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National Sacred Honor Choir Performs at Carnegie Hall

As students returned back from break last weekend, one group of students did not look rested, though perhaps some of them looked rejuvenated.  College Choir spent this past spring break riding in a tour bus and performing in churches from Pennsylvania to Virginia and back.  From gospel music flash-mobs in King of Prussia Mall to Carnegie Hall, the College Choir generally was described as a rewarding experience by participants.

“Overall I felt that this tour was one where the choir connected the most with both each other and the music,” said senior Heather Todd, afterward, this being her third tour with College Choir.  “Our group devotional times became incredibly personal and through sharing of our connections to the text it brought us closer as a group.”  The sense of community by working and sharing together was not limited to music and spiritual growth, however.

Courtesy of media.npr.org
Courtesy of media.npr.org

According to graduate assistant Kelly Van Kirk, “Choir members stepped up, above and way beyond the call of duty all throughout tour.”  One particular situation arose in Philadelphia, PA where the choir was singing at 10th Presbyterian Church.  After some an afternoon of free time in the city, the choir went to the church to unload the trailer with equipment and risers and rest.  “Dr. Johnson had mentioned a mandatory nap time and we were super excited!”  said Todd.  But the van with the trailer broke down a mile from the church, stranded with all of the equipment.  Van Kirk described the experience, “I had to ask people who were short on sleep, had been wandering the city and were expecting a time of rest to skip that rest and carry hundreds of pounds of robes and risers a mile to the church.  I felt terrible, but right away a group jumped up and said, ‘We’ll go.’ I was shocked.”  A member of the group added, “A couple people would trade off every couple of blocks and we managed to get everything back in time for the concert.”  “No one complained for the rest of tour,” said Todd. “We met the worst it could be and we got through it together!”

The climax of the tour was the performance on Sunday afternoon at Carnegie Hall strengthened by the National Sacred Honor Choir.  There were rehearsals for several days before the performance with the group of Christian college students, community members, and students at private Christian schools from the greater New York City area.  Beyond the weekend of preparation and fellowship, the performance itself was agreed to be a memorable experience.  “The hall was amazing!” said graduate student Elizabeth Martindale.  “You could say something, hear it bounce off the wall behind you, go out over the audience and come back from the balconies.”  Despite being a Sunday afternoon, the hall was fairly full, according to Van Kirk.  “I was worried because of the time and day, but there were almost 2,000 people in the audience.”  … “I received really meaningful comments, from the high school students especially,” said Van Kirk who was in charge of most of the New York weekend.  “I think we accomplished our goal of showing the younger singers what a joy it can be to make music for God in this kind of way.”

The College Choir’s home concert is Friday at 7:30 PM in the Wesley Chapel.

 

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National Sacred Honor Choir Prepares for Upcoming Tour

The majority of music majors were out of town for pre-tour concerts in Buffalo and Syracuse this weekend, leaving the music buildings dark and empty. “A musician learns with each performance that which cannot be taught in rehearsal,” says Dr. Brandon Johnson, director of choral activities and recent recipient of the Horne-Blanchard chair here at Houghton. These performances before the “real” tour serve as a check-up for the choir to see what work still needs to be done.

This year the College Choir will be touring from the 27th of February to the 9th of March through the mid-Atlantic states, performing in states along the east coast from NY to Virginia, ending with the concert in Carnegie Hall.

College_Choir“It is part of our mission to share the Good News with people,” said Dr. Johnson. “It is not enough for us to create beautiful music; we also need to share it.”

Most of the performances on tour are in churches with a few concert halls dotting the schedule. Every year the choir receives multiple letters from attendees telling of how the music touched them. “On an educational side,” said Johnson, “we learn the beautiful nuances of the repertoire that can only be achieved through the heightened awareness of performance.” Before each concert, the choir gathers and discusses any new meanings revealed in pieces by the audience’s response or the way certain voices blended to give emphasis to a different word or phrase, lending a new perspective to music the choir has been working on for months.

The flagship performance for this tour is of course the concert in Carnegie Hall. “It’s huge for our visibility as a school,” said 2nd year graduate student Christopher Olsen, choir manager. “Houghton faculty have performed in the small-halls in Carnegie before, but this may be the first time the Houghton name has been in the main hall.”

