The Hope College Concert Band will present its spring concert, “Dancing from East to West,” on Friday, April 24, at 7 p.m. in the Concert Hall of the Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts. The public is invited, and admission is free.

The program offers a joyful musical journey through dance-inspired works from Western European, Mediterranean, Balkan and contemporary traditions, celebrating the beauty of God’s creation and the rich variety of voices that shape our shared human story. From courtly refinement to folk vitality and urban energy, the concert reflects the way music can unite what is distant and distinct into something whole.

The evening opens with Handel’s Water Music Suite whose graceful hornpipes and minuets evoke the elegance of Western European court music. Scarlatti’s Folia follows, tracing a centuries-old theme through Portuguese, Spanish and Italian Baroque traditions.

Bach’s Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring brings a serene expression of Lutheran devotion, while Vaughan Williams’ Rhosymedre offers the warmth and lyricism of Welsh hymnody. Etienne Crausaz’s Balkan Dance then turns eastward with driving rhythms and asymmetrical meters rooted in Balkan folk traditions.

Erik Morales’ Urban Dances adds the pulse and motion of contemporary city life, and Jaime Texidor’s Amparito Roca closes the program with the bold, festive character of the Spanish pasodoble. Together, these works suggest that joy, movement and beauty can cross boundaries and invite celebration.

In a time of uncertainty and division, the concert points to God’s grace reaching from east to west, turning mourning into dancing.

The Concert Band is under the direction of Dr. Anand Raj Sukumaran, assistant professor of music and director of bands at Hope, where he teaches secondary instrumental music pedagogy, brass and woodwind methods, folk guitar, music history and world music.