AVDS conference motivates nonviolent action
Bible and Ministry
General
How do followers of Jesus Christ pursue nonviolence in a world full of violence? That was the question explored by the 170 participants at Hesston College’s Anabaptist Vision and Discipleship Series weekend Feb. 13 to 15.
The weekend’s theme, “Overcoming Evil: Ordinary People Making a Difference,” featured Father John Dear, a peace activist and 2008 and 2015 Nobel Peace Prize nominee.
Dear emphasized nonviolence as the “vision of the heart that sees every human being as your brother and sister.” Dear, an active peacemaker himself, shared stories of the numerous times he publicly acted for nonviolence, including more than 75 arrests for acts of civil disobedience.
“In a country and world filled with evil, the conference provided an opportunity for participants to name their fears and seek tangible ways to fulfill Christ’s command to love our enemies and return love for hate,” said organizer Dallas Stutzman, director of Alumni and Church Relations. “This is the only response that will actually change life’s difficult circumstances, both in our neighborhoods or across the globe in international conflicts.”
Participants were invited to take action towards nonviolence in several ways, including writing letters to elected officials and/or local media outlets and taking a Vow of Nonviolence.
“The invitation is to be nonviolent to ourselves, to all others and creation, and to be part of the global movement of nonviolence,” said Dear. “This is an on-going journey towards the fullness of life, where every outcome can be healing and transformative.”
Breakout sessions gave participants the chance to hear about peace in different contexts and a variety of backgrounds and faith traditions. Among the breakout presenters was David Works, author of Gone in a Heartbeat, which chronicles his and his wife’s journey to finding forgiveness in the tragedy of losing their two teenage daughters to a gunman’s attack on their Colorado Springs Church. Jason Boone (Raleigh, North Car.), coordinating minister for the Peace and Justice Support Network (PJSN) of Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Network, presented on helping returning veterans from the wounds of war. Hesston College Mennonite John Murray joined Sohaib Mohiuddin (Wichita, Kan.), a member of the Islamic Society of Wichita, for reflection on how interfaith efforts can make a difference. Michelle Armster (North Newton, Kan.), transitional executive director of Mennonite Central Committee Central States, raised the question of what justice looks like. Mary Herr (Hesston, Kan.), co-founder of The Hermitage Retreat Community (Three Rivers, Mich.) led a time of silent reflection.
Hesston College faculty members Ken Rodgers and Tony Brown led worship in the Taizé tradition, a style created by a monastic community in Taizé, France. Participants were guided through a service of scripture reading, music, and times of silence and reflection.
Ted Swartz and Tim Ruebke of Ted & Company TheaterWorks (Harrisonburg, Va.) presented the satirical drama I’d Like to Buy an Enemy Feb. 14. The drama spoke of peace, conflict resolution and justice in a world focused on military presence.
The weekend conference doubled as the Intercollegiate Peace Fellowship meeting with 51 participants from Hesston College, Bethel College (North Newton, Kan.), Bluffton (Ohio University and Goshen (Ind.) College.
“Returning to Hesston College for the AVDS conference was a rejuvenating and gratifying experience,” said Timothy Bixler, Indianapolis, a 2013 Hesston graduate and Goshen (Ind.) College Student. “John Dear’s stimulating call towards an active approach to peacemaking is one that will hopefully remain forever embedded within the hearts and minds of the citizens of God’s eternal kingdom.”
Golfers invited to Arizona for sixth annual National Golf Benefit for Student Scholarships
General
Golfers and non-golfers alike are invited to participate in Hesston College’s sixth annual National Golf Benefit for Student Scholarships. Golfers can enjoy a break from the winter cold and golf in the four-person scramble at 12:30 p.m., Saturday, March 28 at The 500 Club in Glendale, Ariz. Non-golfers are invited to join the fun by purchasing raffle tickets for exciting prizes valued at more than $20,000.
Proceeds from the benefit go to the Hesston College Student Scholarship Fund, which provides financial aid in the form of institutional scholarships and grants. Each year, Hesston College awards more than $2.5 million in student tuition assistance.