The College Choir will be joined at Carnegie Hall by members of the Men’s and Women’s Choir, singers from Roberts Wesleyan, a chamber choir from Liberty University, in addition to choirs from several Christian high schools for the performance, together making up the National Sacred Honor Choir. The ensemble, comprising well over 200 people, will rehearse for four days in at Hawthorne Gospel church in northern New Jersey, spending nights at a nearby Salvation Army camp.

Graduate student Kelly Vankirk, coordinator of the National Sacred Honor Choir, spoke with me about her involvement. “It is extremely busy, but it’s a huge honor to be singing such great, spiritually rich music in prestigious hall. We are bringing together Christian choirs from all over the northeast, some from even farther away. One of the goals of our time together is to help the younger singers, and ourselves, to see the context of faith and music together.”

Because of the Carnegie concert, several music professors other than Dr. Johnson will be traveling with the choir and will be giving masters’ classes for groups of advanced high school students before several concerts.This type of teaching serves to advertise for the college’s programs and has been done to a limited extent on past tours, but never to the extent reached this year with Professors Davies, Hijleh, Hutchings, and Newbrough all traveling with the choir.

 

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New Endowed Chair of Music

Today, February 14, 2014, Houghton will celebrate the endowment of the Horne-Blanchard Chair in Music. This is the first fully endowed chair in Houghton’s 131 year history.

MusicChair_CMYKWhat is an endowed chair? Linda Mills Woolsey, Vice-President of Academic Affairs, explained that by way of funding an endowed chair, “donors have an opportunity to give a gift that will underwrite the salary of a professor” which will establish a perpetual chair of instruction in addition to relieving the college budget. In addition to providing for a faculty member’s salary, “the fund also provides for an extra fund that the professor can use for projects, whether that is their own research or collaborative research with students.”

While Houghton has many partially endowed chairs (such as the Hoselton Chair in Business and Economics, the Moreland Chair in Biology, and the Van Gorden Chair in Communications and Writing) the Horne-Blanchard Chair is the first one that is fully endowed. According to Rick Melson, it takes approximately $1.5 million to fund an endowed chair. The Blanchards have been contributing to this endowment since 1987, when David Blanchard was a member of the Board of Trustees, but the fund had only come to maturity this past fall semester.

The donors, David and Allene Blanchard have been invested in Houghton since Allene Blanchard (nee Horne) matriculated here in 1954. Allene Blanchard, a graduate of 1957 with a degree in applied piano, expressed her own experience as a student here. “I was privileged to have highly qualified instructors in piano and music at Houghton. The value of this teaching and coaching was worth far more than it cost me. It was made affordable for me by the sacrificial service of staff and faculty at Houghton and by financial support from several individuals.” By providing the funding for the Horne-Blanchard chair, Allene Blanchard hopes that it will be a vehicle “to attract first-class talent to Houghton College and to subsidize the cost of this academic pursuit for talented students.”

David and Allene Blanchard have been heavily involved in the business of the college in the years since Allene Blanchard’s graduation. From 1987-2003 (excepting a one-year leave of absence), David Blanchard was a member of the Board of Trustees and served for eight years as the Chair of the Finance Committee and for several years as Chair of the Willard J. Houghton Foundation. As part of his work with the latter organization, David Blanchard was instrumental in developing the Inn at Houghton Creek and bringing in the Subway franchise near the townhouses. In addition, while he was a member of the board, David Blanchard was also “asked to Chair a Capital Campaign. In this campaign, Wilson Greatbatch endowed the School of Music and Masters in Music programs with $15M and we raised a total of about $30M in the Campaign.”

Regarding the endowment, Allene Blanchard said, “”To God be the Glory, that He has enabled us to be able to pass on to others some of His magnanimous Blessings to us.” David Blanchard echoed her statements saying, “We both firmly believe the admonition of Paul in II Corinthians 9: 6-7: ‘Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each person should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.’”

The recipient of the chair is Brandon Johnson, associate professor of vocal music and conducting and director of choral activities, and was chosen particularly for the number and quality of projects that he has been undertaking over the years. Johnson is a tenured faculty member who has been teaching at Houghton for 11 years and has been instrumental in expanding choral activities at Houghton, according to Stephen Plate, director of the Greatbatch School of Music.

