston College faculty emeritus Jim Yoder and illustrations by artist Cheng-Khee Chee from the original book projected in on-screen accompaniment.

In addition to the “Song of Wisdom” feature, the evening concert will include Handel’s Organ Concerto in B-Flat Major performed with orchestra and Hesston music professor Ken Rodgers on the organ. The finale includes the audience singing the hymn “O Day of Peace” to the tune of “Jerusalem” by Sir Charles Hubert Parry with the orchestration by Edward Elgar, made famous from the closing ceremony of the BBC Proms.

Andover Organ Series opens fourth season with French organist

Hesston College is pleased to announce the opening concert of the Andover Organ Series fourth season on Monday, Nov. 11, at 7 p.m. at Hesston Mennonite Church. French organist Pierre Queval will perform the recital. The concert is free and open to the public.

The Andover Organ Series features concerts by organists from around the world on the Opus 116 Andover pipe organ, built by the Andover Organ Company of Methuen, Mass., at Hesston Mennonite Church. The company builds and restores mechanical action pipe organs, and since its founding in 1948, has restored more than 500 organs across the United States, as well as building new instruments

Queval was the first organist in the Andover Organ Series when it began in 2016, and is the first return of an organist for the series.

Queval will perform music by Schumann, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Widor, Alain, and Vierne. He will conclude the evening with an improvisation. A reception and a chance for audience members to interact with Mr. Quevall will follow the concert.

Born in the region of Nantes, Queval is a recent graduate of the master’s program at the Conservatoire de Paris where he was an organ student of Michel Bouvard and Olivier Latry. He studied improvisation with Thierry Escaich, Laszlo Fassang, Philippe Léfèbvre and Jean-François Zygel. His undergraduate degree is in improvisation as well.

Since 2014, Queval has been the “Organiste Titulaire” of the Cavaillé-Coll/Haerpfer-Ermann organ at Saint-Ignace in Paris, and since 2007 the assistant organist of the historical Debierre organ at Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Port in Nantes. He regularly performs recitals across France and in Paris at churches including Notre-Dame, Saint-Eustache, La Trinité, Saint-Sulpice and Saint-Séverin.

Queval is also the founder of the Meigma Trio with the flautist Charlotte Berthomé and violonist Mathilde Gandar, and the Orpezzo Ensemble with the mezzo Anne-Claire Couchourel and trumpeter Vincent Mitterrand. He is the organ teacher at the Conservatory of Laon, Soissons and Gagny (France).

Famous Bib Lit course going online for a wider audience

Starting with the spring 2020 semester on January 15, Hesston College will take another step to make its well-known Biblical Literature course accessible to people outside of Hesston College with a sixteen-week online course offering.

With the college’s recent announcement of taking Bib Lit, as it is commonly known, on the road to congregations and other groups with Weekend College, online Bib Lit will be a deeper dive into the curriculum that reveals the Bible as a narrative of God and the people of God instead of a compilation of stories.

“Online Bib Lit will allow students in the course to get the full Bib Lit curriculum and learning,” said Michele Hershberger, Bible and Ministry professor. “It’s for people who want the immersive Bib Lit experience and, perhaps, a new way of understanding the biblical narrative and their own faith journey.”

Hershberger, who has nearly 20 years of experience teaching Bib Lit, and who is co-author of the courses’ textbook The Bible as Story: An Introduction to Biblical Literature, designed the online course and has taught Bib Lit online in the past. Bible professor Nick Ladd will teach the spring 2020 online course. Ladd is a 2014 Hesston College Pastoral Ministries graduate who has been teaching at Hesston since 2018.

Throughout the course, students will wrestle with three major themes: Bible study that includes the original contexts, biblical interpretation and the biblical narrative as a connected story. Students will explore cultural, historical and literary contexts of the Bible stories as they work together to complete an inductive Bible study. Students in the course who live locally will be welcome to do the in-class inductive on campus, offering a bit of a hybrid learning option, while students at a distance will connect remotely.