Steve Yoder, a Phoenix businessman and benefit organizer, has collected an impressive selection of raffle items. Raffle tickets can be purchased for $5 a piece. Tickets for non-golfers must be purchased by March 27. You do not have to be present to win. Raffle prizes include:
- Two-day training at Bob Bondurant School of Driving (Chandler Ariz.). Training is based on the High Performance Driving Platform and gets you behind the wheel of the 460hp Corvette Z51 C7 Stingray for timed autocross, lead and follow, accident avoidance scenarios, skid car time and other maneuvers.
- Set of new golf clubs and bag
- Arizona Coyotes (professional ice hockey) 12-seat suite for April 4 game vs. San Jose Sharks
- Construction package consisting of a bag of cordless Dewalt power tools, including an Impact drill, Sawzall and flashlight
- Sonoran Desert Hot Air Balloon ride and full catered breakfast for two
- Coffee basket
- Date night package, including two tickets to the Aug. 29, performance of the musical “Wicked” at Arizona State University’s (Tempe) Gammage Auditorium and a $100 gift card to P.F. Chang’s for dinner before the show
- Picture/fine art package to have a favorite picture enlarged and printed on canvas or photo paper and mounted in a custom frame
- Kennedy Space Center Astronaut Training Experience (Florida), including a four-night stay and airfare for two
- Sports Pro Package including a baseball signed by Hank Aaron, Pittsburg Steeler’s football helmet signed by Terry Bradshaw, Arizona Coyotes jersey signed by the team and a Phoenix Suns signed Eric Bledsoe jersey
Registration to golf is $125 for single entries or $450 for a four-person team. The entry fee includes a golf cart with GPS, access to the driving range, a sleeve of golf balls, two drink tickets, the barbecue meal and door prizes.
Hole sponsorships are available for $250 and green sponsorships are available for $400.
See more information online and register. Contact Sheri Esau with questions at 620-327-8147 or sheri.esau@hesston.edu.
Friendship leads to collaborative concert
Music
Three college choirs – Hesston College Bel Canto Singers, Doane College Choir (Crete, Neb.) and McPherson (Kan.) College Choir will present a collaborative concert at 7 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 21 at Whitestone Mennonite Church in Hesston. The concert is free and open to the public.
The special concert is part of Doane’s annual tour, and the 50-member choir under the direction of Dr. Kurt Runestad, will be featured for about half of the concert. The Hesston College and McPherson College choirs will perform individually as well, and the concert will conclude with two numbers by the combined singers.
The connection between Hesston College and Doane College stems from the friendship of Runestad and Bradley Kauffman, Bel Canto Singers’ conductor, that began while they were graduate students at the University of Iowa (Iowa City). Dr. Joshua Norris, director of the McPherson College Choir, was a colleague of Runestad’s in Nebraska. Close proximity of Hesston and McPherson made a collaboration between all three college’s possible.
This will not be the first meeting of the Hesston and Doane choirs. A year ago, the Bel Canto Singers visited the Doane campus while on tour where they enjoyed an exchange with Runestad’s choir.
While no explicit theme can be named for the concert, Kauffman notes the bond of friendship present.
“Implicitly, for me, it is about friendship and the power of music to connect people and forge friendship,” said Kauffman. “I look forward to offering a warm Hesston welcome to both of these great choirs.”
General
Music
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chairman Jane Chu announced today that Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts (HBPA) is one of only 163 nonprofit organizations nationwide to receive an NEA Challenge America grant. HBPA is recommended for a $10,000 grant to support a presentation of male a-cappella vocal ensemble The King’s Singers.
The renowned vocal sextet will perform at Hesston College’s Yost Center on Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m. The King’s Singers will also present a choral master class from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., Feb. 23, at Hesston Mennonite Church on the Hesston College campus. The class will feature performances by the Hesston College Bel Canto Singers, the Bethel College (North Newton, Kan.) Concert Choir and the Goessel (Kan.) High School Elbiata Singers. The master class is free and open to the public.
