Because the outdoor location has no seating, audience members are encouraged to bring a chair, blanket and sweater to enjoy the evening of song. In the event of rain, the concert will take place in Dimnent Memorial Chapel.

The public is invited. Admission is free.

__________________

Join the Hope College Choirs for an evening of vocal music centered on the theme of hope! The concert will feature the Chapel Choir, SPERA, and College Chorus as well as vocalists and instrumentalists from the Hope College Music Department. 

Celebrating Hope in Song explores a variety of musical traditions from the Shaker hymn settings of William Hawley and Stephen Paulus to the Spiritual arrangements of Moses Hogan. Newer voices include Moira Smiley’s American folk-styled songs and Reena Esmail’s fusion of Hindustani and Western Classical genres. All of the composers on the program share a common message of peace, belonging, and unity, encouraging us to look toward the future with hope. 

The Chapel Choir is an advanced ensemble of 37 members. The ensemble seeks to study advanced choral repertoire, and is open to all students by audition. The College Chorus is a 42-member ensemble that collaborates with Chapel Choir in Vespers, and is open to members of the Hope College faculty and staff, as well as the Holland community. SPERA is an auditioned 32-member ensemble for treble voice created in 2020. SPERA actively engages with the greater choral community as well as here at Hope College.

Peter Kadeli (Visiting Director of Choral Activities) and Pam Pierson (Director of SPERA) will lead the choirs in collaboration with faculty and student performers from the Music Department.

Peter Kadeli is a dynamic conductor and composer passionate about impacting individuals and communities through engaging musical programming. He brings equal creativity and skill to leading vocal and instrumental ensembles as well as bringing new works to life. Kadeli recently served in a variety of roles at Indiana University assisting with the Opera Chorus, University Chorale, and Singing Hoosiers. He conducted Indiana University’s contemporary vocal ensemble, NOTUS, in a performance of Reena Esmail’s “Tuttarana” at the 2022 American Choral Directors Association Midwestern Conference. In November he will conduct the premiere of Timothy Duesenbury’s A Requiem for a Soldier, in Washington D.C. Kadeli is completing his Doctorate of Music in Choral Conducting at Indiana University. He holds a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from the University of Michigan and Bachelor of Music in Composition and Choral Music Education from George Mason University.

Pamela Pierson has been involved in the process of producing articulate, engaged, and empathetic young people, who just happen to want to sing, for 45 years, most recently at West Ottawa High School in Holland. Her goal with every choir is to build a family to both understand the meaning of their music and create outstanding performances. An active adjudicator and clinician, she has conducted the High School SSAA State Honors Choir in 2012, led sessions at numerous choral conferences, provided choirs for Workshop panels, was the MSVMA Teacher of the Year 2015, and her choirs performed numerous times at the Michigan Music Conference and American Choral Directors Association conferences. Her choirs have performed in Toronto, Chicago, Cleveland, Nashville, New York City and Milwaukee, and have worked one-on-one with some of America’s leading composers, conductors and performers. In the summer of 2019, she was the director of the 80 voice Michigan Ambassadors of Music Choir on their 16-day trip to Europe. She is currently Director of Adjudication for Michigan School Vocal Music Association. She volunteers with the Fennville High School Choral program, the Lakeshore Community Chorus and conducts the West Ottawa Alumnae Choir, Las Almas. In 2024 she will again be leading an 80 voice choir tour of Europe with the Michigan Musicians Abroad program.

Audience members who need assistance to fully enjoy any event at Hope are encouraged to contact the college’s Events and Conferences Office by emailing events@hope.edu or calling 616-395-7222 on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Updates related to events are posted when available in the individual listings at hope.edu/calendar.

The Pine Grove is in the central campus of Hope College directly behind Graves Hall, which is located at 263 College Ave., between 10th and 12th streets. Dimnent Memorial Chapel is located at 277 College Ave., at the corner of College Avenue and 12th Street.