Plate “couldn’t be prouder to have the first endowed chair at the Greatbatch School.” Plate also expressed the he was proud to have Johnson as the recipient. “Brandon Johnson represents everything right and he has a great vision for building choral music,” said Plate. Plate concluded by remarking on “what a phenomenal thing this is for this school.”

 

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Stories In Focus

Behind the Scenes of Prism

The Houghton College website says, “The 2013 Christmas Prism, Savior of the Nations Come!, is an artistic exploration of the joy of Christmas manifest through music, dance, visual art, and poetry.” Although the show itself is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the performers, hundreds of hours of effort go into the production before any performer takes the stage.

PrismPhyllis Gaerte, Director of Community Relations, opened the conversation by joking that she has had so many interviews with the Star this year that she should be well prepared for any questions. As a part of the Department of Community Relations, which organizes all the public and signature events for the college, being a target for interviews is quite understandable.

Although not a part of the onstage performances, Gaerte plays an integral part. She said, “For Prism, this means giving a birds-eye view of the whole Prism event…Outside of the performance itself and what the music department needs to do to make sure that is the quality is what it should be, community relations is responsible for all the other aspects of Prism.”

The Community Relations Department works closely with the Marketing Department on promotion, handling box office issues, providing ushers at events, organizing the upscale dinner for over 200 people–including finding decor and planning a menu in conjunction with Sodexo–that precedes the performance, and developing the budget alongside other administrative offices.

John Buteyn also gives much of his time to making Prism the astounding display it is. He is both the designer and engineer of the lighting at the performances not just in Houghton, but also in Rochester and Buffalo. Additionally, Buteyn will be assisting with the live sound and recording for each performance, and in order to organize everything, he begins his work months in advance.

This year, Buteyn said that the budget was used to purchase lighting gear, instead of merely renting it. Although this is believed to be a better use of the budget, there is now much less lighting gear available than in the past. To create a visual experience on par with previous years will be quite a challenge. Buteyn joked, “I think I’m up for it.”

Buteyn describes other challenges such as older venues in Rochester and Buffalo that sometimes aren’t equipped to handle Prism’s power demand, where he “can’t tell you how many breakers I’ve tripped…Last year, I even stationed a student worker at the breaker box for the entire performance just in case.” Challenges allow an opportunity to improve though. Such as switching to LED lighting to reduce the power required. He said, “There is always something to learn, each year, at each performance, at each venue…  I better understand the layout, architecture, and natural beauty of the venues to highlight with the lighting design.”

It is not without a humorous side though. “Let’s just say, when all the techs are working on very little sleep and very few calories, laughter keeps us going.  Well, laughter and caffeine,” Buteyn joked.

Gaerte sums up Prism by telling a story from Houghton’s first year in Buffalo. This young woman came out to the ticket table with both her mother and grandmother: three generations of people familiar with the church. “Her words to me were: ‘This church seems to be dying, but it came to life tonight.'”

 

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Houghton-Backed Vocal Group to Give Performance at Carnegie Hall

Members of the Houghton College choirs will be embarking on a trip this spring to perform on the same stage that esteemed musicians such as the New York Philharmonic and The Beatles have graced over the years.

choircloseupcolor3x2jpgLed by Dr. Brandon Johnson, The National Sacred Honor Choir is an ensemble of Christian musicians wishing to spread their faith through music. The choir is made up of both past and present students, faculty, and staff, as well as other professionals and vocalists from around the globe, with Canada, China, Morocco, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe represented among other countries. Accompanied by a skilled orchestra and including performances from professional soloists, the group will perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

“There is no more venerated hall in the world than Carnegie and launching this new national initiative at such a celebrated place as Carnegie is both an honor and a sacred trust,” Dr. Stephen Plate, Dean and Director of the Greatbatch School of Music, said. “All the music performed will be done to the glory of the Lord by people who join their God-given talents in honor of the God who is the giver of every good and perfect gift.”