NEA Chairman Jane Chu said, “I’m pleased to be able to share the news of our support through Challenge America including the award to Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts. The arts foster value, connection,creativity and innovation for the American people and these recommended grants demonstrate those attributes and affirm that the arts are part of our everyday lives.”
“We are so thrilled to have the support of the NEA for this project,” said HBPA Director Matthew Schloneger. “It is only with the combination of public and private support that we are able to bring world renowned artists such as the King’s Singers to rural Kansas. The master class in particular is only possible because of the grant, and will provide a unique opportunity for a large number of students to work directly with some of the finest choral artists in the world.”
The Challenge America category supports projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability. The NEA received 347 eligible Challenge America applications and will award 163 grants for a total of $1.63 million.
For a complete listing of projects recommended for Challenge America support, please visit the NEA website at arts.gov. Follow the conversation about this and other NEA‐funded projects on Twitter at #NEAFall2014.
Ticket prices for the King’s Singers range from $23 to $27 with discounts available for students and senior citizens; call 620-327-8158 or visit the Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts website for more information.
The Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts Series, now in its 33rd year, is a collaborative effort of Hesston College and Bethel College (North Newton, Kan.) presenting five performances by world-renowned or regionally acclaimed artists each year.
AVDS conference to explore becoming people of nonviolence
Bible and Ministry
General
Hesston College’s Anabaptist Vision and Discipleship Series conference, Feb. 13 to 15, will focus on the theme “Overcoming Evil: Ordinary People Making a Difference.” Participants will explore ways to overcome evil with good in the face of the contemporary violence and conflicts in places such as Ferguson, Mo., or the Middle East.
The event will feature keynote speaker Father John Dear, peace activist and 2015 Nobel Peace Prize nominee. In addition to Father Dear, the conference includes presentations by people from a variety of backgrounds and faith traditions.
Dave Works, together with his wife Marie, authored Gone in a Heartbeat, the story of the loss of their daughters in a shooting at the Colorado Springs New Life Church in 2007 and the forgiveness that followed. Works’ session is entitled “Finding forgiveness in the face of family tragedy.”
Mary Herr will present a session entitled “Reflections on Achieving Internal Nonviolence.” Herr, and her husband founded The Hermitage, a spiritual retreat center in Three Rivers, Mich., in the 1980s. The Hermitage seeks to provide a place to escape day-to-day routines and focus on God.
Sohaib Mohiuddin, a radiologist at Kansas University Medical Center (Wichita, Kan.), comes to Hesston to present “A Muslim Perspective on International Faith Relations.” President of the Muslim Students’ Association of Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond) during the years after 9/11, Mohiuddin worked to set stereotypes and theological differences aside for a better humanity. Mohiuddin was awarded the Howard R. Swearer National Humanitarian Award for his work at VCU, where he graduated with a degree in medicine.
Michelle Armster is transitional executive director at Mennonite Central Committee Central States (North Newton, Kan.) and will present a session on justice in difficult situations. Armster graduated from Lancaster (Pa.) Theological Seminary and has completed Eastern Mennonite University’s (Harrisonburg, Va.) Conflict Transformation graduate certification program. She has served in conflict resolution and peace building at MCC and pastored at Blossom Hill Mennonite Church (Lancaster).
Ted & Company TheatreWorks will present I’d like to buy an Enemy at 7 p.m., Feb. 14 at Hesston Mennonite Church. The drama speaks of peace, conflict resolution and justice in a world focused on military presence.
Ted Swartz, founder of Ted & Company TheatreWorks, is a seminary graduate, actor, writer and author of over a dozen plays. Swartz will present the play with partner Tim Ruebke, who offers conflict resolution experience. General admission is $12 at the door and free for AVDS participants.
AVDS registration is $100 per person or $35 for members of sponsoring congregations. For questions and more information, see AVDS online or call 866-437-7866.
