The Hope College Department of Music welcomes the community to enjoy an evening of song in the Pine Grove, as four choral ensembles and featured soloists present a free outdoor concert on Friday, September 26 at 5:00 p.m.

The program highlights the breadth and vitality of Hope’s choral tradition, showcasing the Chapel Choir, SPERA, VERITAS, and College Chorus, alongside individual vocal students. The concert will feature a wide range of repertoire, from timeless choral classics to Broadway favorites and modern works that speak to themes of faith, love, and joy.

Highlights include Oh! What a Beautiful City! (Traditional, arr. Rollo Dilworth), performed by the combined choirs, The Word Was God by Rosephanye Powell, a Michigan Premier of Are You Listening? by Kyle Pederson, featuring Dr. David Yandl on soprano saxophone,  Stand By Me (Ben E. King, arr. Mark De-Lisser), The Last Words of David by Randall Thompson, as well as Broadway favorites including songs from The Sound of Music, Little Women, West Side Story, and Anyone Can Whistle performed by Hope student soloists. The evening will conclude with the combined choirs singing I Have Had Singing (Ron Jeffers) and the Hope College Alma Mater.

The Chapel Choir is a 34-voiced auditioned SATB (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) ensemble; SPERA is an advanced treble ensemble of 43  singers; College Chorus is an un-auditioned, 70-member ensemble of students, faculty and staff; and the newest ensemble, VERITAS, is a 37-voice tenor/bass ensemble.

Dr. Eric Reyes, assistant professor of music instruction and director of choral activities, directs the Chapel Choir, College Chorus and VERITAS. Born and raised in Southern California, Mexican-American conductor, pianist and vocalist Reyes seeks to make music that communicates beauty, inspires hope and brings about unity amongst people. Most recently, Reyes pioneered ¡Canto! A Latinx Vocal Intensive, a program that seeks to equip high school Latinx vocalists with resources to study and perform Latinx vocal music. This project was funded through the Mellon Foundation, and was done in collaboration with Latin Americans United for Progress (LAUP), Dr. Sarah VandenBrink and Professor Christina Krause. 

Pamela Pierson is an active adjudicator and clinician who directs SPERA.  She conducted the High School SSAA State Honors Choir in 2012 and 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. In the summer of 2019, she was the director of the 80-voice Michigan Ambassadors of Music Choir during the ensemble’s 16-day trip to Europe. She is currently director of adjudication for the Michigan School Vocal Music Association.

The concert is free and open to the public. Audience members are encouraged to bring blankets or lawn chairs. In the event of inclement weather, the performance will be relocated to Dimnent Memorial Chapel.