In order to practice for the performance, students involved in this opportunity are required to take a great deal of time out of their schedules: approximately seven and a half hours every week just for choir rehearsals. Participation is by invitation or through audition only. Although Johnson and other faculty members have stopped at several Christian institutions on the east coast for auditions, the majority of student auditioners typically send in a letter of recommendation from a voice instructor which outlines their capabilities. Olivia Roland, a sophomore vocal performance major and soloist for the National Sacred Honor Choir, stressed the amount of work and detail that the choir is putting forth to ensure a spectacular performance this spring. “College choir meets every day for an hour and a half or so,” Roland stated, “Rehearsals are extremely rigorous. It’s hard work, but in the end, it will be so worth it.” Performers not only must integrate their voices with others’ in the group but also work on pronunciation, as the majority of the pieces are written in Latin.

Johnson emphasized that the point of the concert was not simply to perform a set of pieces and showcase the ensemble’s vocal abilities. “There are a lot of great musicians in the world and a lot of opportunities to make really great music, but I wanted to explore the ideas behind whether or not it mattered that we’re Christian, whether it mattered in our music-making, not just in an internal way, but in an external way.” Collin Price, a sophomore vocal music education major and member of the ensemble, also expressed the choir’s first and foremost priority as delivering the message of God through music to Christians and non-Christians alike. “I’ve learned that it’s not always what’s written on the page that matters,” Price said, “It’s how you convey the music and what it means to those listening.”

The audience can expect to hear three works during the choir’s performance: Mozart’s “Requiem”, Beethoven’s “Choral Fantasy”, and a new contemporary piece, “Cantate Domino,” by Houghton music professor Dr. David Davies. “It promises to be an emotional and powerful performance,” Plate ensured.

The National Sacred Honor Choir will meet together in New Jersey to rehearse for three days prior to their inaugural performance at Carnegie Hall on March 9, 2014.

 

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Arts

Philharmonia Performance

On Wednesday April 24 at 8 p.m., the Houghton Philharmonia will be performing their final concert of the semester entitled, “Everything Old is New Again.” The performance will include three pieces: “Concerto for Horn” by Reinhold Gliere (conducted by graduate student Ethan Hall), “Ancient Airs and Dances, Suite No. 3 for Strings” by Ottorino Respighi, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5.

In choosing the music selections for this concert, conductor Dr. Mark Hijleh tried to look for something that would challenge the orchestra as well as be manageable in relation to the group’s skill level. All the pieces exhibit an ongoing and established repertoire of strong and dynamic music making. Each piece was important to its time, which led to the concert title.

Courtesy of Facebook.com
Courtesy of Facebook.com

The members of Philharmonia and their conductor have been hard at work practicing these pieces throughout the semester. Hijleh took over the orchestra this spring. Hijleh said that he has attempted “to create a space where each person could make their best contribution in creating an overall sound.”

In preparation for this concert, Philharmonia faced some challenges, such as performing each piece with a unique sound. The sound is dictated by the time period in which each piece was produced and those stylistic additions that would epitomize the distinctiveness of the work.

The length of each piece also demands a certain rigor of each of the musicians, with the longest piece spanning about 30 minutes. This puts even more emphasis on working together to create a unified sound. A certain mental and physical endurance is necessary to perform these pieces.

Sophomore Brandon Bennet, music education major, is the principal second violin. He has been participating in Philharmonia since the fall semester of his freshman year when he was the officer for the freshman class. Now as section leader, Bennet carries the greater responsibility of helping to motivate and push his section.

In preparing for the upcoming concert, he said that the piece by Beethoven “presented many challenges for the entire orchestra.”  As a result, Bennet said that Dr. Hijleh has been committed to “moving forward and not becoming stagnant” as an orchestra.

Bennet had recently seen Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 performed by Rochester’s Philharmonic orchestra.  Bennet said he is very “honored to be playing the same piece as an orchestra that is held in such high respect”.

Senior Isabel Sanders will be given the privilege this concert of being a student soloist in the piece “Concerto for Horn.”  She was provided this opportunity through a competition that was held last semester by the music department.

In her solo, Sanders said that a specific difficulty has been the memorization of her piece.   Although she is familiar with the music since she played it for her junior recital last year, this will be the first time in which she will play the piece from memory. With this in mind, Sanders said that she is excited for the chance to play a piece that she knows well and loves. Sanders also said that she hopes that those who come to listen to the concert feel moved by the music that the members of Philharmonia have dedicated so much of their time to this semester.

Sanders said that the most rewarding part of the performance will be “hearing the orchestra behind me, supporting me, [giving] me encouragement and inspiration to play better.”