General
Levi Zook stopped in his tracks when Tony Brown greeted him in Pennsylvania Dutch on a train bound for Albuquerque.
Zook, an Amish man from New Holland, Pa., likely never expected to hear the language spoken predominately in Amish communities so far from home and from a black man. Brown, an African-American Mennonite from Hesston, Kan., quickly revealed that the two men share religious historical Anabaptist ties. Though the simple greeting exhausted the extent of Brown’s Pennsylvania Dutch, it led to a friendship and sharing of worlds – that of the Amish, Mennonite and African-American cultures.
After Zook recovered from his initial surprise, the men struck up a conversation about their lives. Brown shared about his work as a sociology instructor and artist in residence at Hesston College, as well as his travels around the world as an internationally recognized baritone and peace advocate. He then told Zook about his friend Dwight Roth’s historical fiction book “Kinship Concealed: Amish Mennonite and African-American Family Connections,” co-authored with Sharon Cranford, that documents the historical multi-racial lineage of 18th century Amish brothers John and Jacob Mast.
The conversation piqued Zook’s interest, and he contacted Roth to purchase a copy of “Kinship Concealed,” which further fed his curiosity of enslaved Africans’ experience. Brown and Zook stayed in touch through phone calls, and knowing Brown often shares the African slave experience through spirituals, Zook invited him to present to his congregation sometime when Brown traveled to Pennsylvania. While on a trip representing Hesston College, Brown made time to accept Zook’s invitation, accompanied by Dallas Stutzman, Hesston College Director of Church Relations.
In October, about a year after their initial meeting, Brown was in Zook’s bishop’s home to share about the experiences of enslaved Africans with about 30 Amish people from the district congregation. The presentation was a meaningful growth experience for both groups.
“I was honored to be invited to share the African slave history in a culture that doesn’t generally open themselves to the outside,” said Brown.
Brown shared historical information and further illustrated the slave experience by singing spirituals. He also emphasized that both the enslaved Africans and the Amish have a common, binding link – an ancestry of suffering. In return, the Amish crowd sang two songs in low German.
Brown says many of the stories and experiences of African slaves are not well known to the Amish, which is reflective of their separateness and culture. But Brown wanted his presentation to be more than a history lesson. He wanted to emphasize that regardless of experiences, everyone can connect around a common humanity.
“The time I spent with these Amish friends was meaningful to me, and I was pleased when Levi commented that it was a night everyone would remember,” said Brown.
Brown has dedicated his life to education and building bridges across social and cultural divides. He connects with countless Hesston College students and meets with political and religious leaders in countries around the world as a peace advocate through music. He also travels for Hesston College with the “Common Threads” program, which he performs with Hesston history instructor John Sharp, that shows the intersection of stories of Anabaptist martyrs and African-American racial suffering. His one-man show “I Go On Singing: Paul Robeson’s Life in His Words and Songs,” is an original tribute to the popular African-American performer, and civil rights activist.
Though he has interacted with Amish people in the past, the experience allowed for relationships to form across barriers and for those present to learn from one another.
“Whenever I can get into a world not my own and make a profound connection, I’m blessed,” said Brown.
Editor’s note: In order to respect the privacy and convictions of the Amish congregation, no photos were taken during Brown’s visit.
General
Dean’s List freshmen
Molly Bruner – Wauseon, Ohio
Johanna Burkholder – Warden, Wash.
Erika Byler – Shipshewana, Ind.
Morgan Coffman – Vassar, Kan.
Desiree Corona – Newton, Kan.
Adrienne Derstine – Harleysville, Pa.
Rachel Esch – Newton, Kan.
Jessica Fahrenthold – Solomon, Kan.
Alyssa Graber – Wolford, N.D.
RaeLee Hightower – Tulsa, Okla.
Hannah Hostetter – Harrisonburg, Va.
Catherine Kauffman – Goshen, Ind.
Emily Kauffman – Archbold, Ohio
Brittany Kramer – Melvern, Kan.