“Students will discuss ways to work through the ‘problem’ of the Bible seeming to disagree with itself on key ethical issues,” said Hershberger. “Most of the class will reveal how individual Bible stories connect with each other and how they work together to show God working to heal broken relationships through a Shalom people of God.”

Online Bib Lit can be taken for credit for $1,200 or audited for $240. Financial aid is not available.

Interested participants should register for the course by January 8. Non-degree seeking students can enroll by completing the community application online. Degree-seeking students should complete the regular application process online.

Larks to thank supporters with night of free basketball games and entertainment

The local community and alumni of Hesston College are invited to the newly renovated Yost Center on Friday, Nov. 15, for Alumni/Community Basketball Night, a free event featuring varsity basketball games, entertainment and fun for the whole family.

The Lark women will take on North Platte Community College at 6 p.m., followed by the men versus Redlands Community College at 8 p.m.

The evening will be filled with games, prizes, snacks, entertainment and an opportunity to see the new and updated facilities first hand.

“Alumni/Community Night allows us to thank alumni and the wider community for all the ways they are involved with and support the college,” said Dallas Stutzman, director of Alumni and Church Relations. “It’s a way Hesston College can give back. This year, it’s also an opportunity for the community to see the result of the construction that has been underway on the building for the last nine months or so.”

In addition to the basketball games, the lineup for the evening includes free haircuts by CC’s Family Hair, the Hesston High School pep band and halftime entertainment.

High school students are invited to a devotional time led by men’s basketball coach Dustin Galyon at halftime of the women’s game in the Yost Center Team Room. Devotional participants should RSVP to brandy.quinn@hesston.edu by Wednesday, Nov. 13.

A smooth and stylish sound set to take HBPA stage with all female group

Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts (HBPA) will host the “warm, lithe and beautifully blended” sound (New York Times) of the all female a cappella group Lorelei Ensemble at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 7 at Hesston Mennonite Church on the Hesston College campus.

With bold programming and expertise spanning early to contemporary music, Lorelei is sure to please fans of HBPA favorites like The King’s Singers and Chanticleer. With accolades such as “impeccable musicality” (Boston Globe) and “elegance, power, grace and beauty of the human voice” (Boston Music Intelligencer), the group has earned national praise for inventive programs that showcase the extraordinary flexibility and virtuosity of the human voice.

The Boston-based, nine-woman vocal chamber group is driven by a mission to advance and elevate women’s vocal ensembles and to enrich the repertoire through forward-thinking and co-creative collaboration. With inspiring artistic vision, Lorelei is compiling culturally relevant and artistically audacious programs that stretch and challenge expectations of both artists and audience.

All nine of the vocalists who make up the group are professionals whose independent soloist careers lend to the group’s rich and diverse palette.

During its HBPA visit, Lorelei will host a master class with choirs from Bethel College, Hesston College and Goessel High School.

Since its founding in 2007, Lorelei Ensemble has commissioned and previewed more than 50 new works. The group also has an extensive list of collaborations, including with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and has performed on famed stages across the country such as Carnegie Hall and the Metropolitan Art Museum.

Single tickets for Lorelei Ensemble are available starting at $23, with discounts available for senior citizens and students. Tickets can be purchased online, by calling 620-327-8104 or in person at the Hesston College Bookstore or Bethel College Thresher Shop during regular business hours.

The next HBPA performance will feature The Swingles with a Christmas performance on Dec. 3.

Started in 1982 as Hesston Performing Arts, the series expanded in 1998 when Hesston College joined forces with Bethel College for The Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts series. The series presents five performances by world-renowned or regionally acclaimed artists each year. HBPA is funded in part by the cities of Hesston and North Newton, Excel Industries and Hustler Turf Equipment (Hesston), the North Newton Community Foundation, the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, and an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Area businesses and patrons provide additional funding for the HBPA series.