Elliott Liechty – Harrisonburg, Va.
Rince Longo Kabondo – Commune de Ngaliema, Democratic Republic of Congo
Anna Martin – Harleysville, Pa.
Shelby Miller – Archbold, Ohio
Natsuki Mizutani – Yokkaichi-shi, Japan
Abigail Musser – Newport News, Va.
Bryce Nitzsche – Lincoln, Neb.
Lorren Oesch – Caldwell, Idaho
Caleb Schrock-Hurst – Harrisonburg, Va.
Rachel Shenk – Waynesboro, Va.
Andry Stutzman – Harrisonburg, Va.
Christina Swartzendruber – Shickley, Neb.
Dirk Troth – Mound City, Kan.
Laurensia Vertika – Banyuwangi, Indonesia
Irena Xhari – Lezhe, Albania
Alison Zuercher – Phoenix, Ariz.
Dean’s List sophomores
Rachelle Adrian – Mountain Lake, Minn.
Megan Baumgartner – Hesston, Kan.
Victoria Becker – Halstead, Kan.
Eric Cender – Valparaiso, Ind.
Oliver Denlinger – Denver, Pa.
Maria Diener – Meridian, Miss.
Christina Hershey – Mechanicsburg, Pa.
Alex Hiebert – Buhler, Kan.
Sarah Hostetler – Pleasant Dale, Neb.
Quinn Kathrineberg – Salina, Kan.
Kaylah Kauffman – Hutchinson, Kan.
Zachory Kirkham – Valley Center, Kan.
Victoria Kropf – Monroe, Ore.
Makayla Ladwig – Wichita, Kan.
Matthew Lind – Harrisonburg, Va.
Karli Mast – Hubbard, Ore.
Cody Miller – Wellman, Iowa
John Miller – Partridge, Kan.
Linda Miller – Hutchinson, Kan.
Holly Peters – Hesston, Kan.
Laken Richer – New Paris, Ind.
Yuu Sakaguchi – Kanagawa-ken, Japan
Rachel Short-Miller – Bellingham, Wash.
Kendal Slabach-Brubaker – Harrisonburg, Va.
Bethany Snow – Park City, Kan.
Jordan Waidelich – Stryker, Ohio
Courtney Wengerd – Goshen, Ind.
Jasmin Yoder – Sweet Home, Ore.
Nathan Yoder – Stryker, Ohio
Rose Yoder – Bellefontaine, Ohio
Honor Roll freshmen
Alaina Beatty – Washington, Iowa Andrew Berry – Mulvane, Kan.
Laura Blosser – Hesston, Kan.
Kiara Boettger – Harrisonburg, Va.
Jaymee Bowers – Goshen, Ind.
Austin Braddock – Baldwin City, Kan.
Brandon Clay – Oklahoma City, Okla.
Erin Coffman – Vassar, Kan.
Nicole de Jesus-Roetlin – Kalona, Iowa
Parker Eberly – Narvon, Pa.
Miyu Fukuda – Hokkaido, Japan
Caleb Geary – Scottsbluff, Neb.
Jared Hague – Marion, Kan.
Kaho Hamada – Tokyo, Japan
Chinatsu Hanada – Saitakama-ken, Japan
Brooke Hershberger – Goshen, Ind.
Lydia Holland – Russell, Kan.
Hidehiro Kaminaga – Tokyo, Japan
Hiroki Kaneuchi – Tokyo, Japan
Michael Kilmer – Glendale, Ariz.
Keegan LeFevre – Hesston, Kan.
Luis Marinez Veloz – Santo Domingo, Domincan Republic
Nicholas McCoy – Lee’s Summit, Mo.
Eleya Raim – Oxford, Iowa
Caroline Riggenbach – Lafayette, Ind.
Emma Roth – Goshen, Ind.
Beth Schurz – Phillipsburg, Kan.
Meredith Spicher – Belleville, Pa.
Sarah Stephens – Wichita, Kan.
Yuki Torii – Nishio-shi, Japan
Lorae Weaver – Goshen, Ind.
Hannah Wheeler – Hesston, Kan.
Gabriela Willis – Rusk, Texas
Amanuel Wondimu – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Honor Roll sophomores
Mary Bender – Harrisonburg, Va.
Sydni Carter – Muskogee, Okla.
Victoria Craw – Goshen, Ind.
Isaac Dahl – Archbold, Ohio
Ryan Dungan – Kechi, Kan.
Hannah Fenton – Hesston, Kan.
JoNee Friesen – Moundridge, Kan.
Nathaniel Gingerich – Goshen, Ind.
Austin Herold – Rose Hill, Kan.
Rachel Jantzi – Hendersonville, N.C.
Deborah Kanolongo Tshidimu – Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo
Alpha Mavungu Kivuvu – Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo
Austin Mitchell – Plano, Texas
Zile Ncube – Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
Samantha Rimann – Liberty Hill, Texas
Benjamin Rush – Quakertown, Pa.
Masayo Satoh – Niigata-ken, Japan
Savannah Sizer – Littleton, Colo.
Aimee Stein – Hesston, Kan.
Anni Tapkida – Abuja, Nigeria
Grant Walker – North Newton, Kan.
Elisabeth Wilder – Hesston, Kan.
Nicholas Yoder – Wellman, Iowa
Steven Yoder – McVeytown, Pa.
Taylor Zehr – Key West, Fla.
Photo release - Anabaptist history comes to life at Know Jesus
Bible and Ministry
General
Hesston College history instructor John Sharp illustrates a story of early Anabaptist martyrs with help from middle school participants during the Know Jesus event Jan. 31 to Feb. 1.
About 200 middle school students from 16 South Central and Western District conference congregations in Kansas participated in the weekend held on the Hesston College campus. The event focused on teaching students about the Anabaptist heritage. Along with Sharp, other speakers were Hesston College psychology and youth ministry instructor Kevin Wilder and Ron Moyo, Saturday night worship pastor at Whitestone Mennonite Church (Hesston) and a Hesston College Pastoral Ministries graduate. A group from Tabor Mennonite Church (Goessel) served as the worship band.
Student attendees and their sponsors participated in a campus-wide scavenger hunt hosted by Admissions, and interacted with college students during late night activities hosted by Student Life. A highlight of the weekend was the Anabaptist Game, put on by the Hesston College Bible and Ministry Department. The game simulates persecution experiences of early Anabaptists. Attendee Elizabeth Esch said, “I appreciated how they interpreted the stories and made them real for us.”
Photo by Desiree Corona.
The King’s Singers to present the Great American Songbook
General
Music
After a wildly successful 2014 tour, The King’s Singers return to North America this February to treat audiences once again to their Great American Songbook program. The renowned vocal sextet returns to Hesston College’s Yost Center for their seventh appearance on the Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts Series on Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m. Ticket prices range from $23 to $27 with discounts available for students and seniors; call 620-327-8158 or visit the Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts website for more information.
Thanks to grant funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, The King’s Singers will present a choral master class from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., Feb. 23, at Hesston Mennonite Church on the Hesston College campus. The class will feature performances by the Hesston College Bel Canto Singers, the Bethel College (North Newton, Kan.) Concert Choir and the Goessel (Kan.) High School Elbiata Singers. The master class is free and open to the public.
The Great American Songbook program offers up sunny, sophisticated versions of their favorite tunes by Rodgers & Hart, Cole Porter and Irving Berlin, arranged by the fast rising British jazz composer and bassist Alexander L’Estrange. Derived from their 2014 record of the same name, the tunes evoke nostalgia for a golden age of American musical culture. After a performance of this program last spring, the Richmond Times-Dispatch wrote, “Each arrangement was simply breathtaking, especially when performed by such an outstanding ensemble. They may be cheeky Brits, but they show real love and appreciation for these American classics.”
For baritone Christopher Gabbitas, these songs, written during a golden era of American songwriting (mostly for stage and screen), belong in the same category as German lieder or Frenchchansons.
“These songs were written by classically-trained composers and they endure because of their exceptional integrity,” says Gabbitas. “The beautifully crafted nature of these songs make them classics already. They have the weight of history and form a journey through the emergence of a nation through its pop culture.”
Considering the depth and breadth of the source material, song selection for this program was no easy task. The final list features 17 well-known tunes, songs that the Singers “utterly loved.” They are heard in stunning new arrangements by the fast rising British jazz composer and bassist Alexander L’Estrange. L’Estrange’s harmonically colorful re-workings of these standards maintain the integrity of the source material while reflecting The King’s Singers hallmark blend and wit. The result is a recording where the ensemble is able to luxuriate in the emotional harmonies of When I Fall in Love as well as bring their distinctly British sense of humor to a daffy rendition of Let’s Misbehave.
The group recruited a pair of a cappella gurus, Bill Hare (The Voice, Street Corner Symphony) and Danny Ozment (NBC’s The Sing Off) to create one of the group’s most ambitious and innovative programs to date. After bringing the songs up to performance standard together, each piece was then deconstructed and recorded part-by-part, resulting in a sparkling, modern sound that offers a 21st-century counterpoint to The King’s Singers first mannered recordings of other American standards in the 1970s on top-selling albums such as Swing and Out of the Blue. A second bonus disc offers yet another twist on the material with orchestral versions of eight tracks, recorded with the South Jutland Symphony Orchestra and featuring orchestrations by Jonathan Rathbone. The result of these fruitful collaborations is an immensely satisfying and joyful program and recording that makes us feel as if we are rediscovering this truly great music again for the first time.
Acclaimed for their life-affirming virtuosity and irresistible charm, The King’s Singers are in global demand. Their work – synonymous with the best in vocal ensemble performance – appeals to a vast international audience. They perform over 120 concerts each year, touring regularly to Europe, the United States, Asia and Australasia. The King’s Singers are admired for their musical excellence and recognized as consummate entertainers – a class act with a delightfully British sense of humor. Their generous spirit and magical ability to move audiences have remained constant since the group’s foundation in 1968.
They have premiered more than 200 new works, including landmark compositions by Luciano Berio, György Ligeti, James MacMillan, Krzysztof Penderecki, Toru Takemitsu, John Tavener and Eric Whitacre, and commissioned thrilling arrangements of everything from jazz standards to pop chart hits.
The King’s Singers are double Grammy® award-winning artists, honored in 2009 for their Signum Classics release, Simple Gifts, and again in 2012 for their contribution to Eric Whitacre’s Light & Gold album on Decca. In June 2013 they were chosen as one of only two vocal ensembles to enter the Gramophone Hall of Fame, honored for their unique discography of over 150 albums.
Highlights of the group’s 2014-15 season include: two performances in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, a Christmas performance in Washington National Cathedral; a visit to the Grand Philharmonic Hall of St. Petersburg; an invitation to perform at the American Choral Directors Association annual conference in Salt Lake City, where they will give the world premiere of a new work by Jake Heggie, and their second residential Summer School in the UK.
The HBPA King’s Singers concert is supported in part with a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) – a federal agency – and KMUW – Wichita Public Radio, which is a media sponsor for this event. The HBPA series is funded in part by the cities of Hesston and North Newton, Excel Industries and Hustler Turf Equipment (Hesston), the Hesston Community Foundation, the North Newton Community Foundation, Hesston AmericInn and other area business and patrons. HBPA also receives support from the NEA and Mid-America Arts Alliance, with additional support from the NEA, foundations, corporations and individuals throughout Kansas, Arkansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas.
The Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts Series, now in its 33rd year, is a collaborative effort of Hesston College and Bethel College (North Newton) presenting five performances by world-renowned or regionally acclaimed artists each year.
by Caroline Heaney, Bucklesweet Media and Rachel McMaster, Hesston College